BoAML clinches broker remit for insurer RSA January 28, 2013 BANK of America Merrill Lynch has beaten off strong competition from rivals, including Barclays and UBS, to become new joint brokers to RSA, the insurance giant. BoAML is replacing Deutsche Bank as joint broker alongside JP Morgan for the group which has changed its advisory line-up following the appointments of Simon Lee as chief executive and [...]
More closures expected in town centres January 28, 2013 THE UK high street’s woes will not let up in coming months, and rents will continue to fall, according to a survey out this morning. A glut of unoccupied floor space and continued weakness in retail demand will hold rents down, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) survey suggested. Some 22 per cent more [...]
Bond boom gathers pace as big firms tap markets for finance January 28, 2013 BRITAIN’S largest firms are issuing increasing levels of bonds, Bank of England figures showed yesterday, illustrating the sharp shift away from bank debt towards the markets. Corporate bond issuance came in just shy of £70bn in 2012, according to the Asset Purchase Facility (APF) quarterly report, from under £40bn in 2011 and under £30bn in [...]
80,000 face tripled stamp duty January 28, 2013 A tenth of home buyers in England and Wales may be clobbered with a tripling in stamp duty this year, London Central Portfolio said yesterday. Houses bought for over £250,000 face stamp duty of three per cent – versus just one per cent for those under the boundary. But the UK’s average house price climbed [...]
Fitch says AAA risk gone after deal January 28, 2013 The short-term risk to the US federal government’s vaunted AAA rating has dissipated after warring government bodies managed to pass a debt ceiling deal, Fitch said yesterday. But the ratings behemoth warned that the recent deal only solved the short-term issues, and reform remained necessary to “place public finances on a sustainable path.”
UK inflation expectations tick up January 28, 2013 The UK public’s forecasts for inflation ticked up in January, according to a YouGov poll out yesterday. Respondents think inflation will be 2.8 per cent over the coming year, up from 2.7 per cent in December – and 0.8 percentage points above the Bank of England’s target. Over the next five to 10 years the [...]
Ex-investment bankers hatch a plan for apps January 28, 2013 YET another duo have thrown in the proverbial banking towel, and gone it alone as entrepreneurs. Former Summit Partners venture capitalist Rytis Vitkauskas and ex-Goldman Sachs strategist Viktoras Jucikas both quit the City last year to found YPlan, a London-based events app that was designed with time-poor former City colleagues in mind. The pair, tired [...]
Teenage intern has sights set on rising the ranks of the City January 28, 2013 THERE are certainly no shortages of age going hand-in-hand with wisdom in the City, or so we are led to believe. However The Capitalist has news of perhaps the youngest worker in the heart of the Square Mile. Jake McMullen, who is a whipper-snapping 17 years old, has been taken on by the City of [...]
Venture capital deals plummet across Europe January 28, 2013 VENTURE capitalists (VC) went cold on Europe in the last three months of 2012, as dealmakers cut investments in European-based start up businesses by more than a quarter, data out yesterday revealed. VCs poured €967m (£616.4m) into European firms in the fourth quarter, a 26 per cent decline on the same period last year, according [...]
Software group Aveva struck by difficulties in Brazil oil and gas January 28, 2013 DELAYS to oil and gas projects in Brazil have affected design software company Aveva, whose engineering technology is used to design oil rigs, power plants and ship structures. However, the FTSE 250 company said it had been boosted by increased spending in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region and continued growth in Asia Pacific. [...]