Eurozone bond purchases could still disappoint January 11, 2015 ECONOMISTS warn there is still room for disappointment regarding a new European government bond purchases – or quantitative easing (QE) – despite expectations that one is guaranteed in the near future. A ruling on a 2012 emergency government bond buying programme by the European Court of Justice – due on Wednesday – could lead to [...]
Government makes hefty return on tax investigation investment January 11, 2015 INVESTIGATIONS into the tax affairs of large businesses is yielding more revenue, figures released today reveal. The high rate of return on tax investigations may also prompt greater investment into them, which could create uncertainty for businesses, a law firm has warned. The total amount of revenue collected by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) from [...]
UK housebuilder signs deal to build mansions in Middle East January 11, 2015 BRITISH housebuilder Consero has joined forces with one of Oman’s biggest property companies to build £300m of mansions and apartments in Oman and the rest over the Middle East over the next five years. The developer said yesterday it has created a joint venture with the Al Raid group, which is owned by the Al [...]
Financial firms’ demand boosts IT sector growth January 11, 2015 THE UK’s IT sector is booming with the number of companies growing by 15,000 in 2014. There were 321,000 in 2014, up from 306,000 in 2013, according to data released today by IT accountants NoPalaver. The figure marks an annual jump of five per cent. NoPalaver attributes the rise to “FinTech” applications and “Big Data”. [...]
City Moves for 12 January 2015 | Who’s switching jobs January 11, 2015 PwC Legal The professional services firm’s legal division has announced the appointment of Mick Gorrill. He is a data protection practitioner and, as assistant information commissioner at the Information Commissioner’s Office, he oversaw the introduction of data protection fines into law. RBC Wealth Management The wealth manager has announced the appointment of Antony Johnson as [...]
Best of the Brokers for 12 January 2015 January 11, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com HILTON FOOD GROUP Numis reiterated its “buy” rating following a “very satisfactory” full year update. The broker noted that “everything is on track”, including the firm’s Tesco-related expansion, and pointed to good progress in its Australian joint venture. Target price is unchanged at [...]
Inflation falling after price wars over Christmas – London week ahead January 11, 2015 CONSUMER price inflation figures for December, due out tomorrow, will shine a light on to what extent falling oil prices and intense retail competition have boosted spending power in the UK. Analysts says the fall in inflation is likely to have been tempered by the fact that there was more retail discounting than usual in [...]
Investors keen to see if retail up after oil hit – The week ahead on Wall St January 11, 2015 INVESTORS hope the lower gasoline cost is putting more money in consumers’ wallets for spending on apparel and other retail goods. The next two weeks will indicate whether that’s happening. The coming weeks, as the fourth-quarter earnings season gets underway, are among the more active periods of the year for retailers to issue earnings pre-announcements. [...]
Shire to acquire NPS Pharma in $5.2bn merger January 11, 2015 UK company Shire is to aquire with NPS Pharmaceuticals, according to a statement by the companies. The two have entered into a merger agreement, with Shire buying all outstanding NPS shares for $46 (£30.48) each, with the total said to be at $5.2bn. According to the statement, Shire will look to accelerate NPS Pharma’s innovative [...]
Trouble for Ukip? Poll shows most Brits think the UK is better off in the EU January 11, 2015 The majority of Brits think the UK would be better off staying in the EU, according to a YouGov poll for The Times. The poll asked what effect respondents believed a so-called “Brexit” would have on the UK. YouGov asked people if they thought Britain would have more or less influence abroad if it were to [...]