Under the agreement announced Monday, Zijin’s Hong Kong-listed subsidiary, Zijin Gold International, will acquire all issued common shares of Allied Gold. Photo: IC Photo Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd. ( 601899.SH ), China’s largest gold producer, plans to acquire Canadian miner Allied Gold Corp. for C$5.5 billion ($4 billion), securing large-scale gold assets in Africa as bullion prices hit record h...
Under the agreement announced Monday, Zijin’s Hong Kong-listed subsidiary, Zijin Gold International, will acquire all issued common shares of Allied Gold. Photo: IC Photo Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd. ( 601899.SH ), China’s largest gold producer, plans to acquire Canadian miner Allied Gold Corp. for C$5.5 billion ($4 billion), securing large-scale gold assets in Africa as bullion prices hit record highs. Marking the largest acquisition in Zijin’s history, the deal underscores the company’s aggressive drive to expand its global reserve base and production capacity to capitalize on the precious metal’s historic rally, which saw prices breach $5,100 an ounce for the first time on Monday.
Bayern Munich have confirmed they are in talks to extend Harry Kane’s contract. The England captain joined from Tottenham in 2023 on a deal to the end of next season and secured a long-awaited first major trophy when Bayern won the Bundesliga last May. He has been the Bundesliga’s top scorer twice and, with 21 goals in 19 Bundesliga games this season, could chase down Robert Lewandowski’s single-s...
Bayern Munich have confirmed they are in talks to extend Harry Kane’s contract. The England captain joined from Tottenham in 2023 on a deal to the end of next season and secured a long-awaited first major trophy when Bayern won the Bundesliga last May. He has been the Bundesliga’s top scorer twice and, with 21 goals in 19 Bundesliga games this season, could chase down Robert Lewandowski’s single-season record of 41 goals. “We’re talking and it’s clear to everyone that there has to be a decision at some stage,” Bayern’s board member for sport, Max Eberl, said at a league event. “We’re waiting for an answer from [the defender Dayot Upamecano] and we’re talking with Harry.” Kane has scored 119 goals in 126 games for Bayern — breaking longstanding German records along the way — and has 34 in 30 games for the club this season. Bayern’s chief executive, Jan-Christian Dreesen, indicated talks could move at a relaxed pace. “Harry has great confidence in us and he feels comfortable in Munich,” he said. “He and his family are settled in. Therefore, we’ve got absolutely no reason to rush.” Barcelona have made Kane their first-choice target to replace Lewandowski, whose contract expires in June. A clause in Kane’s contract would allow him to leave for £57m in the summer.
Leirao/iStock via Getty Images By Jan Frederik Slijkerman , Senior Sector Strategist, TMT 81% of Europeans will have access to fibre in 2026 The fibre rollout is well underway in most European countries, including the UK. We continue to hold the view that by 2028, more than 90% of European households will have fibre access. As we’ll show below, this is driven by strong efforts in some of the large...
Leirao/iStock via Getty Images By Jan Frederik Slijkerman , Senior Sector Strategist, TMT 81% of Europeans will have access to fibre in 2026 The fibre rollout is well underway in most European countries, including the UK. We continue to hold the view that by 2028, more than 90% of European households will have fibre access. As we’ll show below, this is driven by strong efforts in some of the larger European countries. However, in many other regions, we expect the fibre rollout to come to a halt in the coming years, as it becomes increasingly costly to connect the remaining homes. Fibre networks expected to pass through 90% of homes in 2028 Source: FTTH Council, ING Last year, we wrote that countries such as Italy and the UK would have to take significant steps to achieve more than 90% fibre coverage. They are succeeding, and we expect fibre coverage in most large European economies to reach 80% in 2026. The notable exception is Germany. We estimate that by the end of 2025, only about 50% of households will have fibre coverage. This isn’t certain, though, as Deutsche Telekom notes that the take-up rate in Germany remains low. Increasing the take-up rate remains a key challenge in many European countries, including the Netherlands, the UK, and Belgium. Germany is holding back the overall coverage rate for Europe Source: FTTH Council, ING Cable remains a competitive technology Let's discuss one explanation for the slow improvement in take-up rates. We expect the take-up rate to be around 58% in 2026 and 63% in 2028, as can be seen in the figure below. The slow improvement shows it is difficult to quickly fill the network with customers because of technical and regulatory challenges, but also because of competition. Interestingly, what Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Belgium have in common is a strong cable operator. In our view, cable technologies remain competitive with new fibre technologies. Customer churn will be low if hybrid fixed-coaxial (HFC) networks off...
