London & Stamford still cautious May 27, 2010 Property investment firm London & Stamford yesterday said it was “increasingly cautious” about putting money into the market. It warned property prices were rising too fast given the weak rate of rental growth. The firm’s net asset value per share rose 17.4 per cent to 120.1p in the year to the end of March. Profits [...]
Asda buys UK Netto stores May 27, 2010 ASDA has bought the Netto supermaket chain in the UK for £778m. Netto has 193 stores, which will be converted to small Asda stores by next Summer, if regulators give the go-ahead. Asda plans to employ up to twice as many staff in each of the stores it has acquired. It sees the move as [...]
Lehman sues JPMorgan Chase for billions May 27, 2010 LEHMAN Brothers Holdings Inc is suing JPMorgan Chase & Co – accusing the second-largest US bank of illegally siphoning billions of dollars of desperately-needed assets in the days leading up to its record bankruptcy. The lawsuit filed in Manhattan bankruptcy court accused JPMorgan of using its “unparalleled access” to inside details of Lehman’s distress to [...]
JJB in £68.5m annual loss May 27, 2010 JJB Sports posted a pre-tax annual loss of £68.5m and warned investors not to expect a reversal of fortunes in the near future. The struggling retailer, which narrowly avoided administration also saw sales slump 42 per cent to £372.5m as suppliers, fearful of the company’s future, held back new stock, in the year to 31 [...]
Man Group hit by client withdrawals May 27, 2010 HEDGE fund firm Man Group’s assets under management have dropped eight per cent to £26.8bn since December, as investors continue to withdraw money after poor fund returns. The firm, which last week announced a surprise deal £1.1bn deal to buy smaller rival GLG Partners, said clients withdrew £3.1bn over the year to the end of [...]
Osborne refuses to back EU levy May 26, 2010 POLITICAL EDITOR GEORGE Osborne embarked on a collision course with Brussels yesterday, after he refused to back the creation of a fund to pay for the winding down of failed banks. EU internal market commissioner Michel Barnier said member states should use the proceeds from a new bank levy to fund the “orderly failure” of [...]
Pru faces growing rebellion May 26, 2010 PRUDENTIAL’S quest to buy AIA is turning into “a high-stakes gamble”, one major shareholder said last night, as it emerged 15 per cent of investors may vote against the deal. Referring to the insurer’s plan to take over AIG’s Asian arm for $35.5bn (£25bn), the top-20 shareholder said: “There are a number of issues you [...]
UK rates need to start rising May 26, 2010 THE Bank of England will need to raise interest rates to 3.5 per cent by the end of next year if it is to preserve its inflation-fighting capabilities, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) warned yesterday. The Paris-based think-tank, which represents 31 of the world’s developed economies, said: “The gradual drift up of [...]
Capital gains tax hike a very bad idea May 26, 2010 IT is time for the new government to pause for thought on capital gains tax. John Redwood, the former Tory minister, is right on the money in his article for this newspaper today (see p16): a massive increase in capital gains tax to 40 or even 50 per cent, as envisaged by the government, would [...]
Apple trumps Microsoft May 26, 2010 APPLE shot past Microsoft to become the world’s biggest tech company based on market value yesterday, the latest milestone in the resurgence of the maker of the iPhone, which nearly went out of business in the 1990s. Apple’s shares rose as much 2.8 per cent on Nasdaq as Microsoft shares floundered, briefly pushing its market [...]