City banks need same checks as MPs’ expenses May 31, 2009 Over the last few weeks, I suspect that the revelations about MPs’ expenses have shocked, disappointed and – in some cases – amused you. The tabloids have had a field day, as have the broadsheets, in particular, the Daily Telegraph. The paper has delighted in writing its front-page headlines in font so huge it is [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS May 31, 2009 WOLSELEYDifficult trading across all business areas at Wolseley led Citigroup analysts to cut their earnings forecasts for 2009 by £67m to £293m and for 2010 from £387m to £293m. This has also led to a 26 per cent drop in estimated earnings per share for 2010. The broker has a “hold” rating on the stock, [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 31, 2009 Old Broad Street ResearchThe investment funds research and consultancy firm has appointed Gill Hutchinson as head of investment consultancy and Nick Whalley as head of investment research. Hutchinson has managed the firm’s key investment consultancy relationships for many years, while Whalley joined OBSR’s research team in 2005. In his new role, he will be assisted [...]
Vanguard eyes Barclays’ iShares May 31, 2009 Barclays has received a $5bn (£3.1bn) counter-bid for its iShares exchange-traded funds business from US fund manager Vanguard, potentially scuppering the existing $4.4bn deal with CVC Partners. The bank has received interest from several parties for iShares, as well as the Barclays Global Investors (BGI) unit that houses it. Both are up for sale as [...]
Firms too vulnerable to defaults May 31, 2009 More than 350,000 small firms across the UK are relying on just one firm for over 75 per cent of their turnover, making them particularly vulnerable to defaults, according to research released yesterday. A survey of more than 500 small and medium enterprise (SME) manager owners by Close Invoice Finance – a subsidiary of FTSE [...]
EU moves to curb Microsoft May 31, 2009 The European Union is set to unveil another round of sanctions on Microsoft, in an attempt to change the software giant’s behaviour instead of just imposing fines on the company. The move would be the result of an investigation, initiated last year, into Microsoft’s bundling its own web browser with its Windows software. Sources have [...]
Meet the oil man who is toughing out the harsh new era of low prices May 31, 2009 THE CHIEF executive of oil services business Wood Group Allister Langlands is in remarkably relaxed mood for a man who has seen oil plummet from $147 (£91) a barrel last July to around $65 currently, with all the mothballing of lucrative new projects a slump like that brings. The Aberdeen-based firm may have posted an [...]
‘POLO IN THE PARK’ FOUNDER PUTS HIS CITY BROKERAGE ON THE BLOCK May 28, 2009 EXCITEMENT is hotting up around next week’s Polo in the Park extravaganza at Hurlington Park – the brainchild of Daniel Fox-Davies, founder of the City broking firm of the same name. Fox-Davies – or Foxy, as some cheeky colleagues like to call him – recently set up the World Polo Association with the intention of [...]
OUT THIS WEEKEND PREVIEWS May 28, 2009 FILMOBSESSED Ropey drama with Beyonce Knowles and The Wire’s Idris Elba. 12 ROUNDS Former wrestler Jon Cena takes on the action hero mantle. JONAS BROTHERS: THE 3D CONCERT EXPERIENCE Goody goody teens get the Miley Cyrus treatment. DVDSLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE Danny Boyle’s epic, Indian-set Oscar triumph. THE WRESTLER Mickey Rourke on blistering form as a past-it wrestler. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA – FINAL [...]
AILING GM SET FOR FINAL HUMILIATION May 28, 2009 GENERAL MOTORS (GM) is set to file for bankruptcy on Monday in a deal that will see Barack Obama’s US government own 72.5 per cent of the ailing car-maker. The way forward was cleared yesterday after dissident bondholders agreed to a deal that will give them 10 per cent of GM once it has emerged [...]