China remains the world’s most lucrative video gaming market. This year annual revenues will surpass those of the US and Japan combined, with the gap between China and the rest of the world expected to widen further by 2025. Four other emerging markets also appear in the top 10 gaming markets.
Shares in Sainsbury’s jumped more than 11% on Monday (23 Aug) to hit a seven-year high amid fresh reports of takeover moves for the UK’s second-largest supermarket chain. Its shares have surged some 45% since the start of the year due to such speculation.
Sainsbury’s shares were the biggest climber in the FTSE 100 Index on Monday morning as the business is seen by speculators as the next in line for an approach after last week saw the US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice increase its previous bid for Morrisons to £7bn. The increased offer was subsequently recommended by the board of Morrisons, the UK’s fourth largest supermarket.
According to recent media reports, the US buyout firm Apollo is said to be sniffing around Sainsbury’s after it let Asda slip through its fingers last year.
Sainsbury’s currently sits atop £7.3bn in property assets from its 600 supermarkets and 800 convenience stores, while profits are rising again and net debt has reduced.
On Tuesday (24 Aug) Maersk, the world’s largest container- shipping business, announced that it had committed $1.4bn toward meeting the ambitious promise it made in February of this year for all future newbuild vessels in its fleet to use carbon-neutral fuels.
The company has ordered eight new vessels, each costing $175m, which can run on cleanly made methanol rather than oil-based fuels. It is expecting to take delivery from 2024.
Maersk’s new ships can each carry around 16,000 containers and will save around a million tons of carbon dioxide a year.
But they are 15% more costly than conventional container ships while methanol-based fuels currently cost at least twice the oil-based alternatives.
Elsewhere, the oil tanker owner, Euronav, has ordered new ships that can run on ammonia or liquefied natural gas while Cargill, the commodities trader, has promised to fix giant ‘wing’ sails to some of its fleet.
