ANALYST VIEWS: WHICH STOCKS ARE LIKELY TO PERFORM IN 2012? January 2, 2012 MICHAEL SHILLAKER | CREDIT SUISSE “In metals and mining, capex and cash returns will remain the market’s key focus. We see Rio Tinto as most likely to raise the dividend structurally, and Xstrata as the most undervalued relative to its long-term growth profile.” DAVID MCCANN | NUMIS “Our top asset management picks are Aberdeen and [...]
Codelco exercises Anglo option January 2, 2012 Chile’s state copper giant Codelco, the world’s top copper producer, said yesterday it had exercised its disputed option to buy a 49 per cent stake in global miner Anglo American’s southern Chilean properties. Codelco is locked in a legal dispute over the option with Anglo, which surprised Codelco and investors last year by announcing it [...]
Eurex sees derivatives trade up January 2, 2012 Derivatives trading platform Eurex saw 2.8bn contracts traded in 2011, an increase of seven per cent on 2010’s level, it said yesterday. More than 11m contracts were traded on average each day, up from 10.4m per day in 2010, as both the amount traded on the Eurex Exchange and those traded on the International Securities [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 2, 2012 Bank of Ireland Bank of Ireland has appointed Patrick Mulvihill and Pat Butler as non-executive directors. Butler (pictured), who will join the bank’s risk committee and the nomination and governance committee, is a partner at Resolution Group and a former senior director of McKinsey & Co. Mulvihill, who will join Bank of Ireland’s risk committee [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 2, 2012 MAX PETROLEUM Following a dry hole at SAGW-2, Merchant Securities rates the Kazakhstan-focused oil & gas company as a “buy” with a target price of 25.2p. The broker limits its valuation of Sagiz West due to the dry hole, taking into account only proven and probably reserves for that field of 4.8Mb, and leading to [...]
La Senza set for administration December 23, 2011 La Senza has said that it intends to enter administration. The lingerie chain said “trading conditions” had taken their toll. An administrator will now be chosen within 10 days, in accordance with the UK Insolvency Act. The retailer, which has 2,600 UK staff at 146 stores and 18 concessions, said it continued to trade as [...]
Amlin sells $150m of catastrophe bonds December 23, 2011 Amlin, the biggest listed British insurer in the Lloyd’s of London market, said it sold $150m (£95m) of catastrophe bonds to protect itself against potential losses from US earthquakes and hurricanes and European storms. The bond issue, carried out through Bermuda-based vehicle Tramline Re, is double the $75 million of cover a source said Amlin [...]
Service sector slumps December 23, 2011 Activity in the dominant services sector slumped in October at the fastest pace since April, data showed, pointing to contraction of the economy in the final quarter and highlighting the danger of recession. The seasonally adjusted index of services dropped by 0.7 per cent in October compared to the previous month, taking the three-monthly rate [...]
Blacks says bidders see no value in shares December 23, 2011 Blacks Leisure, the struggling British outdoor goods retailer that put itself up for sale earlier this month, said it does not have and does not now expect to receive an offer for its equity. It said a number of parties have submitted indicative offers to buy the whole or substantially all of the trade, assets [...]
Singapore factory output falls 9.6pc December 23, 2011 Singapore’s factory output droped in November after a plunge in electronics manufacturing caused by slowing demand and supply chain issues. Industrial production fell by 9.6% from a year earlier, with electronics production down 30.1%. Floods in Thailand disrupted supplies of components, the debt crisis in the eurozone and a slowdown in the US hurt demand [...]