THE TIPSTER December 22, 2010 Although BSkyB and News Corp have been in the news recently because of political upheavals, the big decision has been announced and News Corp has received EC approval for a £7.8bn buyout of BSkyB. BSkyB’s shares have already jumped in response to the news, confirming investor approval. Along with strong promotions such as three months [...]
Banks give FTSE a boost as pre-Christmas rally continues December 22, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading share index pushed higher yesterday, supported by gains from banks as reports China is ready to buy Portuguese bonds eased European debt concerns. At the close, the FTSE 100 was up 31.69 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 5,983.49, edging ever closer towards the 6,000 level last seen in June 2008. The blue [...]
Bullish mood helps to drive Wall St up December 22, 2010 THE S&P 500 rose yesterday to its highest level since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, led by bank stocks that have leapfrogged other sectors in December. The banks – epicentre of the credit crisis two years ago – led indexes higher as a December run helped keep the market’s year-end rally afloat. The KBW Bank [...]
Surviving trial by canape December 22, 2010 THINK of a job interview and you probably imagine something like the more frightening parts of The Apprentice, where you are confronted with a panel of beady-eyed people who fire questions at you. But for many City jobs an integral part of the process is meeting in a social situation, either a meal or a [...]
How to evaluate a new project in five minutes flat December 22, 2010 IF you’ve ever watched TV hospital dramas, you’ll know that scene where the crash cart comes through the door and the doctor checks for the patient’s vital signs. Just as people have vital signs, so do projects. Assessing them quickly is a vital skill, and immediately gives you a view on whether something is likely [...]
Odd jobs December 22, 2010 IT’S a busy time for us, the run up to Christmas, because we have six companies coming in for their carol concerts, big banks and law firms, and the local school also comes. Midnight mass on Christmas eve is the big one for us, and that is mostly for locals, we get about 150 or [...]
Breaking up is hard to do: partnership gets tricky when you’re asked to leave December 21, 2010 TINA WILLIAMS AND DANIEL SUTHERLAND WHEN is a partner not a partner? That was the question posed to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in the recent case of Tiffin v Lester Aldridge. It has long been accepted that employees can be given the title of partner without this affecting their status as salaried employees. Less [...]
Stockholm Syndrome and Dementors rule the law December 21, 2010 A HARD year for the City’s legal market is drawing to a close, and lawyers at those firms that haven’t cancelled their Christmas parties are looking forward to a booze-filled lead up to the New Year. And giving their two cents in RollOnFriday’s annual Firm of the Year survey. There seems to be little festive [...]
Currency wars and rate hikes: another year in emerging FX December 21, 2010 CHEAP money and attractive returns have seen investors plough their money into emerging market currencies. Yet hot money inflows have forced currency appreciation despite authorities’ best efforts at capital controls and other methods of weakening their exchange rates. Thanks to highly accommodative monetary policy in the West and efforts to remain competitive among the emerging [...]
FOREX ANALYST PICKS December 21, 2010 FOREX STRATEGIST ILYA SPIVAK My pick: Stay long dollar-yen Expertise: Global macro Average time frame of trades: 1 week-6 months I bought dollar-yen at ¥83.08 in mid-November expecting the pair to rise along with US Treasury yields after the size of the Federal Reserve’s QE matched expectations and opened the door for profit-taking. Prices pulled [...]
