Berkeley says market stable September 9, 2009 Housebuilder Berkeley Group said yesterday that its main markets in London and the south east of England remained stable and that it had bought a number of new sites in recent months. The developer, which in June pointed to signs of emerging stability after the bubble burst on Britain’s booming housing market, said cancellation rates [...]
Julius Baer to list Artio September 9, 2009 JULIUS BAER, the Swiss bank for wealthy investors, has started the ball rolling on a market listing of its US-based asset management arm Artio, in a move that could raise it as much as $570m (£344m). The firm is set to cash in on higher equity markets by selling 23.4m shares in an initial public [...]
Wanted: real-life, good news hedge fund stories September 9, 2009 ONE consequence of Britain’s membership of the EU is that Brussels gets to govern the way business is done in London. Hedge funds, private equity and venture capital are the main targets of the European Commission’s proposals for an Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD). The Directive has the backing of a coalition of Christian [...]
McLaren unveils new road car as it seeks to diversify its business September 9, 2009 MCLAREN, the Formula One racing group, yesterday unveiled its new road car, creating a UK-based carmaker. The cars, which are intended to rival high-end vehicles Ferrari and Aston Martin, will be built in a factory neighbouring the group’s headquarters in Woking. The move comes as part of a plan to refocus its business outside of [...]
Property pair worth 750m despite slump September 9, 2009 CANDY Brothers Nick and Christian, who build ultra-luxury apartments for the elite, are still worth a combined £750m despite the ailing property market, the head of their corporate finance group said yesterday. It had been thought that the pair’s wealth would have taken a hit in the recession as the kind of ultra-high specification properties [...]
Standard Life seals Bank of China deal September 9, 2009 INSURER Standard Life is in the final stages of selling a majority stake of its Chinese joint venture Heng An Standard Life to Bank of China. The group announced yesterday thatChinese regulators are set to approve the transaction, which would leave Standard Life with a smaller stake in an enlarged business. If approved, the deal [...]
August sales up at McDonald’s September 9, 2009 McDONALD’S August sales at existing restaurants rose 2.2 per cent globally, the group said yesterday, as strength in Europe partly offset weakness in the US and its outlets in other parts of the world. Closely watched same-store sales rose 3.5 per cent in Europe, helped by the UK and France. They were up 1.7 per [...]
Lloyds recruits new top banker September 9, 2009 LLOYDS Banking Group named former Goldman Sachs banker James Garvey as head of capital markets yesterday, one of the bank’s highest profile appointments since it was rescued with state cash. Garvey will head the capital markets and advisory business. He retired from Goldman Sachs as a partner earlier this year after spending 10 years at [...]
US loses status as the world’s most competitive economy September 8, 2009 TAX haven Switzerland has knocked the US off its position as the world’s most competitive economy, after the financial crisis exposed longstanding weaknesses in the giant economy. The UK, the world’s sixth-largest economy by gross domestic product, has slipped one place and now ranks a dismal 13th, according to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) latest [...]
Profits spike at Kingfisher September 8, 2009 KINGFISHER, Europe’s largest home improvement retail group, yesterday rushed out first-half profit figures following an administrative error, though the better-than-expected results cheered investors and sent its shares to a two-year high. The group, which owns B&Q in Britain and Castorama in France, said it expects to report an underlying pre-tax profit of between £285m and [...]
