WHAT DO YOU THINK OF BA COMPARED TO VIRGIN? May 26, 2009 HOWARD WHEELDON BGC PARTNERSIf Virgin Atlantic has managed to ‘steal’ customers away from other airlines such as BA and still been able to prove that it can make a half decent profit – albeit at miserably low margins – it would appear somewhat mean if I were not to offer congratulations to the airline founder [...]
Deutsche on track despite coup rumour May 26, 2009 THE SUPERVISORY board of Germany’s Deutsche Bank yesterday moved to quell rumours of an acrimonious boardroom split, denying reports that chairman Clemens Boersig had launched a failed coup to grab the chief executive role when Josef Ackermann steps down. Boersig was reported to have failed in an audacious bid to succeed Ackermann last month, after [...]
Castle in LSE listing amid liquidity hunt May 26, 2009 SWISS fund of hedge funds Castle Alternative Invest is launching a second share listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), in a bid to access the high levels of liquidity on the main UK stock market. The fund, run by LGT Capital Partners, is currently trading at a 27 per cent discount to its £315m [...]
Bonuses shrink for City auditors May 26, 2009 CITY audit and compliance professionals expect their bonuses to shrink by 38 per cent this year, a survey by executive search consultancy GRS has shown. The majority (64 per cent) of those polled by the firm said they thought bonuses would fall compared to last year, while over half of those do not expect to [...]
Gambling firms fight over deal May 26, 2009 ONLINE gambling firms PartyGaming and 888 are vying to submit bids to buy Cashcade, the internet bingo group that is part owned by Independent News & Media (INM). The company is expected to fetch between £70m and £100m. The deal will provide a valuable lifeline to INM, which has a 20 per cent stake in [...]
US banks lose talent to rival London firms May 26, 2009 A TRIO of investment banks are emerging as the winners from the banking crisis, as they move to hoover up some of the most talented staff in London. Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse and Barclays Capital (BarCap) have all been active in the recruitment market since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, taking advantage of freedom from [...]
Australian regulator brings an end to the ban on shorting of financial stocks May 26, 2009 THE AUSTRALIAN securities regulator yesterday lifted its temporary ban on short-selling of financial stocks after eight months. The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) became the final major market to end the ban, but warned that it could immediately reintroduce the ban, or fresh restrictions, if market conditions warranted it. “ASIC has reviewed market conditions [...]
SHOW TIME FOR FORMATION AGENCY May 26, 2009 FORMATION, the agency that represents stars such as pop guru Simon Cowell and entertainers Ant and Dec, yesterday said it had received “indications of interest” from buy-out firm, Gresham. Formation and the private equity group have entered exclusive talks for part of the group. The business is currently valued at £20m.
PwC in fight with US firms over Lehman May 26, 2009 THE ADMINISTRATORS of Lehman Brothers in the UK and the US are set to face off in a new row about the details of the former Wall Street giant’s bankruptcy proceedings. US administrators including KPMG and Alavarez & Marsal want the bankruptcy to be managed in a globally co-ordinated fashion, with all creditors subject to [...]
Henderson Global names new head of 150m property fund May 26, 2009 HENDERSON Global Investors has named Cameron Fraser as head of its £150m institutional UK property fund, replacing Ludo MacKenzie who is jumping ship to become a partner at rival property fund Melford Capital Partners. Fraser is joining from CBRE Investors, where he was manager of the Unilever account and oversaw the growth of its fund [...]
