Wincanton wins WH Smith work January 13, 2014 Wincanton has been given a three-year extension to its transport management contract with WH Smith, the logistics firm announced yesterday. The contract covers WH Smith hubs in Swindon, Dunstable and Birmingham and extends the Chippenham-based firm’s 20-year relationship with the high street retailer. David McKinlay, supply chain director at WH Smith, cited Wincanton’s ability to [...]
Optimal Payments beats forecasts January 13, 2014 Optimal Payments, the online payments provider, said yesterday it expects revenue for 2013 to be ahead of market expectations. The firm said that reported revenue for the full year should not be less than $245m (£149.4m), up from $179m a year ago. Optimal Payments also launched a US online payment solution for newly regulated online [...]
Petrofac division chief to depart January 13, 2014 FTSE 100-quoted oil and gas services provider Petrofac yesterday said that Andy Inglis, chief executive of its Integrated Energy Services (IES) business, will be leaving the company at the end of February. Inglis has been hired as the new chairman and chief executive of US-listed Kosmos Energy. Rob Jewkes, currently managing director of developments for [...]
City Moves for 14 January 2014 | Who’s switching jobs January 13, 2014 Saxo Bank The online trading and investment provider has announced the appointment of Matteo Cassina as global head of institutional business. He was formerly head of total trader at Merrill Lynch, and president of Citadel Execution Services. BNP Paribas Real Estate The real estate investment firm has recruited Simon Bailey as chief operating officer. He has [...]
Best of the Brokers for 14 January 2014 January 13, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com BAE SYSTEMS UBS analysts are upbeat on BAE, highlighting it as their favourite pick from the European aerospace and defence sector. They have a “buy” rating on the stock and hiked their target price from 475p to 510p, citing a likely Saudi price [...]
London Report: Banks lift FTSE as new leverage rules welcomed January 13, 2014 ARALLY in banking shares helped the FTSE 100 rise to a two-month closing high yesterday as investors welcomed the prospect of lighter rules on leverage for the sector. Supermarket WM Morrison was the top FTSE gainer on speculation it may sell some property and return some of the proceeds to shareholders, while oil and gas [...]
New York Report: Fears of weak earnings news hits US stocks January 13, 2014 US stocks tumbled yesterday on caution ahead of corporate results, as mounting negative pre-announcements left a lacklustre profit growth outlook. Wall Street has seen a slow start to the year following a gangbusters 2013. After the S&P 500’s jump of almost 30 per cent last year, its forward price-to-earnings ratio is the highest in nearly [...]
Want to find love? This map might be your best shot January 13, 2014 It can be tricky to find that special someone, but this map could help. Single hot spots? More than half population of Islington, Manchester and Nottingham are single #becauseitsfriday pic.twitter.com/jTFErGMjTk — Johnny Morris (@Hamptons_JM) January 10, 2014 Put together by Johnny Morris, head of research at Hamptons International, this visualisation could be the lonely [...]
US weather unlikely to hit first quarter GDP – but that’s not necessarily good news January 13, 2014 While freezing cold was given for the blame for Friday's poor jobs data, Deutsche Bank's chief US economist Joseph LaVorgna doesn't think we'll see the weather "meaningfully dampen current quarter GDP." But LaVorgna does warn that it is "way too early to say with any precision". This doesn't mean that the weather isn't bad news [...]
Bitcoin tax review could make cryptocurrency transactions much cheaper January 13, 2014 Next month Bitcoin and other virtual currencies could become even more attractive to UK investors and retailers looking to accept them as payment. Bitcoin could find its tax status changed to a ‘private money’ by the end of February as part of HMRC’s review of the tax liability of electronic currencies. Transactions in Bitcoin are [...]