888 on radar as takeover fever spreads August 3, 2010 ONLINE gaming firm 888 said yesterday it had been contacted by rivals looking for takeover opportunities in the wake of last week’s tie-up between Austria’s bwin and PartyGaming. The merger between bwin and PartyGaming will create the world’s biggest internet gambling firm and puts pressure on other companies in the sector to strike deals or [...]
JC Flowers buys into Kent Reliance August 3, 2010 BUYOUT firm JC Flowers yesterday said it would take a £50m stake in Kent Reliance as part of a restructuring plan. Under the deal, Kent Reliance’s assets and liabilities would be transferred to a new bank, which would become a subsidiary of a new mutual organisation, the Kent Reliance Provident Society. JC Flowers would receive [...]
RBC on hiring spree for eastern Europe and Middle East bankers August 3, 2010 RBC WEALTH MANAGEMENT, the high net worth specialist, is looking to hire 10 bankers to cover eastern Europe and the Middle East by the end of the year. In his new role as head of private client wealth management for the British Isles, former UBS veteran Philip Harris is embarking on an aggressive recruitment spree. [...]
BILLINGSGATE PORTERS PROTEST CHANGES August 3, 2010 PORTERS at Billingsgate fish market near Canary Wharf began a campaign against reform plans yesterday, which they claim would destroy the 680-year-old institution. The market generates £200m in annual revenues and its porters transport 25,000 tonnes of fish every year.
Xstrata set to spend $5bn on new mines August 3, 2010 MINER Xstrata said yesterday it would pump over $5bn (£3.1bn) into new mines and keep targeting organic growth as a priority rather than acquisitions, after first-half profits surged on higher metals prices. Net profit was $2.29bn for the six months to 30 June, compared with $690m a year earlier, when results were impacted by a [...]
Trading income hit prompts slump in UniCredit’s profits August 3, 2010 UNICREDIT, Italy’s biggest bank, posted a 70 per cent drop in second-quarter net profit yesterday, hit by a slump in trading income and a goodwill impairment, sending the shares lower. UniCredit, whose roots stretch back to a 15th-century Bologna municipal pawnshop, posted a net profit of €148m (£122.8m), including a €162m goodwill impairment charge stemming [...]
Public sector cuts begin to impact jobs August 3, 2010 GROWTH in recruitment activity demonstrated a marked slowdown in July, in the first tangible sign that the government’s public sector austerity cuts are starting to take their toll. The month saw weaker rises in both permanent and temporary appointments, the KPMG and Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) Report on Jobs showed. The number of net [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR XSTRATA? August 3, 2010 DAVID BUIK | BGC PARTNERS “These results are up 300 per cent on last year. It is a staggering achievement to deliver figures this robust. It shows how much demand for coal has increased in China. This is leading the firm’s push and will continue to be a strong driver for growth into the future. [...]
Profits surge 25pc at NYSE Euronext firm August 3, 2010 NYSE Euronext beat expectations with a 25 per cent rise in second-quarter profits, boosted by new initiatives to combat fierce competition in traditional share trading. The trans-Atlantic exchange operator said a surge in derivatives trading helped it earn $184m (£115m) in the period – or 64 cents per share – up from $132m a year [...]
Top firms in a bid to fill pension gap August 3, 2010 BRITAIN’S top companies doubled the amount they paid into pension schemes in 2009 compared to 2008, according to a report by actuaries Lane Clark & Peacock (LCP). In an attempt to plug gaps in company pension schemes, FTSE 100 firms put £17.5bn into defined benefit schemes in 2009, a rise of 50 per cent on [...]