Top auction haul for Gemfields February 26, 2014 Gemfields, producer of about a fifth of the world’s rough emeralds, said revenues from its latest auction in Zambia were a record $36.5m (£21.93m). Shares of the company, owner of the luxury jewellery brand Faberge, rose by 2.14 per cent during the day. Gemfields had been selling output from its flagship Kagem mine around the [...]
City Moves for 27 February 2014 | Who’s switching jobs February 26, 2014 Royal London GroupThe mutual life and pensions company has announced the appointment of Tim Harris as a finance director and member of its board. He joins from Torus, where he is currently group chief finance officer. Harris has previously held senior finance roles at Aviva and PwC. InceThe law firm has appointed Hugh O’Donovan as [...]
Best of the Brokers for 27 February 2014 February 26, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com ASHMORE UBS keeps its “hold” rating on the emerging markets investment group but cuts it target from 405p to 355p following results on Tuesday. While the broker thinks Ashmore’s long-term fundamentals are still strong, it believes fees could continue to fall short of [...]
London Report: Tesco drags FTSE lower as analyst downgrades hit February 26, 2014 ANALYST cuts prompted a rush to the exits for investors in retailer Tesco, weighing on the blue-chip FTSE 100 yesterday and dragging it further away from a recent multi-year high. Nomura, Oriel, Cantor and Jefferies were among those brokers yesterday that cut ratings or price targets on Tesco, the world’s third-largest retailer, just a day [...]
New York Report: Markets steady ahead of Fed chair quizzing February 26, 2014 US stocks finished flat yesterday with investors hesitant to make a big move on the day before comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, though retailers’ shares rallied on results for a second day. The S&P 500 once again briefly broke above its 2013 year-end closing level of 1,848.36, which has served as resistance, but [...]
4 reasons for job-hunters to be cheerful February 26, 2014 Recruiters, often the first firms to catch wind of a pick-up in business activity, have been making much more upbeat noises in the last few months. Hays chief executive Alistair Cox, whose firm focuses on white collar and specialist industry recruitment, has today delivered a fresh batch of positive news for job-hunters – even those in [...]
Why Ukraine exposure might benefit Ferrexpo February 26, 2014 As the political tensions heighten in Ukraine following last week’s ousting of President Viktor Yanukovych, the beleaguered country’s currency – the hryvnia – has suffered too, plunging to a 10-year low today. The outcome of the crisis is still unknown but analysts are already speculating on a possible upside for Ukraine-focused iron ore producer Ferrexpo. [...]
The US government is trying to kill doge February 26, 2014 When they're not trying to meddle with healthcare, they're killing one of the internet's favourite jokes. The US department of health and human services just tweeted a version of the "doge" meme. That joke typically features a cute shiba inu and its internal monologue. The state-created version offered by the government department has been made [...]
The secret of mutuals: Price beats ethics every time February 26, 2014 Britain’s building societies are enjoying a boom in new business, as big banks have cut back lending since the financial crisis. Their local, ethical image is often trumpeted as the reason why – they are owned by their customers, a refreshing contrast from those scandal-hit bankers. Certainly they are doing something right. This morning three [...]
Why this EU commissioner is fighting for open immigration February 26, 2014 European commissioner Laszlo Andor has come out fighting against the Swiss referendum decision to restrict the free movement of European citizens. On 9 February, the Swiss backed strict quotas for EU immigration by a wafer thin majority of 50.34 per cent on a healthy turnout. The commissioner's speech comes only a few weeks after fresh [...]