Cantillon shuts hedge funds after missing out on rebound June 18, 2009 CANTILLON Capital Management, the asset manager run by William von Mueffling, is closing two embattled hedge funds valued at $3.5bn (£2.1bn) after failing to capitalise on recent market rallies. The US group told its hedge fund investors yesterday they will be handed back what is left of their capital – the two funds fell between [...]
BoA Merill in bonuses row June 18, 2009 BANK of America Merrill Lynch (BoA Merrill) was facing a storm over its use of taxpayers’ funds yesterday despite denying reports that it paid out millions of dollars in retention bonuses without having paid back $45bn (£27.5bn) in state loans. The bank’s new vice chairman of investment banking, Fares Noujaim, along with one of its [...]
Philip Scott to leave Aviva as chief exec seeks fresh talent June 18, 2009 PHILIP Scott is leaving his role as chief financial officer and executive director of blue-chip insurer Aviva, as the group looks for a fresh approach to its ongoing restructuring. Scott is stepping down at the end of the year, after 36 years at the firm, as chief executive Andrew Moss continues the group’s overhaul following [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS June 18, 2009 DeloitteThe professional services firm has appointed Mark Carter and Nick Seaver, pictured, to partner in its UK security, privacy and resilience group. Carter joined the firm in 2005, having previously worked for Accenture and BSkyB. Seaver joined in 2002 as a security, technology and control specialist, focusing on the financial services sector. Nomura The Japanese [...]
Ashtead hit by slump June 18, 2009 CONSTRUCTION plant hire group Ashtead yesterday reported a 22 per cent fall in full year profits, but said it has no plans for a fresh equity raising and remains confident despite a tough year ahead for the construction industry. Ashtead, which rents industrial equipment and tools in Britain and the US, said pre-tax profit from [...]
Hospitality: bribery or an essential business tool? June 18, 2009 LOVE it or loathe it corporate hospitality has become a key feature of “The Season”, the collection of traditional English sporting occasions that have become an annual fixture. From Royal Ascot to Henley, Lords to Wimbledon, City bankers, investment managers and other finance professionals will be heading in their droves for the most popular events [...]
Phorm posts a loss as costs rise but says it has enough in reserve June 18, 2009 TARGETED online advertising company Phorm yesterday posted a full-year year loss as costs rose, but said it expected to have adequate resources to continue operations. Its pre-tax loss was $48m(£29.3m) for the year ended 31 December, widening from $32.1m last year. Phorm said that it had cash resources of $23.2m, up from $16.6m in the [...]
Revolt brews at Gemfields June 18, 2009 A GROUP of activist shareholders in miner Gemfields Resources are staging a revolt, claiming the firm’s management is pushing to secure a takeover bid from rival Rox Conduit which substantially undervalues the company. The dissident group believes Gemfields is trying to secure a rapid sale to Rox Conduit, which owns a 63.9 per cent stake [...]
One in four struggle to save due to economic turbulence June 18, 2009 ONE in four people in the UK are unable to put any of their income into savings due to the ongoing financial crisis, new statistics from Nationwide revealed yesterday. The UK’s largest building society said in its Saving Index that 26 per cent of consumers are unable to save their money, while less than half [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS June 18, 2009 ITVRoyal Bank of Scotland upgraded ITV to “buy” from “sell” with a target price of 41p, based on its belief that TV will lead the charge on the advertising recovery, and that ITV will take the lion’s share of the budgets. The broker notes that the balance sheet is slowly being addressed and that the [...]