What the Sound of Music tells us about bubbles April 11, 2010 NOW stay with me on this one – sometimes, insights into the financial markets come from unlikely sources. In my case, I was reminded of the dilemmas now facing policymakers while enjoying a yodel down memory lane, watching The Sound of Music. It was when I reached one particular verse that it came to me: “How [...]
Confidence returns to UK businesses April 11, 2010 CONFIDENCE amongst UK businesses about the future of the economy has surged to pre-recessionary levels for the first time since the crisis hit at the end of 2007, according to the latest report by accountancy firm BDO Stoy Hayward. BDO’s Optimism index jumped from 99.4 to 103.2 in March, a high not seen since the [...]
Companies still choosing to list on Aim despite alternative of Standard Listing April 11, 2010 THE number of companies choosing to float on the Alternative Investment Market (Aim) has remained robust despite fresh competition from the new Standard Listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Standard Listing was introduced by the LSE in April last year and was expected to lead to a mass exodus of companies from the Aim [...]
Energy group BG puts two power plants up for sale April 11, 2010 BRITISH gas producer BG Group is understood to be preparing a retreat from the UK power sector by putting its power plants up for sale. Bidders are believed to have lodged first-round offers last week for two power stations put up for sale by the FTSE 100-quoted company. BG’s Ballylumford plant in Northern Ireland is [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS April 11, 2010 ADIDAS Standard & Poor’s (S&P’s) has maintained a “buy” rating on sports group Adidas because it believes recent retail news flow reflects generally effective leverage of the Easter calendar effect, with March footfall higher than forecast. S&P says it continues to see the June FIFA World Cup supporting the Adidas brand. NANOCO Nanoco has been [...]
CITY BOSS JOINS BEAR GRYLLS ON ARCTIC TRIP April 11, 2010 IT ISN’T every day that a financier gets to ditch his day job for a few weeks and sail off into the sunset for the adventure of a lifetime with a self-confessed adrenaline junkie. Then again, how many City financiers can count Bear Grylls – the skydiving, creepy crawly-munching, elephant piss-drinking star of Channel 4’s [...]
BILL OF THE WEEK April 11, 2010 THINGS are clearly looking up for the business world, as this group of City gentlemen demonstrated last week with a luxurious private lunch at the top of the iconic Gherkin. Our diners opted for the eight-course tasting menu to sample the finest cuisine that Searcys had to offer, accompanying it with a comprehensive selection of [...]
Greek rescue deal will spur markets April 11, 2010 UK and European stock markets are heading for a cautiously positive start to the week, spurred on by the news that a rescue package for Greece has been approved. GFT is quoting the FTSE 100 index to open up 10 points from Friday’s close, at a level of 5,780. The German DAX is also expected [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD April 11, 2010 AFTER a slew of central bank monetary policy decisions last week, this week is dominated by consumer-focused data. In the UK, we’ll get the British Retail Consortium’s March figures and the RICS’ house price balance for last month at midnight tomorrow. Thursday at midnight sees the release of the March Nationwide consumer confidence survey. It [...]
Pair off US banks this results season April 11, 2010 IT WAS only 18 months ago that the large-cap US banking sector looked like it was on its knees. Since then the banks have been nursed back to health. Later this week we will find out how far they are on the road to recovery. The two largest banks in the US, JP Morgan and [...]
