Goldman Sachs lifts lid on top UK stock picks to rally next year November 20, 2014 GOLDMAN Sachs yesterday laid out its closely watched forecasts for 2015, with FTSE giants Crest Nicholson, BT and Arm among stocks it believes would soar in the next 12 months. The influential bank, which publishes stock research for large City clients giving investment ideas, published its conviction buys yesterday, written by a team of analysts [...]
Record results for Gatwick as it seeks to grow November 20, 2014 GATWICK airport revealed record passenger numbers and a strong set of results yesterday, as the debate over whether to expand it or its rival Heathrow hots up. Despite a drop in pre-tax profit, owing to accounting adjustments, the group posted an 8.6 per cent increase in turnover to £391.6m and profit before tax of £122.4m. [...]
Investec bank profits surge as legacy of financial crisis fades November 20, 2014 Anglo-South African bank Investec reported strong profits for the six months to September yesterday, overcoming a fall in the rand. Impairments fell by more than 20 per cent on the year, and are down to one-fifth of their £320m level seen three years ago, as the bank moves on from the financial crisis. Pre-tax operating profits [...]
Board of BlackRock Hedge Fund Selector considering liquidation November 20, 2014 MONOLITH US investment manager BlackRock is considering closing its £34m BlackRock Hedge Selector trust as it nears the end of a shareholder consultation, the company said in a statement yesterday. The board of the trust – formerly run by fund manager Richard Plackett – started the consultation in early September to review the trust’s investment [...]
Bank of England fines RBS over payments crash November 20, 2014 NEGLECTED IT systems could put the safety and soundness of RBS at risk, the Bank of England warned yesterday as it teamed up with the City watchdog to fine the bank £56m. The regulators were investigating a serious payments system crash, which locked millions of customers out of their accounts in mid-2012. It is a [...]
Close Brothers property success outweighs weak markets income November 20, 2014 FINANCE house Close Brothers reported strong property finance incomes in the first quarter of its financial year, benefiting from the UK’s economic recovery. Its asset finance arm also performed well, taking the loan book across the two units up 2.3 per cent to £5.4bn. Its asset management arm held steady in the three months to 31 [...]
Regulators come under fire as MPs debate money creation November 20, 2014 THE QUESTION of who should be allowed to create money was debated by MPs yesterday. While the MPs present agreed on the macroeconomic significance of the money supply and applauded the debate, they disagreed on whether too much or too little money was the current problem. They also agreed regulators had neglected the important topic. “Whenever [...]
Thomas Cook’s Harriet Green would like to be fired by herself hears Inspiring Women conference November 20, 2014 Thomas Cook chief executive Harriet Green really wishes she could be a Buddhist. The travel boss, who gets up at 3.30am every morning to start work and laments that Thomas Cook doesn’t have an Asian business so she could hit the phones in the very early hours, believes deeply in Buddhist humanism but just can’t [...]
BBC’s Nick Robinson brings political gags to WPA lunch to the Grosvenor Hotel on Park Lane November 20, 2014 It was a tight squeeze in the Grosvenor Hotel on Park Lane yesterday as the Westminster Property Association (WPA) held its annual lunch, with more than 1,000 attendees from the likes of Land Securities, Grosvenor Estate and the Crown Estate. “We’re really selective about our membership, as you can see from the room today,” laughed [...]
PwC restructuring ladies take over Fortnum & Mason for a night November 20, 2014 WEDNESDAY night saw the ladies from PwC’s restructuring team enjoy their fourth annual “Culinary Christmas Cracker” event at the epicurean bazaar of Fortnum & Mason. They were joined by guest speaker Jo Fairley, one of the founders of the Green & Blacks chocolate brand (pictured, far right with Heather Swanston, leader of the refinancing and [...]