Eurostar owners to privatise group April 11, 2010 OWNERS of Eurostar are moving to set up the high-speed train service as a standalone company after years of negotiations. The British government, along with French and Belgian state owned rail companies, are announcing today that they will relinquish ownership of the rail company and instead create a new company, which will be incorporated in [...]
China records shock trade deficit in March April 11, 2010 CHINA has recorded a rare monthly trade deficit in March for the first time in six years following the increase in price of imported goods, raw materials and commodities. Chen Deming, China’s minister of commerce, said the nation’s $7.2bn (£4.68bn) trade deficit was a “blip”. The minister also repeated his government’s now entrenched line that [...]
Cazenove executive quits April 11, 2010 JPMorgan Cazenove has been rocked by the shock departure of its head of UK equity research. David Knox had been with the bank for more than 15 years and served on the executive board. He also served as deputy head of European equity research. Sources close to the matter say the departure was amicable. There [...]
Obama fears al Qaeda arsenal April 11, 2010 President Barack Obama said yesterday that efforts by groups like al Qaeda to acquire nuclear weapons represented the biggest security threat, and he hailed a sense of urgency among leaders taking part in this week’s nuclear security summit. Obama, speaking before the start of the two-day conference today that will bring together nearly 50 countries, [...]
Hedge funds pile into financials April 11, 2010 Hedge funds are on the verge of becoming net buyers of financial shares for the first time in several years, according to research from Swiss bank UBS. Market strategist Karen Olney said long/short funds were buying into global equities at their fastest pace since 2007, particularly banking shares where they believed fears over tighter regulation [...]
BA execs to stand trial on cartel charge April 11, 2010 THREE former executives and one current executive at British Airways (BA) are to face criminal court proceedings today after cartel charges were handed to them over fuel price fixing. Former executives Alan Burnett, Iain Burns and Martin George will stand trial, alongside current BA executive Andrew Crawley, at Southwark Crown Court, where they are expected [...]
Politics should be a marathon, not a sprint April 11, 2010 NOW that Gordon Brown has fired the starting gun on what is likely to be one of the most keenly contested general elections in recent memory, politicians across the country are gearing up for a marathon campaign. As I train for my 16th London Marathon later this month, I am well aware of how difficult [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 11, 2010 BoA Merrill Lynch The bank has rehired Anthony Bor to its global research team as head of South Africa Equity Research. Bor previously spent 12 years as an analyst at Merrill Lynch and consistently ranked in the top three in Institutional Investor and Extel surveys in a variety of different sectors. He then left the [...]
Travelodge boosts its sales April 11, 2010 Budget hotel chain Travelodge is this week set to report a three per cent sales growth for last year, up to £297m. The chain’s pre-tax losses are likely to reach £80m due to interest payments on loans and other accounting charges.
Grosvenor House hotel bids due April 11, 2010 The Grosvenor House hotel could change hands in the next few months, with an estimated sale figure of £500m to £550m. Bids for the five-star hotel, which is owned by Royal Bank of Scotland, are due before the end of the month. CB Richard Ellis has been appointed to handle the sale. The Livingstone brothers, [...]