Family Building Society strikes gold with client October 14, 2014 Gold bugs may get a hard time from us cash-is-king-ites and they certainly didn’t have a great start to the month, with the gold price falling to a four-year low. But sometimes they can use their reserves as more than expensive door stoppers. The Family Building Society was contacted recently with regards to its family [...]
SABMiller’s Asia beer volumes get China chills October 14, 2014 PERONI and Carling brewer SABMiller saw poor summer weather in China hit its larger sales in the second quarter, while strong soft drink sales and higher prices helped to support revenue growth of five per cent during the second quarter to 30 September. SAB has been trying to offset sluggish growth in developed markets by [...]
Dragon Oil reports production growth and Algeria bid success October 14, 2014 Dragon Oil confirmed yesterday in its interim management statement that it was still in detailed discussions concerning a bid for Irish company Petroceltic. According to the company’s report for the third quarter of 2014, it completed six new wells during the period, and increased production by 9.6 per cent compared with the level in the [...]
Amazon debuts same-day pick up service at 500 newsagents, corner shops and London Tube stations October 14, 2014 Online retail giant Amazon will this morning announce a same-day pick-up service in partnership with Connect Group’s newspaper and magazine distribution arm, Smiths News. The service will let customers order goods from Amazon as late as 11.45am for collection at one of 500 newsagents or corner stores from 4pm later that day. “This is our [...]
Waterstones still able to book a place in nation’s hearts – Brand Index October 14, 2014 Once a regular fixture on the high street, growing competition from online retailers, supermarkets and the rise of e-books is taking its toll on booksellers – even on chains such as Waterstones. Established in 1982 by Tim Waterstone, the bookseller expanded rapidly until being sold in 1993 to WH Smith. Then it changed hands several times [...]
Expedia takeover of Wotif faces New Zealand competition hurdle October 14, 2014 The takeover of Australian travel firm Wotif by US-listed Expedia hit a snag yesterday after regulators in New Zealand delayed a green light for the deal. Shares in Wotif, listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, fell more than seven per cent after the New Zealand Commerce Commission put the announcement on ice. US travel group [...]
Ashmore fails to shake off strife in emerging market economies October 14, 2014 ASHMORE Group, the emerging markets-focused fund manager, failed to stem the tide of outflows last quarter, as a strong dollar compounded the firm’s woes. Shares in the FTSE 250 company fell to a four-year low during trading, after dropping more than two per cent. Shares closed at 295.3p. The business, founded by billionaire emerging markets [...]
City Moves for 15 October 2014 | Who’s switching jobs October 14, 2014 Quinn Emanuel Boris Bronfentrinker has been appointed partner in the law firm’s London office. He joins from claimant competition litigation firm Hausfeld & Co, where he was a partner. Bronfentrinker has also previously worked in Freshfield Bruckhaus Deringer’s competition practice. Capital Generation Partners Cliff Wood has been appointed head of reporting and investment analytics at [...]
Best of the Brokers for 15 October 2014 October 14, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com DIRECT LINE With an interim management statement due from the insurance giant at the end of the month, analysts at Canaccord Genuity have maintained their “buy” rating and target price of 282p. The IMS was not expected to contain an update on cost reductions, [...]
Miners and robust US results help to lift FTSE off slump – London Report October 14, 2014 A RISE in major mining stocks, yesterday coupled with solid US corporate results, enabled Britain’s top equity index to rise off 15-month lows. The FTSE 100 index had been pegged back near those lows for much of the day, but then rose after the US stock market was boosted by robust results from Citigroup and [...]