BEST OF THE BROKERS June 1, 2009 RYANAIRAhead of Ryanair’s preliminary results, Collins Stewart has a “buy” recommendation on the airline. The broker expects a dramatic rebound on full-year 2010 profits as the company’s fuel bill falls. Aggressive fleet expansion remains a risk, said the analysts, but the firm continues to take market share from peers. TOPPS TILESGoldman Sachs upgraded its full-year [...]
DESPERATE DARLING FIGHTS FOR HIS JOB June 1, 2009 ALISTAIR DARLING was left clinging to his job last night after Prime Minister Gordon Brown pointedly refused to give his chancellor his full backing after he was involved in another expenses row. Darling was forced to apologise “unreservedly” over a £1,004 expenses claim he made on a south London flat which he moved out of [...]
IPIC set to sell stake in Barclays June 1, 2009 MIDDLE Eastern Barclays investor International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC) is disposing of some of the shares it took in the bank last Autumn, City A.M. can confirm. The state-owned Abu Dhabi investment group, which took a controversial stake in Barclays and helped it stave off UK government control last year, said it intended to dispose [...]
ITV is offered Setanta stake June 1, 2009 ITV HAS been offered a 30 per cent stake in Setanta, the struggling pay-TV sports channel, CityAM has learnt. The offer came amid recent talks between the two channels, with Setanta desperate to raise cash to help it fund forthcoming rights payments to the Football Association, the Premier League and other sporting bodies. ITV is [...]
End of an era as Brown faces disaster June 1, 2009 ALL of Westminster was only talking about one story last night – and for once, it was only indirectly related to MPs’ expenses. I am, of course, referring to the astonishing Ipsos Mori poll showing Labour down 10 points and neck-and-neck with the Liberal Democrats on 18 per cent. The Tories are on 40 per [...]
JPMorgan, Amex sell stock June 1, 2009 JPMORGAN Chase and American Express yesterday announced plans to sell $5.5bn (£3.34bn) of stock, to position themselves to quickly repay funds from the government’s bank bailout plan. JPMorgan will sell $5bn of stock and American Express will sell $500m. JPMorgan’s offering, which is led by chief executive Jamie Dimon, will be priced by this morning. [...]
StanChart dials up deal June 1, 2009 STANDARD Chartered (StanChart) Bank could underwrite up to $5bn (£3bn) to back Bharti Airtel’s $23bn tie-up with South African telecom operator MTN, according to banking sources. The sources said the bank was expecting to underwrite the full amount of the financing for the proposed deal, or as much as $5bn. If the deal materialises, StanChart [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 1, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES CANDOVER FACES RUN-OFF IF BUYER CANNOT BE FOUNDCandover faces a crucial month as the ailing private equity group pushes to raise capital and cut costs before a key test of its debt covenants on 30 June. The group needs cash urgently and is considering a range of options, including an outright takeover, selling [...]
French Airbus lost at sea June 1, 2009 An Air France Airbus 330-200 carrying 228 people from Brazil to France has vanished over the Atlantic after flying into turbulence, airline officials said yesterday. The Airbus sent an automatic message four hours after leaving Rio de Janeiro, reporting a short circuit. It may have been damaged by lightning.
BoA-Merrill fill senior posts June 1, 2009 Bank of America-Merrill Lynch said yesterday it filled two of its most prominent research positions, North America economist and US chief equity strategist, with analysts from rival Wall Street firms. Ethan Harris will leave Barclays Capital to fill BofA-Merrill’s economist slot, while David Bianco will leave UBS to be BofA-Merrill’s strategist.
