Morrisons drops out as pharma boosts FTSE 100 – London Report December 3, 2015 The FTSE 100 index closed up last night, buoyed by pharmaceuticals that were given a boost from a Morgan Stanley note supporting AstraZeneca. The UK’s top blue-chip index closed up 0.4 per cent, at 6,420.93 points. Shire led the pack higher, closing 2.35 per cent up at 4,745p per share, while GlaxoSmithKline ended the session [...]
Cantor Fitzgerald, Investec, UBS: Best of the Brokers for 03 December 2015 December 3, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com Cantor Fitzgerald has remained a “seller” of Mothercare stock with a target price of 135p, despite the company more than doubling UK profits in the first half. It believes it will struggle to meet the lower end of management’s 2019 underlying pre-tax profit [...]
M&G chief explodes bombshell in pay debate December 3, 2015 Campaigners against high boardroom pay might balk at the notion of taking advice from a City grandee who landed a package worth £5.4m last year – but Michael McLintock is worth hearing out. McLintock, chief executive of the £250bn asset manager M&G Investments, has floated an idea whose explosiveness is only exacerbated by his status. During [...]
Bookie Ladbrokes loses £54m gamble on tax avoidance scheme, as tribunal finds in favour of HMRC December 2, 2015 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced today that it had won a tax avoidance case worth £54m against Ladbrokes. The ruling at the first-tier tribunal prevents the bookmakers from reclaiming £54m in tax, and the tax authority has said it has another three similar cases in the pipeline worth £112m. “Avoidance just doesn’t pay – we [...]
Aberdeen Asset Management said to be further diversifing as Bank of England backs stress tests December 2, 2015 Aberdeen Asset Management, having recorded outflows of £12.6bn over the three months to the end of September, is reportedly eyeing up bond fund manager Rogge Global Partners. Aberdeen is one of three potential firms that could bid for Rogge, following financial services group Old Mutual putting it up for sale, it was yesterday reported by [...]
Oprah Winfrey’s probably not becoming an Avon lady, but rumours the TV star is buying a stake in the company drive share prices up December 2, 2015 Rumours that media mogul Oprah Winfrey is purchasing a stake in cosmetics company Avon have been doing the rounds today, causing shares in the cosmetics company to rocket by 17 per cent. However, after all the fuss, CNBC revealed that it was unlikely to be true, tweeting from its CNBC Now account that a spokesperson for the [...]
UK shoppers to splash out £20.3bn on groceries this Christmas December 2, 2015 British shoppers are on course to spend £20.3bn on groceries over the festive period, an increase of 1.4 per cent on the £20bn spent in 2014, according to research from IGD. The grocery industry body said shoppers are feeling more upbeat about Christmas this year, with almost a fifth (19 per cent) of people surveyed [...]
Luxury boat builder Fairline goes into administration, just two months after being sold by Better Capital December 2, 2015 Luxury boat builder Fairline has well and truly entered choppy waters, as the company has gone into administration. Restructuring firm FRP Advisory revealed today that Geoff Rowley and Alastair Massey of the firm had been appointed joint administrators. The administration announcement comes just two months after the shareholding in Fairline was sold by Better Capital [...]
Morrisons is kicked out of the FTSE 100 after nearly 15 years at the top, along with Meggitt and G4S December 2, 2015 Supermarket chain Morrisons has been kicked out of the elite ranks of the FTSE 100 after nearly 15 years, joining other fallers including Meggitt and G4S. The London Stock Exchange’s quarterly review of the index confirmed that the grocer has fallen to 109th place in the ranking of the UK’s largest companies. Morrisons’ shares closed down 0.2 [...]
Smartphone security software provider Defenx will finally launch on London Stock Exchange’s AIM market tomorrow after £2.1m fundraising last week December 2, 2015 Defenx, the smartphone security software business, is finally set to launch on the London Stock Exchange's junior AIM market after delays this week pushed back its admission. The company raised £2.1m in a new share placing at the end of last week. The 1.4m ordinary shares were priced at 148p, meaning Defenx has 6.1m shares issued [...]