Facebook shares stage shock rally November 14, 2012 FACEBOOK shares closed up 12.6 per cent yesterday, stunning Wall Street, as hundreds of employees were able to sell their stock for the first time. The latest in a series of share “lockup periods” expired flooding the market with 800m shares owned by staff and early investors. But the $22.36 closing price was still well [...]
AG Barr agrees to £1.4bn tie-up with rival Britvic November 14, 2012 AG BARR, the Scottish Irn Bru-maker, and rival Britvic yesterday revealed the terms of an all-share merger that will create one of Europe’s largest soft drinks companies with more than £1.5bn of annual sales. The new company will be called Barr Britvic Soft Drinks and will be run by AG Barr’s chief executive Roger White, [...]
Banks and a brave industry boss square up to claims firms November 14, 2012 BRAVERY is not a quality conventionally attributed to the bosses of business lobbying groups but step forward, John Cridland. The CBI director-general’s decision to lob a grenade into the row over payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling is in danger of splitting his body’s membership. Cridland’s argument that there should be a time limit on compensation [...]
Barclays set to reveal 42 Libor names as legal row over care home’s derivative gets personal November 14, 2012 DOZENS of Barclays’ staff could be drawn into the Libor-fixing row, as their names are likely to be published as part of the legal battle with Guardian Care Homes (GCH). GCH claims it was mis-sold an interest rate swap product, and that by fiddling its Libor submission Barclays unfairly influenced the interest rate on which [...]
Maths graduates blamed for poor loan risk management November 14, 2012 MATHS graduates confused bank bosses with extremely technical and detailed risk analysis, leading to a misunderstanding of banks’ positions and contributing to the financial crisis, the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards heard yesterday. “There was a feeling that we understood risk, but it was an illusion created by an influx of people with different skill [...]
Icap warns of toughest time in over 36 years November 14, 2012 ICAP boss Michael Spencer yesterday warned markets were facing their toughest period for 36 years after the interdealer broker issued a stark profit warning due to falling trading volumes. The company, which was relegated from the FTSE 100 in September after six years on the index, saw pre-tax profits slump by a quarter and revenues [...]
Woodford welcomes BAE-EADS deal collapse as boost for fund November 14, 2012 NEIL Woodford, one of the world’s most successful investors, yesterday publicly welcomed the collapse of BAE Systems’ merger with EADS for the first time. Woodford, who runs money at retail fund manager Invesco Perpetual and first warned against the merger in October, said the aerospace defence firm would remain just as good an investment on [...]
Icap is suffering at the moment but what is the outlook? November 14, 2012 HALEY TAM | CITI Given the continued low interest rate environment and structural uncertainties, related to impact of central clearing on over the counter derivatives volumes, competitive threats from futures exchanges, there may be a downside pressure on consensus full year 2014 estimates as well. JAMES HAMILTON | NUMIS Recovery will come at some point [...]
Tensions escalate in Gaza November 14, 2012 ISRAEL launched a major offensive against Palestinian militants in Gaza yesterday, killing the military commander of Hamas in an air strike and threatening an invasion of the enclave. The operation, dubbed “Pillar of Defence” by the Israeli military, followed five days of Palestinian rocket attacks and Israeli strikes at militant targets.
Entrepreneurialawards aplenty November 14, 2012 MORE entrepreneurial talent was being celebrated over on Park Lane on Tuesday evening, at the 2012 National Business Awards. The 11th annual ceremony at the Grosvenor hotel was opened with a video message from Prime Minister David Cameron, and followed by a speech from Danny Alexander, chief secretary to the Treasury. Motivational speaking, not that [...]