London View

Sterling Jumps as Scotland Votes 'No', Alibaba to Start Trading Today, Larry Ellison Resigns as Oracle CEO

The results are in and it’s a ‘No’ from Scotland, as voters opted to stay part of the UK. The final result showed 55% for No, 45% for Yes. Markets strengthened in the wake of the news as investors breathed a sigh of relief; the break-up of the centuries old Union would have led to considerable shake-ups in many areas, not the least of which would have been finance.  RBS has announced that due to the result it will be staying put in Edinburgh rather than moving its headquarters to London; RBS shares are currently up by around 3.5% and the FTSE as a whole is currently up by around 0.7%. Sterling strengthened across the board, with GBP currently up by around 0.28% against the Euro, 0.09% against USD and 0.53% against the Yen.

Moving across the Atlantic. Alibaba shares were priced at $68 yesterday, valuing the company at $170 billion, which would rank it as one of the largest public companies in the world. The stock will be making its debut on the NYSE later today – and if fully subscribed could see the Chinese e-commerce company raise at least $21.8 billion.

Meanwhile Larry Ellison, the founder of computer technology company Oracle and one of the wealthiest men in America, has resigned as CEO of the firm which he built. Mr Ellison will still be involved with the company, assuming the role of Executive Chairman. Oracle stock closed up by 1.00% yesterday but slipped by 1.81% in after-hours trading.