The party goes on for Pelham Bell Pottinger July 5, 2012 300 guests, including many of the City’s key players, enjoyed the annual party of public relations group Pelham Bell Pottinger despite the rain the other evening. Guests included one-time Vodafone chief executive Chris Gent (now chairman of GlaxoSmithKline), Centrica’s Sam Laidlaw, Paul Baker of Morgan Stanley, Andrew Osborne, formerly of Bank of America Merrill Lynch [...]
SPOOF AD MAKES ITS WAY ROUND THE CITY July 5, 2012 THE above picture, described as “quite obviously a spoof” by Barclays – was the subject of much mirth yesterday as it made its way by email and Twitter around the City.
Heart of Glass July 5, 2012 AFTER A 12-YEAR WAIT, Londoners were finally given a preview of the 360-degree panorama from the 72nd floor of the Shard yesterday, at a formal ceremony marking its external completion. The 95-storey tower designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano has had to overcome major planning battles, fierce criticism and a fractious ownership since it was [...]
Great Portland lifted by scarcity of space July 5, 2012 GREAT PORTLAND ESTATES, the West End-focused property developer yesterday hailed another “excellent year” after both its net asset value and its portfolio valuation delivered strong growth, benefitting from a limited supply of office space in central London and overseas demand. Net assets per share increased by 11.9 per cent and the property portfolio delivered strong [...]
Wet weather aids Dunelm July 5, 2012 SHARES IN Dunelm Group rallied almost four per cent yesterday after the homeware retailer forecast full-year profit ahead of analysts’ expectations, as the wet spring weather lured shoppers to its stores. The company, which runs 124 Dunelm Mill stores selling kitchenware and bedding, expects a pre-tax profit of £96m, up from £83.6m a year earlier. [...]
Rain mars Jubilee sales boost July 5, 2012 UK supermarkets have suffered the weakest early summer trading period in seven years after the wet June weather kept shoppers away, new figures from Nielsen for the quarter to 23 June can reveal. Despite 12.5 per cent year-on-year growth in the week leading up to the Jubilee, sales at the UK’s biggest grocers were up [...]
CITY VIEWS | DO YOU THINK THE SHARD IS A WELCOME ADDITION TO THE LONDON SKYLINE? July 5, 2012 DAVID DOHERTY GUINNESS SOUTH It’s certainly putting London Bridge on the map because south of the Thames there are no real other markers. I think it will revitalise the area without question.” David King CBRE I think it is very positive, it is another iconic building and it improves the skyline hugely. If you own [...]
Halifax reveals a surprise June house price rise July 5, 2012 House prices rose in June bucking the overall downward trend, according to a closely-watched gauge. Halifax’s house price index shot up one per cent in June compared to May, although overall it dropped by 0.5 per cent year-on-year. However, the annual change is a much less sharp drop than the falls seen a year ago, [...]
Positive US jobs figures marred by slowdown in services growth July 5, 2012 STRONG jobs data provided a boost for the US yesterday, although separate economic figures suggested that the recovery remains bumpy. The American private sector created 176,000 jobs in June, the ADP national employment report said, comfortably beating economists’ forecasts. In May US companies also added 136,000 jobs – a figure that was revised slightly upwards, [...]
Irish state pays less than Spain in strong debt market re-entry July 5, 2012 THE IRISH government’s borrowing costs dropped below Spain’s yesterday, as the celtic nation continued its recovery from collapse and Spain continues to struggle close to the brink. Meanwhile Germany’s industrial output kept rising in May despite the weak state of its Eurozone neighbours. Despite much of the rest of the currency area being in recession, [...]
