STV profits up on new deals August 23, 2012 SCOTTISH broadcaster STV was boosted by its production and digital arms in the first half of the year, the company said yesterday, as it posted an eight per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £7m on £47.6m turnover. STV also announced a tie-up with ITV – which will see it pay a flat fee for [...]
Public funding of trains falls August 23, 2012 The taxpayer propped up Britain’s rail network to the tune of £3.9bn last year, though this has dropped slightly from £3.96bn a year ago and is down from a peak of £6.3bn in 2006, the Office of Rail Regulation revealed yesterday. However, some train operating companies handed back part of their grants, meaning the state [...]
JPMorgan accused hires lawyer August 23, 2012 The trader at the centre of the criminal investigation surrounding JPMorgan’s $5.8bn trading loss has hired a lawyer in Paris, sources said yesterday. Bruno Iksil, a French citizen and a former London-based trader in JPMorgan Chase & Co’s chief investment office, is under scrutiny for trades he made in an illiquid market for credit products [...]
Fed Bank sells last AIG assets August 23, 2012 The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has sold its remaining assets of insurer American International Group (AIG), the bank said yesterday. It sold securities for a gain of $6.6bn (£4.2bn).
City Moves | Who’s switching Jobs August 23, 2012 Montagu Evans The property consultancy firm has appointed Jonathan Manley as a partner in its professional services team. He has over 20 years’ experience in the industry, and was previously a partner at King Sturge, and a director at Jones Lang La Salle. In his new role, Manley will focus on expanding Montagu Evans’s market [...]
BEST of the BROKERS August 23, 2012 BRITISH LAND Jefferies has downgraded a whole pack of retail estate investment trusts, stating that they “are no longer excessively cheap”. British Land is moved from “Buy” to “Hold” despite the target price being held at 552p. “Low vacancy rate and broadly rack-rented portfolio combine to constrain organic earnings growth,” it said. ELEKTA UBS has [...]
FTSE buoyed by hopes of global stimulus August 23, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index inched higher yesterday, steadying after sharp falls in the previous session, underpinned by a recovery among heavyweight miners on expectations of fresh global stimulus measures from central banks. Mining stocks tracked firmer copper prices, which were up over 1 per cent at a one-month high as the demand picture for metals [...]
US stocks drop on weak data August 23, 2012 US stocks fell yesterday as expectations for quick stimulus action from the Federal Reserve faded and Chinese and Eurozone data pointed to a stalling global economy. Each of the 10 major S&P sectors finished in negative territory, with the economically sensitive materials sector the worst performer, down 1.7 per cent. Minutes published from the latest [...]
The NHS must look outwards if it’s to become the envy of the world August 23, 2012 THE coalition has identified the NHS as the UK’s next big export. We have some form here: internationally renowned brands like the Royal Marsden Hospital in Chelsea, Moorfields Eye Hospital and Great Ormond Street have foreign campuses in the Middle East – with similar tie-ins to some of our leading universities. And this outward-looking approach [...]
Life isn’t short: But we’ve learnt to squander our time like spendthrifts August 23, 2012 SUMMER’S lease is drawing to a close again. With less than a month until the autumnal equinox on 22 September, we’re running out of time to complain about the disappointing weather or attempt to cook burgers in one another’s backyards. Or, from another point of view, there’s four weeks left before the summer of 2012 [...]
