MAN Group inks deal for FRM May 20, 2012 Hedge fund Man Group said last night it had agreed to buy FRM Holdings, a hedge fund research and investment specialist with funds under management of around $8bn (£5bn). Man will integrate FRM into its multi-manager business, to create a new entity with combined funds under management of approximately $19bn. Man will not make any [...]
Air France denies redundancies May 20, 2012 Air France-KLM yesterday denied it plans to cut 5,000 jobs by 2015 through a voluntary redundancy plan, as reported by the website of France’s Le Figaro. The paper said Air France-KLM, which employs 103,000 staff, would try to speed up natural attrition. Every year, about 800 people leave, but Le Figaro said it wants to [...]
Group of 8 want all members to stay in the euro May 20, 2012 WORLD leaders backed keeping Greece in the Eurozone over the weekend and vowed to take all steps necessary to combat financial turmoil while revitalising a global economy increasingly threatened by Europe’s debt crisis. A summit of the G8 leading industrialised nations came down solidly in favour of a push to balance European austerity – an [...]
Traders shouldn’t count out a marshall plan for Greece May 20, 2012 ISSUES come and go with the markets, which are always casting about their gaze for the next threat that will deny them the tranquil predictability they long for at all times. But for the better part of a year now, one issue never seems to go away, never seems to stop gumming up the works: [...]
Far East buyers beware rush for London homes May 20, 2012 WHEN Hong Kong businessman Mr He paid a £35,000 deposit on a four-bedroom apartment in the UK, he believed it was a 40-minute walk from central London, his lawyer claims. In fact it was a 40-minute journey by high-speed train. The £350,000 home was in Lincolnshire. He sued the developer for misrepresentation last year, getting [...]
Shell could be next victim of anti-pay vote May 20, 2012 ROYAL Dutch Shell, which holds its general meeting tomorrow, could be the next victim of the investor revolution that is sweeping through City boardrooms. Pensions and Investment Research Consultants (Pirc) has urged shareholders to vote against the oil giant’s remuneration report, which more than doubled Shell chief executive Peter Voser’s total pay to £9.4m in [...]
Evidence of revolt at every single level May 20, 2012 THE shareholder spring has sprung. Since proxy season started, we’ve become accustomed to the sight of investors giving directors a bloody nose. I’ve decided to crunch the numbers to see just how rebellious the buy side has become. A win is a win. Just three firms have been voted down at their annual meetings in [...]
Canon zooms in on £10m deal to help Jessops May 20, 2012 JAPANESE CAMERA giant Canon is poised to step in and come to the rescue of Jessops, as the ailing high street retailer battles with fierce competition online. The Tokyo-based company is expected to pump up to £10m in cash into the loss-making chain, which runs more than 200 stores, according to reports this weekend. Jessops, [...]
Marks & Spencer full-year profit expected to miss City forecasts May 20, 2012 MARKS AND SPENCER is expected to become the latest retailer to scale back on its growth targets when it posts preliminary full-year results tomorrow that are forecast to fall short of expectations. Two years ago, Britain’s biggest clothing retailer set itself an ambitious target to increase its sales by between £1.6bn to £2.5bn a year [...]
Broadgate tycoon to make bid for Battersea power station May 20, 2012 GODFREY Bradman, the property tycoon who built the Broadgate Circle in the City in the 1980s, is preparing to make a comeback with a bid for Battersea power station. Bradman is thought to have teamed up with Derrick Beare, nephew of South African financier Jonathan, and has secured the backing of billionaire Reuben brothers David [...]
