M&B investors should tell Lewis to get serious January 13, 2010 THE row between Mitchells and Butlers’ largest shareholder Joe Lewis and the pub group’s management shows no sign of abating, making the firm’s stock hard to value. If Lewis wants to make a bid for the company, he’d probably have to offer around 340p, making the shares – which closed at 275.5p yesterday – look [...]
Manchester United faces paying top dollar to ensure £500m bond success January 13, 2010 MANCHESTER United may be forced to price its £500m bond at slightly more than a 10 per cent yield, according to one of the City’s high yield analysts. Jonathan Moore at Evolution Securities told City A.M. yesterday that very few of the City of London’s investors would warm to the deal due to its high [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 13, 2010 BARCLAYS Execution has initiated coverage of Barclays with a “buy” rating. The broker said revenues at BarCap should be relatively sustainable due to its diverse fixed income business and revenue growth from its organic investment programme. It also sees Barclays as the best European investment bank on tangible equity to assets. BG GROUP Collins Stewart [...]
Economic cheer at its highest level for two years as 2010 marks turning point January 13, 2010 ECONOMIC optimism is at its highest level for two years according to a business trends report, published yesterday, by accountants and business advisers BDO. The Business Trends output index was up significantly to 99.7 in December from 96.3 in November –?the biggest rise since the end of the early 90s recession. The sharp increase was [...]
Oil falls below $80 a barrel January 13, 2010 Oil prices dropped below $80 a barrel yesterday to the lowest this year, pressured by a US inventory report showing rises in crude and distillate fuel stocks despite severe winter weather. Crude stocks, expected to rise 1.2m barrels, increased by 3.7m, the Energy Information Administration said. And inventories of distillates, forecast to fall, rose by [...]
Greek debt protection costs soar January 13, 2010 The cost of insuring Greece’s debt hit a record high yesterday, after Moody’s Investors Service warned that its economy risks a “slow death” if it does not implement challenging fiscal reform measures. Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou however said he would not quit the eurozone or seek help from the International Monetary fund, further lowering [...]
EU targets derivative speculation January 13, 2010 Speculation in commodity derivatives has been “scandalous” and needs to be regulated carefully, the European Union’s nominee for chief financial watchdog said yesterday. The European Commission is expected to put forward a draft law by mid-year to regulate the vast off-exchange traded derivatives market.
Factory data weak but UK set to grow January 13, 2010 BRITAIN’S manufacturing output failed to grow in November, raising yet further concerns about the strength of the recession-hit producers and the sustainability of the UK’s still fragile recovery. More positively, the wider industrial production measure managed to post a gain of 0.4 per cent, official data showed. But this was entirely a reflection of increased [...]
Interest rates may need to rise to curb inflation risks January 13, 2010 THE Bank of England’s ultra-loose monetary policy has been a success but Threadneedle Street will have to consider raising interest rates this year if the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is to keep inflation risks under control, MPC member Andrew Sentance said in an interview published yesterday. He said that he was optimistic about the economy [...]
Germany suffers worst contraction since 1930s January 13, 2010 HOPES of a sustainable recovery in Germany were dealt a sharp blow yesterday by data showing that the world’s largest exporter contracted for the first time in six years. Although Germany exited recession in the second quarter, the annual contraction was five per cent, making the recent crisis the deepest since the Great Depression. The [...]