Buyout firms circle Citi’s $1bn Tokyo call centre September 1, 2009 SEVERAL private equity firms are circling Citigroup after it announced its intention to sell off a Japanese call centre. Major buyout firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), Permira, Blackstone and Bain Capital are all understood to be interested in buying the centre, which is valued at up to $1bn (£620m). Sources familiar with the situation said [...]
London homes in monthly price rise August 31, 2009 HOUSE prices in London rose by 0.3 per cent over August on the back of a dwindling supply of homes for sale. Hometrack’s national housing survey showed higher price tags in London, the south east and East Anglia, with London’s average price rising to £275,300, although year-on- year prices showed a 6.7 per cent fall. [...]
Channel Five owner posts a profit slump August 31, 2009 GERMANY’S Bertelsmann posted a 30 per cent drop in first-half operating profit due to a decline in advertising and consumer spending and said cost cuts had held off worse results. The owner of Channel Five parent company RTL Group, which reported results last week, and publisher Random House, implemented strict cost savings earlier in the [...]
FOCUS ON: CRAWLEY, WEST SUSSEX August 20, 2009 BADGERS BANK, OLD BRIGHTON ROAD NORTH, PEASE POTTAGE, RH11 9AJPrice: £1.15mThis modern five-bedroom property is located in a quiet cul-de-sac in a village just outside Crawley, which is just under an hour from London by train. There is a large master bedroom suite which includes a dressing area and a bathroom with a jacuzzi bath. [...]
RELOADING ON RISK DURING THE AUTUMN August 19, 2009 BRIAN DOLANCHIEF CURRENCY STRATEGIST, FOREX.COM OVER the course of this summer my colleague Jane Foley and I have been consistently cautious on the extraordinary rebound in risk appetite and the accompanying rally in virtually every risky asset class (stocks, commodities and carry trades in forex). We argued that markets were overly optimistic about the prospects [...]
Poor Japanese data hits US stocks August 17, 2009 US stocks suffered their worst loss in seven weeks yesterday as weak data from Japan and a disappointing outlook from retailer Lowe’s dampened hopes about the economy’s growth. Japan’s gross domestic product showed its economy pulled out of recession in the second quarter, but at a slower pace than expected, prompting a sell-off in major [...]
IT’S A ROCKY ROAD AHEAD FOR RECOVERY August 16, 2009 JANE FOLEYRESEARCH DIRECTOR,FOREX.COM FOLLOWING a pullback in early July, the S&P 500 has forged ahead this summer, lifted both by a round of earnings reports in which over 70 per cent of US companies beat estimates and some better news on the global economy. The rally in stocks has coincided with a rally in other [...]
The $100m trader in the sights of pay tsar August 16, 2009 British-born Citigroup trader Andrew Hall is fighting to hold on to a $100m (£61m) payout as the US government’s “pay tsar” prepares to cut Wall Street bonuses. The Obama administration’s head of financial services compensation, Kenneth Feinberg, will this week begin to study the pay of the top 25 earners in US banks. One White [...]
Amey set for a record breaking year in slump August 16, 2009 AMEY, the Spanish-owned group helping to upgrade the London Underground, said it is on course to make £2bn in revenue for the year, clearing the way to become one of the 10 biggest construction groups operating in the UK. Sales went up to around £1.5bn last year, Amey said in a report filed to Companies [...]
Aegon unveils surprise loss and cash call August 13, 2009 AEGON, the Dutch insurer, yesterday reported a surprise loss in the second quarter and said it would ask markets for up to €1bn (£862m) to pay off part of its government bailout. The group, whose Aegon UK arm has two million customers across its life, pensions and asset management operations, saw its Dutch shares plummet [...]