EU puts Google back in the hot seat September 23, 2014 THE EUROPEAN Union antitrust chief Joaquin Almunia put Google back in the hotseat yesterday by reversing his position from February that the search giant would avoid fines after it agreed to make concessions on how it displayed competitors’ links on its website. Almunia said in a speech that complaints from Google’s competitors had “given us [...]
Private equity leaders feast on IPOs and deals September 23, 2014 PRIVATE EQUITY MANAGER of the year Private equity groups have feasted on fresh opportunities thrown up by ongoing financial trends this year, from the rise of China’s market economy to the dissipation of traditional bank lending. This year’s nominations include some of London’s most senior dealmakers and executives and reflect the capital’s pivotal importance at [...]
Panmure back to profit growth after long slump September 23, 2014 PANMURE Gordon’s shares soared yesterday as the stockbroker and investment bank reported its first strong set of profits after a major turnaround. Pre-tax profits came in at £1.9m for the first half of the year, up from just £335,000 in the same period of 2013. The firm has been blighted for years by the ill-fated takeover [...]
Interview: No more buyouts September 23, 2014 THE BROKERAGES industry, particularly at the small- and mid-cap end of the market, is widely thought to be ripe for consolidation. Oriel Securities, for example, was snapped up by US firm Stifel Financial earlier this year. So now that Panmure Gordon is doing well, one might have thought the firm would be looking to grow through [...]
Veteran UK lender Close Brothers surges ahead on share activity September 23, 2014 A SURGE in specialist lending and stock market activity yesterday saw British financial services company Close Brothers announce an increase in operating profits by 20 per cent in the past year to £201m. Close Brothers, founded in 1878, said full-year profit rose 25 per cent after it increased lending and rising stock markets boosted its [...]
City Moves for 24 September 2014 | Who’s switching jobs September 23, 2014 Thomson Snell & Passmore The law firm has appointed Keith McAlister as a partner in its corporate and commercial department. He joins from Kingsley Napley, where he was head of corporate and commercial. McAlister has also held roles at Brachers. Advent International The private equity firm has appointed Werner Geissler as an operating partner, effective 1 [...]
Best of the Brokers for 24 September 2014 September 23, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com EASYJET Cantor Fitzgerald has upgraded to “buy” from “hold”, raising the target price to 1,600p from 1,500p. Cantor thinks it is a good time to buy as the stock was weak in the summer like the rest of the sector, and Cantor also [...]
London Report: New US pharma rules drag down UK drug firms September 23, 2014 THE FTSE 100 took a tumble yesterday as pharma shares were hit by overnight news that the US had announced new rules to reduce the benefits available to its companies buying overseas businesses for tax reasons. The FTSE 100 suffered a 1.44 per cent fall to 6676.08 points, its worst performance since 3 March. Poor economic [...]
New York Report: Global growth fears weigh on Wall Street September 23, 2014 US SHARES fell yesterday, with consumer staples leading the S&P 500 down to its third straight daily loss, as investors grew concerned about the pace of global economic growth. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 116.81 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 17,055.87, the S&P 500 lost 11.52 points, or 0.58 per cent, to 1,982.77 [...]
London house prices make it the world’s most expensive city September 23, 2014 London is the world's most expensive city, according to a new report. High property costs (the average price just went over £500,000 according to the ONS), high transports costs and expensive drinks have long been the bane of Londoners, and now a new report from Savills, an estate agent, has calculated London to top its [...]