Charity Day lures celebs including Lindsay Lohan, Davina McCall, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and Joanna Lumley to BGC Partners’ trading floor September 12, 2016 BGC Partners’ trading floor was overrun by comedians, Olympians, film stars and London’s mayor yesterday at the brokerage’s annual charity fundraising day. The gaggle of celebs roaming BGC’s labyrinth of computer screens and phone speakers to clinch the cash for this year’s charities included actor Tom Hardy, garden-bridge pusher Joanna Lumley, supermodel Jodie Kidd, TV [...]
Bank of England corporate bond buying details unveiled September 12, 2016 Electricity companies are set to be big winners from the Bank of England's upcoming corporate bond buying programme, according to official documents published this afternoon. Threadneedle Street has unveiled the details of its £10bn money-printing programme which will see it buy high-quality company bonds, with one-quarter set to be channelled to electricity companies such as [...]
Canadian fertiliser firms Potash Corp of Saskatchewan and Agrium Inc agree to mega-merger September 12, 2016 Canada's Potash Corp of Saskatchewan and Agrium Inc are set to merge in a deal that will create one of the world's largest crop fertiliser companies with an enterprise value of around $36bn (£27bn). The combination entity of Potash, which is the world's biggest crop nutrient company by capacity, and Agrium, the largest farm retailer in North [...]
UK private equity firm’s shares leap after £1bn US takeover offer September 12, 2016 UK private equity company SVG Capital’s share price jumped 15 per cent today after US rival HarbourVest made a more than £1bn takeover offer. The all-cash offer of 650p per share values existing issued share capital at around £1.015bn. The company said the offer is “highly attractive”, saying it represents a 14.7 per cent premium on SVG’s [...]
Travellers opt for urban luxury as posh hostel group Safestay doubles revenues September 12, 2016 Luxury hostel group Safestay's share price suffered today after it said headwinds in the London market will affect full-year trading, despite revenues increasing two-fold in the first half of the year. The figures Revenues at Safestay, which operates premium hostels in Elephant and Castle, Holland Park, York and Edinburgh, rose to £3.29m in the six [...]
David Davis thinks the Brexit talks will be the “most complicated negotiation of modern times” September 12, 2016 Brexit secretary David Davis has said the upcoming negotiations over the UK's exit from the European Union could be the most difficult diplomatic endeavour ever undertaken. Speaking in front of a House of Lords committee, Davis said: "This is likely to be the most complicated negotiation in modern times, maybe the most complicated negotiation of [...]
Buyers beware: Is the central bank credibility crunch point approaching? September 12, 2016 Market contrarians continue to close out their short positions on stocks, bonds and risk currencies as buying supports market levels, record low bond yields and emerging market assets. But can central banks continue to win the confidence game and herd investors into riskier trades, or will the credibility of Draghi, Kuroda, Carney and Yellen ultimately be [...]
Football film starring Martine McCutcheon and Alan Davies crowdfunds to find back of the net September 12, 2016 The maker of an independent British film starring Alan Davies and Martine McCutcheon has turned to the crowd as it seeks funding for the production. ItchyFishFilm is aiming to raise £640,000 to support production of the film and has already secured £305,000 from a lead investor group fronted by Bolton Wanderers Football Club chairman Ken Anderson. Read [...]
City firms carry on hiring through Brexit uncertainty September 12, 2016 London’s firms are still taking on staff despite the uncertainty caused by June’s referendum, two new surveys of the capital’s businesses have found. Recruitment outfit Manpower said the number of employers planning to hire more staff in the final three months of the year has increased, taking London to second place on the nationwide league [...]
Marks & Spencer loses another senior executive as Laura Wade-Gery steps down September 12, 2016 Marks & Spencer has confirmed the woman who oversaw the launch of its website is stepping down. In a statement today the retailer said Laura Wade-Gery, its executive director of multi-channel, will not return from maternity leave. Wade-Gery, who oversaw the rocky launch of M&S' website last year, will step down from the board immediately, and [...]