Builders set for mega loss on portfolios September 8, 2008 Homebuilders Barratt and Redrow are expected to report a £300m loss on their portfolios later this week. Barratt chief executive Mark Clare will announce they had to write £160m off the value of their land bank and work in progress. Despite Barratt boosting its shares earlier in the summer when refinancing debts and covenants, shares [...]
Nationwide merger will suit all sides September 8, 2008 Nationwide’s merger with The Derbyshire Building Society and The Cheshire Building Society, which was confirmed yesterday, will see it stretch its lead at the top of the list of UK mortgage lenders. The tie-up will hand the building society an extra 95 branches to add to the 900 retail locations it already operates, reinforcing its [...]
Sometimes, the casino seems the only way forward September 8, 2008 Tune into today’s media and what do we hear about almost every day? Recession, recession and recession. But I invite you to take a walk into the casino. Look around and you would be forgiven to think that money was just growing on trees. Money is thrown onto tables as punters take a gamble on [...]
Renewables fund raises £57m equity September 8, 2008 One of Europe’s largest green venture capital funds is to be raised by London-based WHEB Ventures, it will today be announced. Some of Britain’s most prominent business families, including Lord (Jacob) Rothschild of the banking dynasty and Simon Robertson, Rolls Royce chairman and former head of Goldman Sachs Europe, have already invested in the Cleantech [...]
Jon Moulton: why making money is my hobby as well as my profession September 5, 2008 The City’s most outspoken private equity chief talks to Katie Hope about the credit crunch At a time when most of the financial services sector is in despair over how bad the economic crisis is, Jon Moulton can barely contain his glee. He estimates the credit crunch will go on for “at least two years” [...]
Why equities have further to fall before they eventually recover September 5, 2008 Despite a strong August, investors must remain very cautious, warns Abigail Townsend For the City’s dwindling band of optimists, August was a surprisingly good month. After hefty falls for most of the summer, the FTSE 100 rallied from lows of below 5,100 in early July to close at 5,362 yesterday, a 5.14 per cent gain [...]
Boeing’s largest union votes to strike over pay and health benefits September 5, 2008 The largest union of American plane maker Boeing has rejected a new contract over pay and conditions, giving the management 48 hours to improve the deal or face a damaging strike. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said in Seattle last night that 80 per cent of the voters opposed the contract and [...]
Co-founder of RAB stands aside as CEO September 5, 2008 Philp Richards, the co-founder of troubled hedge fund RAB Capital, is stepping down as chief executive to focus exclusively on its special situations fund. RAB shares have plunged 37 per cent in the last six months after being hit by a series of bad investments – including a significant shareholding in beleaguered Northern Rock– and [...]
Woes aid Whitbread September 5, 2008 Whitbread, Britain’s biggest hotel and restaurants operator, yesterday emerged as a rare winner in the consumer slowdown, revealing a boost in sales in the first half of this year. Whitbread’s Premier Inn budget hotel chain accounts for about 70 per cent of total profits. Premier Inn had total sales up 17.9 per cent and like-for-like [...]
Dispute ends as BP loses its man in Russia September 5, 2008 The Long-running dispute between BP and its Russian partners at joint venture TNK-BP drew to a close yesterday, after the two signed a deal which paves the way for floating up to 20 per cent of the company. But the embattled chief executive Bob Dudley, who was chosen by BP, will get the chop – [...]
