MINING AND OIL POPULAR SECTORS November 25, 2009 ALEXANDRE HOUPERTHEAD OF LISTED PRODUCTS UK, SG CORPORATE & INVESTMENT BANKING IN THE current market climate, investors might be afraid of choosing single stocks and exposing themselves to all the risk that cherry picking entails. Instead, they are increasingly choosing to take out a position on a sector in order to spread the risk. We’ve [...]
Downturn will be the golden age for the CFO November 25, 2009 THE current worldwide downturn is shining a spotlight on the role of the modern chief financial officer (CFO). Companies are now placing far greater reliance on the CFO’s advice and understanding than they have done in the past. Finance leaders and their teams are now seen as a valuable resource to guide companies through the [...]
Negotiation is the only way to resolve pension scheme trouble November 25, 2009 BAKER TILLYBRUCE MACKAY FOR all but a lucky few, final salary pension provision is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. Already in inexorable decline as companies struggled to manage the escalating costs of gold-plated pension schemes, the recent challenging economic environment has accelerated fund closure, and not just for new members but to all [...]
THE LONDON REPORT November 25, 2009 A flurry of US economic data and a rebound in metals prices helped push Britain’s top share index to a higher close yesterday, with Compass Group topping the blue-chip gainers list after results. The FTSE 100 ended up 40.85 points, or 0.8 per cent at 5,364.81, following a 0.6 per cent decline on Tuesday. Miners [...]
Pre-budget tax rises are likely to hit City workers November 24, 2009 WE HAVE all become accustomed to woe-filled stories about the economy. Last week’s headlines included news of a budget deficit of over £11bn for the month, or £87bn in the fiscal year to date. Attempts to bridge the gap through better enforcement of existing tax laws may not be helping – rumours suggest that HM [...]
ANTI-BRIBERY RULES TO GET EVEN TOUGHER November 24, 2009 TOM EPPSPARTNER, RUSSELL JONES & WALKER BEFORElast week, some might have suspected the wave of criminal investigations into corporate corruption over the last 12 months was a blip. The inclusion of the Bribery Bill in the Queen’s Speech, however, should convince everybody that such investigations are here to stay. The bill, which is understood to [...]
The FSA must make sure that its tough new approach doesn’t backfire November 24, 2009 FINANCIAL services firms have come under the increasingly intense gaze of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in recent months. Its supervisory approach has changed dramatically as a result of the credit crisis. The upshot of this is that the risks for somebody who is FSA authorised, or is an “approved person” at an FSA authorised [...]
London market falls on back of revised USGDP figures November 24, 2009 BRITIAN’S leading share index ended 0.6 percent lower yesterday, with sentiment dampened by data showing the United States economy grew at a slower pace than previously thought, pressuring banks and commodity stocks. The FTSE index ended 31.54 points lower at 5,323.96, reversing earlier gains, to mirror falls on Wall Street after third quarter US economic [...]
Wall St dips despite the Fed’s bullishness November 24, 2009 US stocks fell yesterday on lacklustre economic data in a session marked by low volume and choppy trading, but losses eased after the Federal Reserve raised its expectations for growth in 2010. Stocks fell early in the session as revised government data on gross domestic product showed the US economy grew at a slower-than-expected pace [...]
A pound-euro rally is possible, despite GDP November 24, 2009 BRITAIN’S inability to emerge from recession in the third quarter was both a shock and a bitter disappointment. Traders had been widely expecting the economy to grow in the three months to September, albeit at an extremely slow pace. As a result of the unexpected contraction, sterling dropped more than a cent against the greenback [...]