JAPAN INFLOWS BOOST MAN July 7, 2011 MAN Group’s recovery from the financial crisis gathered place yesterday as the world’s largest listed hedge fund manager reported a net inflow of $3.7bn (£2.3bn) in its first quarter. Shares in the firm rose 8.8p to 255.7p as it provided the market with further proof it was turning itself around after nine consecutive quarters of [...]
LSE board faces investor revolt July 7, 2011 INFLUENTIAL shareholder adviser Pirc has urged London Stock Exchange investors to block the re-election of four directors at this month’s annual meeting, in the wake of the bourse operator’s collapsed merger with TMX Group. The adviser questioned the independence of two non-executive directors, Janet Cohen and Robert Webb, who have been on the board for [...]
NYSE votes for Deutsche deal July 7, 2011 SHAREHOLDERS in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) yesterday agreed to its planned $9.6bn (£6bn) takeover by Deutsche Boerse. The deal now needs approval from 75 per cent of the Frankfurt exchange operator’s shareholders by next Wednesday. The creation of the exchange titan also needs to survive a European Commission antitrust review.
Second bid for Lookers was 70p per share July 7, 2011 CAR dealership Lookers yesterday revealed that the bid it rejected last week from a group of investors led by Jack Petchey was priced at 70p per share, below the expected 80p. Petchey’s Trefick vehicle downgraded its offer after taking a gloomy view of Lookers’ pension fund and valuing its property portfolio at a lower level [...]
Ophir Energy prices stock at bottom end of its range July 7, 2011 THERE was some good news yesterday for London’s troubled IPO market as Ophir Energy, a Lakshmi Mittal-backed oil exploration group with 12 wells off the African coast, gained sufficient investor support for its upcoming flotation. Ophir decided last night to price the new shares in the group at 250p, the bottom of the 250-280p price [...]
Premier Farnell slumps after profit warning July 7, 2011 THE slow recovery in global consumer spending was underlined yesterday when electronics distributor Premier Farnell issued a shock profit warning exactly a year after hailing its climb out of the recession. Shares in the Leeds-based group plunged 20 per cent to their lowest level in 16 months after it said growth had tailed off in [...]
NO PLAN B FOR BRITAIN SAY TORY BELIEVERS July 7, 2011 DON’T have a business card on you? No problem – just write your name on the back of a £50 note and drop that in the hat for the City lunchtime raffle instead. Yes, it could only be the annual fundraising gathering of The Cities of London & Westminster Conservative Association, where the Tory body’s [...]
Apple climbs as App Store sales hit 15bn July 7, 2011 APPLE customers have downloaded more than 15bn applications in the past three years, the company said yesterday, releasing figures that suggest the rate of downloads is sharply accelerating. The latest figures from Apple show that customers have downloaded around 5bn apps so far this year, as the company said in January that it had just [...]
CITY VIEWS: HOW DO YOU BUY YOUR MUSIC ONLINE? July 7, 2011 MIKE MACPHAIL RWE “I don’t often buy music online. When I do I use iTunes. I prefer to buy a whole album but if I really like a song I buy it on its own.” CHARLOTTE BERRY BNA INTERNATIONAL “I buy music from iTunes. I can’t remember the last time I bought a physical CD. [...]
US album sales up for first time since 2004 July 7, 2011 IN A rare boost for the beleaguered US record industry, album sales rose in the first six months of the year in the first growth since 2004. UK sensation Adele, who topped charts with 2.5m sales of her album 21, helped push the industry to a four per cent gain. In total 221.5m albums were shifted in [...]