THE LONDON REPORT November 25, 2009 A flurry of US economic data and a rebound in metals prices helped push Britain’s top share index to a higher close yesterday, with Compass Group topping the blue-chip gainers list after results. The FTSE 100 ended up 40.85 points, or 0.8 per cent at 5,364.81, following a 0.6 per cent decline on Tuesday. Miners [...]
THE NEW YORK REPORT November 25, 2009 Stocks rose in light trading volume yestesrday, supported by data that pointed to stabilisation in the labour and housing markets, areas that have fed concerns about a “double dip” recession. Trading volume was among the lightest of the year one day before the Thanksgiving holiday, with many senior traders absent from trading floors. Even so, [...]
Take a punt on how much further British banking stocks can rise November 25, 2009 THE Bank of England’s secret deal which saw it lend ailing Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS an astonishing £61.6bn last October was a timely reminder of just how bad the situation was this time last year. The global financial system was struggling to rebalance itself and many banks had either collapsed entirely or been [...]
THE TIPSTER November 25, 2009 THANKSGIVING in the US means that the American markets are closed and traders are expecting a quiet day ahead. But that doesn’t mean spread betters should be ignoring the markets. There is plenty of scope for traders to start pulling money off the table to minimise risk. Nonetheless, the Dow index has had a huge [...]
MINING AND OIL POPULAR SECTORS November 25, 2009 ALEXANDRE HOUPERTHEAD OF LISTED PRODUCTS UK, SG CORPORATE & INVESTMENT BANKING IN THE current market climate, investors might be afraid of choosing single stocks and exposing themselves to all the risk that cherry picking entails. Instead, they are increasingly choosing to take out a position on a sector in order to spread the risk. We’ve [...]
Downturn will be the golden age for the CFO November 25, 2009 THE current worldwide downturn is shining a spotlight on the role of the modern chief financial officer (CFO). Companies are now placing far greater reliance on the CFO’s advice and understanding than they have done in the past. Finance leaders and their teams are now seen as a valuable resource to guide companies through the [...]
Negotiation is the only way to resolve pension scheme trouble November 25, 2009 BAKER TILLYBRUCE MACKAY FOR all but a lucky few, final salary pension provision is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. Already in inexorable decline as companies struggled to manage the escalating costs of gold-plated pension schemes, the recent challenging economic environment has accelerated fund closure, and not just for new members but to all [...]
Danish and French take on Swisscom November 25, 2009 FRANCE Telecom yesterday struck a deal with Danish peer TDC to boost their position in the small but affluent Swiss market and challenge local leader Swisscom. France Telecom will pay €1.5bn (£1.35bn) for a 75 per cent stake in a new company that has the assets and clients of TDC’s Sunrise and France Telecom’s Orange [...]
AIG approves CEO pay deal November 25, 2009 AMERICAN International Group (AIG), the insurer that received billions of dollars in a US bailout, has been authorised by its board to pay chief executive Robert Benmosche’s $7m (£4.2m) compensation, after it laid to rest concerns that he may quit the post. The approval means AIG can pay Benmosche an already agreed annual salary of [...]
Harvey Nash shares fall as firm cites challenges November 25, 2009 SHARES in Harvey Nash tumbled yesterday after the British recruitment and outsourcing firm admitted trading remains challenging, while the expectation of a V-shaped recovery in its end-markets has not materialised. Panmure Gordon said the update was “significantly worse than expected, and should send a reality check to those expecting cyclical recovery from recruitment markets”. The [...]
