Swiss National Bank cuts euro holdings as it posts rise in profit October 31, 2012 THE SWISS National Bank has made a hefty nine-month profit and trimmed euro holdings in favour of dollars and sterling in its huge foreign exchange reserves built up to weaken the franc. The diversification and profit bolster the SNB’s drive to keep the safe-haven franc capped at 1.20 per euro, a limit set more than [...]
US corporate results round-up October 31, 2012 GM cuts to aim for Europe breakeven GENERAL Motors posted a surprisingly strong profit yesterday and said it was targeting a return to break-even levels in its European operations by the middle of the decade after a loss of as much as $1.8bn (£1.1bn) in that region this year. GM’s third-quarter net income attributable to [...]
2012’s seven best Women in the City October 31, 2012 THE Museum of London Docklands was the venue for this year’s Woman of Achievement Awards, where ladies from around the City gathered in Canary Wharf to find out who had been chosen as one of the seven winners. In no particular order they included Heather Dixon at American Express for accountancy, Accenture’s Emma McGuigan for [...]
Will you take part in movember? October 31, 2012 ANDY SULLIVAN | PANMURE GORDON I will not be taking part in the Movember campaign as I don’t think a moustache suits me, but three of my work colleagues doing it and hope to raise £300. STUART HAMMOND | SELF-EMPLOYED Movember is a brilliant charity campaign that is different to lots of others. But this [...]
The Capitalist needs you: Get your Mo on the Go October 31, 2012 MIRROR, mirror on the wall, who has the fairest moustache of them all? The time has come once again for the gentlemen of the City to sprout fuzzy upper lips in aid of prostate cancer awareness in this month of Movember. It is only day one but already the Real Men at Deutsche Bank, Linklaters, [...]
Volex counts cost of snub from Apple over iPhone 5 connector October 31, 2012 APPLE’S decision to change the connector used in the latest iPhone has been tough on electrical component maker Volex, which was snubbed by Apple for the iPhone 5 after years of making its connectors. The company revealed yesterday that sales in the six months to the end of September had fallen on last year, and [...]
US indices group MSCI acquires property specialist IPD for £78m October 31, 2012 US INDICES group MSCI has agreed to buy Investment Property Databank (IPD), a private company that provides crucial information for the property industry, in a £78m deal. The sale will generate a huge windfall for IPD’s founders Rupert Nabarro and Ian Cullen, who set up the company 27 years ago. The pair will share £26m [...]
St James’s Place growth beats expectations October 31, 2012 WEALTH manager St James’s Place yesterday posted another strong quarter of growth, with new business hitting £165.6m between June and September, up eight per cent on the same period last year. Chief executive David Bellamy told City A.M. that “there’s a good feeling in the business right now” and growth could be even stronger in [...]
New investment industry boss vows to win back public trust October 31, 2012 THE FINANCIAL services industry must do all it can to win back the faith of the public, the new head of the Investment Management Association (IMA) said yesterday as his appointment was announced. Daniel Godfrey will replace outgoing chief executive Richard Saunders on 1 December. “Long-term investment is vital for consumers, for companies and for [...]
Activist investor attacks Quarto for breaching UK listing rules October 31, 2012 SHAREHOLDERS aiming to oust Quarto’s chairman Laurence Orbach have found another bone to pick after accusing the book publisher’s board of breaching listing rules. Harwood Capital, the activist investment firm led by Christopher Mills, is trying to oust Orbach, who set up the firm in 1976, and appoint industry veteran Tim Chadwick to the board. [...]