US politicians at loggerheads on health spending September 30, 2013 LAST night’s bitter debate on a new emergency budget centred on the so-called Obamacare health policy, with Republicans and Democrats both unwilling to back down. Republican leader of the house John Boehner wants to delay the introduction of the policy by a year, as well as repealing a new tax on medical equipment. But President Obama dug [...]
Hedgies on a high despite less shorting September 30, 2013 HEDGE funds have shrunk the value of their bets against FTSE 100 companies to their lowest known level since 2006, indicating a bullish outlook on the future of the UK economy. Fresh figures from data provider Markit shows just over one per cent of FTSE 100 shares were out on loan at the end of [...]
Lloyds could sell Oz assets to Macquarie September 30, 2013 INVESTMENT bank Macquarie has made a final offer of AU$9bn (£5.2bn) for Lloyds Banking Group’s Australian assets, Bloomberg reported last night. If the sale goes ahead it would be the latest in a long line of divestments which have seen the British lender exit overseas markets. Foreign private banking operations have been sold off, along with [...]
M&S director of Asia to leave at end of October September 30, 2013 MARKS & Spencer is to see more changes to its senior management after confirming last night that its Asia regional director is to leave after two years with the company. The high street retail giant said Pascal Martin is to step down at the end of October “to pursue new opportunities outside of the business”. [...]
Business braves Italy mayhem to raise loans September 30, 2013 A SPATE of corporate giants shrugged off European jitters yesterday to tap the bond markets for billions of euros in cash. Luxury brand owner Kering – which owns well known labels such as Gucci, Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney – and the world’s largest postal service Deutsche Post both raised substantial loans from investors despite [...]
Aquis targets November launch date September 30, 2013 AQUIS Exchange, the trading platform which has attracted the attention former Barclays boss Bob Diamond, has told prospective clients it hopes to launch the exchange next month. The company, which has been set up by former Chi-X chief executive Alasdair Haynes, wrote to potential customers last week telling them it hoped the trading platform would [...]
GLI Finance mulls new listing September 30, 2013 Business lender GLI Finance yesterday said it would consider hiving off its collateralised loan obligations (CLO) portfolio and listing it on the stock market. The firm, which lends to small and medium sized enterprises, said a move to separate the CLO portion of the business would reduce risk and give greater certainty for investors.
Blackstar hit by Rand plunge September 30, 2013 Blackstar Group, the London listed South African finance firm, yesterday said a weakened Rand was to blame for a £7m hit to shareholders. Net asset value fell from 101p per share to 91p for the six months ending June due to a nine per cent Rand slide. Blackstar owns a variety of firms including Times [...]
Axa private equity renamed September 30, 2013 Axa Private Equity yesterday completed its carve out from parent company Axa Group, renaming the business Ardian. The name is derived from the word hardjan, used in age old European languages, which it says “embodies a sense of courage and signifies a code of behaviour which all fit well with the culture of the company”.
Eurostar and Keolis to bid for East Coast line September 30, 2013 TWO COMPANIES backed by France’s national railway have launched a joint bid to run the East Coast main line, which is due be re-privatised by the government before the next general election. Eurostar and Keolis, which are both majority-owned by SNCF, announced yesterday that they intend to compete for the rail franchise – the first [...]