Risks to recovery from overzealous regulations September 20, 2009 Central bankers in the US and UK recently proclaimed the end of the worst global recession since the Great Depression. However, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and Bank of England governor Mervyn King have both acknowledged that any recovery will be slow and painful, with unemployment likely to rise for many months to come. As [...]
Aim market on the road to recovery September 20, 2009 ACTIVITY on the Aim market is picking up after a year of lingering in the doldrums, new research has shown. Companies on the London Stock Exchange’s junior market will have raised around £3.6bn by the end of the year if the steady flow of fundraisings continues, a survey of institutional investors by stockbroking firm Arbuthnot [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 20, 2009 Land SecuritiesThe property group has appointed Robert Noel, 45, as managing director of its London portfolio, effective from next January. Noel, who will also join the group’s board, has been property director at rival Great Portland Estates since 2002. He also currently holds positions as chairman of the Westminster Property Association and as a non-executive [...]
WHAT IS THE OUTLOOK FOR ACTIVITY ON THE AIM MARKET? September 20, 2009 JUDITH MACKENZIE ACUITY CAPITALAim has fallen heavily and this is more of a bounce than a correction. However, I’m pessimistic on the prospects for Aim. There has been some cash coming into the market recently, but the macro environment is still negative and the smaller firms in particular will continue to struggle.CHILTON TAYLOR BAKER TILLYUltimately [...]
The world’s biggest hotelier won’t let the downturn stop expansion September 20, 2009 At 6’3”, the chief executive of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) Andrew Cosslett has broad shoulders – and with the battering the travel sector has taken over the last year it is just as well. Not surprisingly, the economic downturn has hurt the world’s largest hotel group, which boasts 630,000 rooms across more than 4,300 hotels [...]
Sellers raise asking prices September 20, 2009 THE average asking price for a UK property rose 0.6 per cent in September on the previous month, trimming the annual decline to 1.5 per cent as a shortage of stock boosted sellers’ expectations. According to figures from property website Rightmove published today, sellers are now asking an average of £223,996 for their homes as [...]
Late payments threaten to bankrupt small companies September 20, 2009 CASH flow problems are becoming increasingly common among small businesses as clients fail to make payments on time in the downturn, a new survey has shown. Nearly a quarter of smaller firms polled by the Forum of Private Business (FPB) cited a decline in prompt payment as the single biggest problem facing them in the [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 20, 2009 JD WETHERSPOONInvestec Securities has reiterated its buy recommendation for JD Wetherspoon, noting that potential obstacles should be overcome by the company’s strong cash generation and market share gains. The planned VAT increase is not expected to damage JD Wetherspoon, with price increases and accentuated value relative to peers predicted to compensate.ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLANDEvolution Securities [...]
Job drought risks brain drain September 17, 2009 THE UK is in danger of losing its brightest talent, with 23 per cent of Britons saying they are considering moving abroad in the next two years, according to new research. According to a survey of 2,000 adults carried out by Foreign Currency Direct, 11m workers are now considering a move abroad because finding a [...]
American Airlines raises $2.9bn to ride out storm September 17, 2009 AMERICAN AIRLINES’ (AA) parent company AMR has raised $2.9bn (£.bn) as it struggles to weather the financial storm. The fundraising, which comes as part of an arrangement with General Electric and Citigroup, is intended to help the carrier cope with a fall off in demand for air travel. The company said $1bn of the figure [...]