Plus gets derivatives facelift August 25, 2010 Plus Markets, the small-cap listing and price-reporting platform, is to relaunch as a full blown derivatives and stock exchange. The move, which is part of a strategy set out in March, will put Plus against the London Stock Exchange, Chi-X Europe and similar trading venues.
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 25, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES US CHAINS BEEF UP MEALS TO LIFT PROFITS Fast-food chains in the US are rolling out more expensive premium products after two years of relentless focus on lower priced meals in the hope of recouping profit margins surrendered during the recession of 2008 and 2009. McDonald’s is selling a “smokehouse deluxe” burger in [...]
Breeden hurt as Xchanging PR push fails August 25, 2010 HEDGE fund boss Richard Breeden was burned by a second support services company yesterday as a badly-timed PR move by Xchanging wiped 11 per cent from its market value. Breeden European Partners saw £158m shaved from its stake in the outsourcing provider as nervy investors fled the stock. Just a fortnight ago, Breeden crystallised a [...]
FSA says banking trading warrants tougher action August 25, 2010 ENDING the regulatory dividing line between a bank’s trading and core books would price risk better and help avoid public bailouts sparked by the financial crisis, the markets watchdog said yesterday. The Financial Services Authority unveiled a 126-page discussion paper looking at approaches to tightening up the rules, that would prevent banks from exploiting differences [...]
ABI struggles to save UK insurers from US rules August 25, 2010 UK life insurers could be hit with tens of millions of pounds of costs if they are forced to comply with tough regulations on tax evasion being drafted by US authorities. Companies such as Aviva, Old Mutual and Prudential would be forced to report the tax details of their US account holders every year under [...]
Tullow slides on Ugandan project delay August 25, 2010 OIL explorer Tullow faced tough questions over its plans in Uganda yesterday, as shares dipped despite a 152 per cent increase in pre-tax profit in the last six months. Its $10bn (£6.6bn) project on oil fields once owned by Heritage stalled in January, after the Ugandan government disputed Heritage’s capital gains tax payments on the [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO TODAY’S RESULTS MEAN FOR TULLOW? August 25, 2010 JONATHAN JACKSON | KILLIK The interim results from Tullow were in line with expectations. However, the commentary on Uganda is less positive. While today’s news is frustrating, we believe the potential upside from the region remains intact. IVOR PETHER | ROYAL LONDON ASSET MANAGEMENT There isn’t an awful lot to say about the results, but [...]
Dublin in row with S&P due to downgrade August 25, 2010 A ROW broke out between S&P and Ireland yesterday after the country accused the credit rating agency of “flawed” analysis of its debt position. The war of words broke out after S&P cut its rating for Ireland by a notch to AA- after the markets closed on Tuesday night and placed the country on a [...]
Why are the Irish banks still in such a mess? August 25, 2010 IRISH banks seem unable to shake off the financial crisis, in fact they seem to be in worse shape now then at the start of the year. The main casualty is Anglo Irish Bank, which threatens to squash the economic recovery under an estimated €24bn of bad loans. It has already caused credit rating agency [...]
Deloitte upbeat despite lower partner profits August 25, 2010 DELOITTE, one of the Big Four accountancy firms, has seen UK revenues fall for the second year in a row in the face of challenging markets and a difficult economic environment. The global firm posted £1.95bn in UK revenue for the year ended 31 May, marking a £16m fall from last year. “Despite a second [...]