10 Things You Need To Know Before The Opening Bell

MIKE BIRD

SEP. 19, 2014

REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

Scotland voted for the No campaign, and markets cheered.

Morning! Here are the big stories making an impact on the world today.

1. Scotland Voted NO To Independence. By a margin of 55% to 45%, Scotland’s electorate rejected the opportunity to become independent. That’s not the end of it: the promises made late in the campaign probably mean all the countries in the United Kingdom wil be getting new powers.

2. Markets Are Loving The No Vote. The FTSE is up, and even the Spanish IBEX stock index is feeling the love, up 1.35%. Analysts and investors are shaking off some of the uncertainty from the recent weeks of close polls. France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX are up 0.54% and 0.91% respectively.

3. Alibaba Is Going To Have The Biggest IPO Ever. Alibaba priced its IPO yesterday after the close, at $68 per share, raising$21.8 billion from institutional investors. Trading on the shares will begin in New York today.

4. China Just Hit GlaxoSmithKline With A Record-Setting Fine. The state charged the pharmaceuticals giant the equivalent of$488.8 million over alleged bribery, and jailed former executives. The country has been cracking down on western companies operating in China.

5. Ford Is Cutting Fiesta Production In Europe. Ford is slowing down production on one of its popular hatchback models, blaming sluggish demand in the struggling Eurozone.

6. The Yen Slumped To A Six Year Low Against The Dollar.The yen reached 109 against the dollar last night, the lowest since 2008. Despite this, Japan’s finance minister says US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew didn’t raise it with him.

7. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison Has Stepped Down. The software firm announced that Safra Catz and Mark Hurd will be taking over, after some slightly disappointing results.

8. 56 Million Card Details Stolen From Home Depot. Criminals used unique, custom-built malware to evade detection in the breach, the company said.

9. France Is Attacking ISIS In Iraq. The French air force joins the US in attacking the militant group in the north of Iraq, the first European country to do so.

10. Software Giant SAP Is Spending Seven Billion Dollars On Concur Technologies. The German firm will acquire the US-based expense management company if shareholders approve the deal.