Charles Li tells Santa all about big bad Alibaba December 22, 2014 Writing a letter to Santa is pretty standard at this time of year, mostly for those between the age of four and nine. But penning a note to Little Saint Nick isn’t beyond some middle-aged finance chiefs, The Capitalist hears. Charles Li, the chief executive of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, has written a [...]
Why Santa should get annuity December 22, 2014 Meanwhile, in other Santa Claus news, thanks to the good folks over at Hargreaves Lansdown, the burning question of whether Santa should get an annuity has been answered. The Bristol-based boffins have delved into the fat man’s vital statistics and come up trumps. But it wasn’t without its challenges. “Mythology tells us Father Christmas [...]
Art is long and life is short: Pop art policies December 22, 2014 DO YOU know where your life insurance policy is? According to Beagle Street, the life insurance arm of Compare The Market, most people have no idea where their important paper work is stored. To tackle this heinous truth, Beagle has hidden its policies in some specially commissioned artworks – that way you’ll always know where [...]
New director named at Gulf Keystone December 22, 2014 OIL FIRM Gulf Keystone has appointed Maria Darby-Walker as a non-executive director. Darby-Walker, who has counselled the boards of Rio Tinto, Cadbury, Rolls-Royce and Allen & Overy, as well as the Financial Conduct Authority, takes up her new role immediately.
Phoenix Equity Partners takes majority stake in Riviera Travel December 22, 2014 UK MIDDLE-market private equity firm Phoenix Equity Partners yesterday announced it had taken a majority stake in Riviera Travel, a British provider of escorted tour holidays and river cruises. Although terms were not disclosed, the deal is reported to be worth £130m. Riviera was advised on the transaction by PwC and Wragge Lawrence Graham & [...]
Thames Water awards contracts December 22, 2014 CONSTRUCTION firms Kier Group and Clancy Docwra have been named, in a joint venture, as a preferred bidder for Thames Water’s new £1bn alliance. The joint venture, KCD, will work alongside Agility, which comprises of J Murphy & Sons and Morrison Utility Services. The contract is expected to commence in April 2015 and will run [...]
Late pay by big companies is taking its toll on smaller firms December 22, 2014 LATE payments are placing a strain on the finances of small and medium-sized companies, new survey data shows today. Of the 925 firms surveyed, 66 per cent said they had experienced issues with late payments of invoices, according to data released by the Institute of Directors (IoD). Excessively bureaucratic payments systems were cited as the [...]
City Moves for 23 December 2014 | Who’s switching jobs December 22, 2014 KPMG The professional services firm has announced the promotion of Jane McCormick (pictured), head of tax and pensions at KPMG in the UK, to head of tax for its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMA) region. She will also become a member of its EMA board and senior tax partner for KPMG in the UK. In [...]
Best of the Brokers for 23 December 2014 December 22, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com STRATEX INTERNATIONAL Northland Capital Partners reiterated its “buy” rating, following “disappointing” news that unseasonal heavy rain at its Altintepe site had interfered with the construction schedule. However, the broker added that “it is more significant that the company will be moving to producer [...]
FTSE closes up for a fifth day in spite of volatility in oil firms – London Report December 22, 2014 THE FTSE 100 yesterday held on to gains as its pre-Christmas rally continued for a fifth consecutive trading session. However, oil-related stocks went from being among the best performers in morning trade to among the worst by the close as the oil price again failed to hold on to an early rise. In low trading [...]