“Really, is that it?” – reactions to the government’s housing white paper February 7, 2017 In the year that the US President signed an executive order to build a wall, UK politicians got together to write a housing paper that was lacking in concrete ideas. There were some general indicators of where the government is going on housing, however. Here's how the property industry reacted: On the lack of content [...]
Speedy Hire on the mend: Tool rental company making “concrete progress” February 7, 2017 Tool rental company Speedy Hire demonstrated some “concrete progress” in a trading update today. The company’s shares lifted by more than six per cent when the market opened, before drifting slightly later in the day. But the update, which reported a like-for-like revenue lift of 10.6 per cent in its third quarter, to 31 December, [...]
Ramped up political and financial risks sends gold investing demand surging to its best January in five years February 7, 2017 Last month, gold investing demand had its strongest January since 2012 as financial and political risks "become reality". Gold investing demand, net of client selling, totaled 0.4 tonnes last month, data from precious metals platform BullionVault showed. This was the metal's best January in five years. Last year's full-year gold demand was also its strongest since 2012, [...]
Berenberg reports highest earnings in its 427-year history, as the bank cements its place on the investment scene February 7, 2017 Berenberg began today on a high, announcing its highest annual earnings to date in its 427-year history. The figures The world's second-oldest bank reported net profits had risen to €161m (£139m), up 56 per cent compared with €104m the year before and marking the second year in a row its bottom line has set a new record. Meanwhile, gross income grew [...]
Advisers on London Stock Exchange-Deutsche Boerse deal could rake in up to £305m February 7, 2017 The London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse could pay up to £305m between them to bankers, lawyers, accountants and PRs working on their merger. The top-end estimate was revised up today from £234m in light of an extended probe by the European Commission into the deal. Credit Suisse analysts noted today: We believe merger related [...]
11 things we learned from Sajid Javid’s speech on the housing white paper February 7, 2017 Communities secretary Sajid Javid stood in the House of Commons today to unveil the government's long-awaited housing white paper, so what did we learn about the government's plans to fix the housing crisis? Well, not much. The speech was pretty vague. Javid said the government would be speeding up construction, encouraging institutional investment in the rental sector and [...]
Six traders from Deutsche Bank and Barclays plead not guilty to Euribor rigging February 7, 2017 Six traders pleaded not guilty to Euribor-rigging offences in a London court today, as part of the first case focusing on the Brussels-based benchmark brought by the UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO). The traders in question are Christian Bittar, 45, a former employee of Deutsche Bank, Achim Kraemer, 52, who still works for Deutsche Bank, and four ex-Barclays [...]
Eco Atlantic Oil & Gas is set to be the latest Canadian firm to list on London’s junior market February 7, 2017 Tomorrow, Eco Atlantic Oil and Gas is set to be the second Canadian energy firm to list on London's Alternative Investment Market (Aim) in a month. The Toronto Stock Exchange-listed company holds Atlantic licences offshore Guyana and Namibia, and said it raised £5m after originally aiming for around £2m to £3m in funds it will use to push ahead [...]
Arrivederci: Barclays ditches more of its Italian non-core assets February 7, 2017 Barclays today announced it has agreed to sell of more of its non-core assets in Italy. The banking giant revealed it would be selling a portfolio of non-core performing and non-performing small business and corporate loans to AnaCap Financial Partners, but did not disclose a sale price. The portfolio, which has a book value of roughly €177m (£152.7m) [...]