Shares of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B) are trading near their all-time highs, just like the S&P 500 index (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC). For that reason, Warren Buffett's company may not be of much interest if you are a diehard value investor committed to finding cheap stocks. However, this isn't your ordinary company, and there is an argument to be made that there's never a bad time to buy i...
Shares of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B) are trading near their all-time highs, just like the S&P 500 index (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC). For that reason, Warren Buffett's company may not be of much interest if you are a diehard value investor committed to finding cheap stocks. However, this isn't your ordinary company, and there is an argument to be made that there's never a bad time to buy it. What does Berkshire Hathaway do? Berkshire Hathaway basically owns other companies. A lot of companies are structured this way, but what sets Berkshire apart is the vast number of companies that live underneath its broad umbrella. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More » Those companies span a surprising range of industries. Again, it isn't unusual for a company to operate as a conglomerate with businesses that span many industries, but the breadth of Berkshire Hathaway's diversification is vast, including utilities, retail stores, manufacturing companies, and railroads, among many, many others. The real foundational story here is that Berkshire Hathaway functions as an investment vehicle for Warren Buffett. Essentially, the man known as the Oracle of Omaha (and his investment team) buys whole companies and then operates them within the Berkshire Hathaway family. To be fair, Buffett doesn't run them. He hires talented individuals to operate the companies he and his team buy. But Berkshire benefits from the long-term growth of those investments. That's kind of how a mutual fund operates, only a mutual fund doesn't buy entire companies. That said, Buffett is also a shareholder in a select number of large publicly traded companies. That portfolio is tracked closely by investors, and Buffett is often a valuable advisor to the companies in which he owns shares. He and his team provide the same kind of monitoring and advisory role with the companies they own, too, but that can't be ...
Hong Kong-based investment company Jardine Matheson aims to transition from an owner-operator to an active capital manager. The company's new CEO Lincoln Pan spoke exclusively with Bloomberg’s David Ingles at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong. (Source: Bloomberg)
Hong Kong-based investment company Jardine Matheson aims to transition from an owner-operator to an active capital manager. The company's new CEO Lincoln Pan spoke exclusively with Bloomberg’s David Ingles at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong. (Source: Bloomberg)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is preparing to visit Beijing, following in the footsteps of other world leaders seeking to boost trade and investment ties with China without sparking reprisals from US President Donald Trump. Starmer will be in China from Thursday to Saturday, according to a Chinese government statement. He will also make a brief stop in Tokyo, a UK government spokesman said. ...
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is preparing to visit Beijing, following in the footsteps of other world leaders seeking to boost trade and investment ties with China without sparking reprisals from US President Donald Trump. Starmer will be in China from Thursday to Saturday, according to a Chinese government statement. He will also make a brief stop in Tokyo, a UK government spokesman said. The first official trip to China by a UK prime minister since 2018 reflects the huge opportunities...
Malaysia’s government plans to do a cost-benefit analysis of its controversial trade agreement with the US, while warning lawmakers they should keep the accord despite concerns it may hurt the country. The review, pending the deal’s ratification, could take six to 12 months and will focus on the impact on Malaysia’s exports and trade surplus, according to Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Jo...
Malaysia’s government plans to do a cost-benefit analysis of its controversial trade agreement with the US, while warning lawmakers they should keep the accord despite concerns it may hurt the country. The review, pending the deal’s ratification, could take six to 12 months and will focus on the impact on Malaysia’s exports and trade surplus, according to Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Johari Abdul Ghani . He was speaking a day after US President Donald Trump vowed to hike tariffs on goods from South Korea to 25%, citing what he said was the failure of lawmakers in Seoul to codify their trade deal. Read More: Trump Vows to Raise Tariffs to 25% on South Korean Goods “Malaysia has not yet received any official notice or notification from the US regarding the timeline for ratifying ART,” Johari told parliament on Tuesday, referring to the trade agreement by its acronym. “Hence, the government is currently reviewing ART’s contents to ensure that the country’s economic interests are safeguarded and to reduce the risks to the country’s trade.” However, terminating the deal altogether would spark economic uncertainty and instability, he added. The trade agreement Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim signed with Trump last year fueled concerns it could infringe upon Malaysia’s sovereignty. The trade ministry in November published an FAQ to address the worries, a month before Johari took over the portfolio. Read more: Malaysia Exports Surprise as Manufacturing Shipment Hits Record Trump set a 19% tariff on Malaysia in August last year, in line with that imposed on most other Southeast Asian economies and lower than the 25% he earlier threatened. While gross domestic product expanded 4.9% last year, the government expects a slowdown to a range of 4%-4.5% this year amid heightened global volatility. Read more: Malaysian Growth Surprises as Manufacturing Defies US Tariff “Particular focus will be given to the impact of the country’s exports to the United States worth 233.1 bil...