Pegrum to join Soros fund firm April 26, 2010 HEDGE fund manager Neil Pegrum has quit his job at Cazenove Capital to join Soros Fund Management, the secretive fund firm set up by billionaire financier George Soros. Pegrum, a specialist in small to mid cap stocks who ran over £300m in assets, handed in his notice last week and has now left the firm. [...]
Osborne takes a break from the campaign trail to talk to the City April 26, 2010 LAST YEAR, the future looked very different for George Osborne. With the Tories enjoying a seemingly unassailable lead in the polls, few doubted he would become the next chancellor. Privately, Tory strategists even whispered the word “landslide”. Now nearly all the polls point at a hung parliament and Osborne, who is also the Tories’ election [...]
Cameron targets Lib Dem supporters April 26, 2010 David Cameron yesterday stepped up his efforts to woo Liberal supporters. The Tory leader, who is fighting a surge in Lib Deb support, implored voters to believe his policies would achieve that Liberals supporters are hoping for. He heaped praise on Tory candidate Caroline Noakes, standing in Lib Dem-held Romsey, while on the campaign trail [...]
Hung parliament would be a disaster, says our City panel April 26, 2010 THE CITY fears a hung parliament will lead to a fall in the value of sterling, higher government borrowing costs and lower economic growth. The City A.M./PHI Panel, which has been specially recruited with Politics Home to represent a cross-section of London’s financial and business community, were to predict the economic impact of a hung parliament. [...]
Education heads back Tory plans to push for free schools April 26, 2010 A RAFT of school heads yesterday backed proposals by the Conservative Party to give state schools more autonomy within months of the general election, should the party secure a victory. Over 30 heads and governors signed a collective letter yesterday pledging their support for the Tories over plans to hand more power to high-performing state [...]
Hertz drives forward with growth plan April 26, 2010 CAR rental group Hertz yesterday agreed to buy smaller rival Dollar Thrifty for about $1.2bn in a deal that will make it the second-biggest US car rental company. Shares of Hertz, which also raised its earnings and revenue outlooks for 2010, rose as much as 18 per cent to touch a two-year high after the [...]
Start-ups secure funding as recovery kicks in April 26, 2010 For those of us on the ground building businesses, a new reality is emerging as the recovery sets in. Ariadne has won funding for five companies in 2010 including Everyclick, which has secured a hefty sum from new and existing investors. Why are so many start-ups getting funded – in our portfolio and elsewhere – [...]
European lawmakers eyeing tougher regulations for dark pool trading venues April 26, 2010 Dark pool trading venues may need more regulation to avoid harming public share prices for investors, European Union lawmakers said yesterday. Dark pools are trading venues that allow buyers and sellers of large stock orders to avoid revealing pre-trade information and signalling their intentions to the rest of the market. “The question is at what [...]
CITY VIEWS: WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO HOUSE PRICES OVER THE NEXT YEAR? April 26, 2010 GREG KERSCH | INVESCO PERPETUAL “House prices will rise gradually over the next year, although a lot depends on the election. Anything could happen if there is a hung parliament. Bankers’ bonuses are likely to have an effect on London’s house prices continuing to rise.” MATTHEW ROBSON | PREQIN “There’s certainly a lot of hope [...]
House price recovery set to continue April 26, 2010 ECONOMISTS are awaiting the latest data on house prices from Nationwide due this Thursday after property data company Hometrack yesterday said prices in England and Wales rose by an annual 1.8 per cent in April – their fastest pace of increase since January 2008. The City is watching for further signs of a strengthening housing [...]