The countdown to the Scottish independence vote is now less than a week away and the FTSE has started the week on a nervous footing, off by 25 points.
Over the weekend we have seen SAB Miller rebuffed in its attempts to woe Heineken, with the Danish brewer’s major shareholder preferring to remain independent. If the M&A activity witnessed in the pharmaceutical sector this year is anything to go by then this will not be the last we hear about this. The recent rejection from EE, coming swiftly after Vodafone declined to renew its contract, has seen Phones4U go into administration. This news will no doubt strengthen the growing following that the amalgamated Dixons Carphone is gaining. In an effort to finally end investor confusion, TUI Travel and TUI AG have decided to merge and form under just one banner.
Last week saw both Westminster politicians and major corporations finally get more fully involved in the Scottish referendum vote. With the polls still running close both currency and equity traders are preparing themselves for a particularly frenetic end to the week. The IG binary on the Scottish referendum is indicating a lead for the 'No' party, inferring an 81% chance of Scotland voting to remain part of the Union.
Today see’s the launch of IG offering stockbroking facilities to both existing and new clients. IG has decided to take advantage of the excellent institutional trading relationships that it has built up over almost 40 years and broaden the products available to its clients.
Ahead of the open we expect the Dow Jones to start 42 points lower at 16,945.
Over the weekend we have seen SAB Miller rebuffed in its attempts to woe Heineken, with the Danish brewer’s major shareholder preferring to remain independent. If the M&A activity witnessed in the pharmaceutical sector this year is anything to go by then this will not be the last we hear about this. The recent rejection from EE, coming swiftly after Vodafone declined to renew its contract, has seen Phones4U go into administration. This news will no doubt strengthen the growing following that the amalgamated Dixons Carphone is gaining. In an effort to finally end investor confusion, TUI Travel and TUI AG have decided to merge and form under just one banner.
Last week saw both Westminster politicians and major corporations finally get more fully involved in the Scottish referendum vote. With the polls still running close both currency and equity traders are preparing themselves for a particularly frenetic end to the week. The IG binary on the Scottish referendum is indicating a lead for the 'No' party, inferring an 81% chance of Scotland voting to remain part of the Union.
Today see’s the launch of IG offering stockbroking facilities to both existing and new clients. IG has decided to take advantage of the excellent institutional trading relationships that it has built up over almost 40 years and broaden the products available to its clients.
Ahead of the open we expect the Dow Jones to start 42 points lower at 16,945.
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