SoftBank shares show largest drop since 2012

TOKYO • SoftBank Group shares plunged after it unveiled its US$32 billion (S$43.2 billion) takeover of chip designer ARM Holdings, a deal that marks founder Masayoshi Son's biggest gamble so far on the future of technology.

The shares dropped 10 per cent to 5,387 yen (S$68.65), their biggest decline since 2012. That followed a 5 per cent fall in shares of SoftBank's US unit Sprint in New York trading on Monday, on concerns it would get less support from its parent company.

Investors remain concerned about SoftBank's balance sheet and the hefty premium it's forking over. The company remains mired in debt - to the tune of more than US$100 billion as of the end of March - and will have to borrow more to get the deal done.

BLOOMBERG

British inflation rises, boosted by airfares

LONDON • British inflation rose more than expected last month and matched one of the highest rates seen over the last year and a half, boosted by a surge in airfares as soccer fans flocked to France for the Euro championships.

Consumer prices, which are set to pick up speed soon after last month's vote to leave the European Union, rose 0.5 per cent compared with a year ago, the Office for National Statistics said.

The data was collected almost entirely before Britons voted to leave the EU on June 23.

British inflation has been below the Bank of England's 2 per cent target for 21/2 years and last year it was zero, the lowest since comparable records began in 1950.

REUTERS