Stocks worldwide began the fourth quarter on a negative note on Wednesday, with investors wary of lackluster economic data and keeping a cautious eye on civil unrest in Hong Kong.
Europe
Rocket Internet prices share sale at top of range
Rocket Internet (RKET.DE), the global e-commerce investor, is selling its shares at 42.50 euros apiece, or the top of the price range, as investors flock to tap into a new wave of Internet start-up listings.
Asia down as Ebola scare hits Wall St., dollar rally on pause
Asian stocks fell on Thursday, dragged lower after the first case of Ebola diagnosed in the United States spooked Wall Street overnight, while a bout of risk aversion pushed down yields and put the dollar's recent rally on pause.
Dollar scales six-year peak vs. yen, euro struggle intensifies
The dollar rose above 110 yen for the first time in six years and held near a two-year peak against the euro on Wednesday, as investors added to bets that U.S. data will drive the Federal Reserve to tighten policy.
Ackman's Pershing Square raises $3 billion in fund listing
Pershing Square Holdings, a fund managed by activist investor Bill Ackman, raised $3.07 billion ahead of a stock market listing in Amsterdam, the company said on Wednesday.
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Cable operator Tele Columbus [ESCALC.UL] became the latest German company to announce plans to float shares as the country's traditionally risk-averse companies warm to capital markets after Alibaba's record-breaking $25 billion listing.
Portugal has begun sounding out Spanish banks on their interest in buying Novo Banco, the successor to the state-rescued Banco Espirito Santo (BES), several sources familiar with the talks said on Tuesday.
Elisabeth Murdoch, the daughter of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, will step down as the chairman of Shine Group when it merges with Endemol and Core Media Group Inc [CKXETM.UL], the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
UK GDP rose 0.9 percent in the second quarter, up from the expected value of 0.8 percent according to the report published by the Office for National Statistics. This increase suggests that the country is recovering faster than expected.
France will tax drugmakers whose costly hepatitis C drugs threaten to throw off course its healthcare budget, the government has said, heaping pressure on pharmaceutical companies like Gilead Sciences to cut their prices.
Internet auction site eBay intends to drive a wave of consolidation in Russia's e-commerce market over the next couple of years, persuading smaller companies to get on board as the economy weakens.
World markets were in hesitant mood on Tuesday as investors wondered what China's response would be to civil unrest in Hong Kong, while the U.S. dollar eased off the throttle after its biggest quarterly gain in six years.
Italian tycoon Andrea Bonomi has written to directors of his bid target Club Mediterranee (CMIP.PA) asking for updated financial information, a letter seen by Reuters shows, in a sign he still hopes to win control of the French holiday company.
Global equity markets fell on Monday as civil unrest in Hong Kong weighed on investor sentiment, while U.S. Treasury debt prices rose over uncertainty sparked by the protests.
