Bond bubble fears grow as investors query debt valuation April 9, 2012 GOVERNMENT bonds are increasingly overvalued, according to a growing majority of personal finance advisers, stoking fears that money-printing and the market’s flight to “safe haven” assets are inflating a catastrophic bond bubble. More than three quarters of 520 professional investment advisers quizzed by the CFA Society UK, their industry body, now say that government debt [...]
City jobs cull hits prime rents April 9, 2012 THE CITY jobs bloodbath has helped drag property rental prices down for the sixth month in a row, according to research out today. As banks cut headcounts and freeze pay, rents in prime London homes fell 0.1 per cent in March – and the very top of the market has been hit hardest, claims estate [...]
Clinton project picks IPO banks April 9, 2012 For-profit higher education company Laureate Education, which has former US President Bill Clinton as honorary chancellor, has picked banks to lead an initial public offering that could raise as much as $750m. Laureate has chosen Morgan Stanley and Barclays to lead the proposed offering, sources said. Citigroup is also an active bookrunner in the IPO.
GSK and Merck give cheap vaccines April 9, 2012 International vaccines group GAVI has struck a deal for bulk buying rotavirus shots from GlaxoSmithKline and Merck which cuts the price by two-thirds and will allow poor countries cheaper access. The vaccines, GSK’s Rotarix and Merck’s Rotateq, combat the main cause of diarrhoea – the second-largest killer of children under the age of five worldwide.
Thomas Cook nears a £1.2bn deal over debt April 9, 2012 STRUGGLING holiday group Thomas Cook confirmed yesterday that it is close to a deal to roll over some of its £1.2bn debt pile. The 170-year-old firm said it is in “advanced talks” and expects to have an agreement with its lenders, who include RBS and Barclays, in time for its half-year results in May. Thomas [...]
Iberia cancels 150 flights as strikes begin April 9, 2012 PILOT STRIKES at British Airways’ Spanish sister Iberia grounded 150 flights across Europe yesterday, in the first phase of industrial action that could cause travel misery during the peak summer season. Staff walked out yesterday in the first of 30 one-day strikes to protest against the start-up of low-cost carrier Iberia Express, owned by International [...]
Barclays shrugs off criticism of executive pay April 9, 2012 BARCLAYS is relaxed about the row over bonuses for its top executives and would be unfazed if an expected 10 per cent of shareholders vote against its remuneration report, said a source familiar with the bank’s thinking. The bank has shrugged off criticism amid suggestions that four of its biggest British institutional shareholders could cast [...]
Why most investors don’t care if Diamond gets rich April 9, 2012 IT used to be big news if the likes of Standard Life, Scottish Widows, Fidelity and Aviva combined forces to vote against a company’s remuneration report. Such a roster of big British institutions would have had the clout and the votes to make the company reconsider its intentions or risk a very bloody nose. Hence [...]
Fannie Mae to sell $500m bills April 9, 2012 Fannie Mae, the largest US home funding source, said yesterday it will sell $500m of benchmark bills on Wednesday, 11 April. The sale will include $250m of three-month benchmark bills due 11 July 2012, and $250m of six-month bills due 10 October 2012 in a Dutch auction. In such uniform price auctions, successful bidders pay [...]
Investor Icahn sues Amylin April 9, 2012 Carl Icahn has sued Amylin Pharmaceuticals to block enforcement of a bylaw that prevents the billionaire investor from launching a proxy fight that could lead to a sale of the maker of diabetes drugs. Icahn, whose 8.94 per cent stake has made him Amylin’s third-largest shareholder, faulted the company for failing to reveal its rejection [...]