US markets are searching for rates insight – The week ahead on Wall St November 2, 2014 A SERIES of Federal Reserve officials are due to give speeches after the Fed surprised some investors last week with a hawkish-sounding policy statement that confidently predicted only temporary weakness in inflation. Now that the Fed has ended its massive bond-buying stimulus, financial markets are keen for any insight on how quickly it will raise [...]
48 hours in… Nice November 2, 2014 WHERE TO STAY For a unique experience on the Cote d’Azur, try Le Hi-Hotel, with its eye-wateringly bright interiors, private stretch of beach and roof terrace. Its 38 rooms are split into nine innovative designs, from sofas with in-built speakers to beds that turn into bathtubs. Visit Hi-hotel.net WHERE TO GO A resplendent marble landmark [...]
…while in London it struggles to sell 10 per cent stake in Merlin October 30, 2014 INVESTMENT bank Citi has been left holding shares in Merlin Entertainments after demand fell just as it underwrote a sale for the firm’s private equity owners. Yesterday the bankers were left with stock amounting to somewhere below three per cent of Merlin, according to sources close to the deal – a holding worth as much [...]
Cheesegrater sets sky high city price record October 30, 2014 THE CHEESEGRATER, or the Leadenhall Building as it is officially known, has set a new price record for the City of London at £85 per square foot. US insurance firm FM Global is reported to have paid that price to take the 7,700 square foot 41st floor of the 47-storey tower.
Private View: On the market in bow this week October 30, 2014 BELLEVUE BOW, E3 from £417,500 for a two bed apartment This 27-storey tower is one of the tallest residential buildings in the regeneration of Bow. It sits on the site of the former Crossways Estate and provides 93 new homes. Developer Swan New Homes has just released their platinum collection of apartments spread across the [...]
Starbucks brews up $588m quarterly income October 30, 2014 STARBUCKS, the world’s biggest coffee chain, said its net income for the quarter ended 28 September was $587.9m (£367m), compared with a loss of $1.23bn in the same period a year ago. A one per cent increase in traffic led to a five per cent gain in sales for Americas-region cafes open for at least [...]
You shall pass! Mckellen gets the freedom October 30, 2014 Actor Sir Ian McKellen was in the City yesterday, where he was awarded the Freedom of the City. The Burnley-born actor has been nominated by Lord Mayor Fiona Woolf and John Bennett, the City of London Corporation’s chief commoner, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to acting and his high-profile campaigning work to support the [...]
US corporate results round up October 30, 2014 MASTERCARD MasterCard reported a better-than-expected 15.5 per cent jump in quarterly profit as efforts to expand its international business paid off, with more people willing to use cards instead of cash. MasterCard’s worldwide purchase volume, excluding the US, grew 12.8 per cent to $554bn (£345bn) on a local currency basis in the third quarter. The [...]
Best of the Brokers for 31 October 2014 October 30, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com STANDARD LIFE Deutsche Bank has a “buy” rating on the insurer with a target prices of 445p after it revealed “better-than-expected” asset growth. “We continue to see Standard Life as amongst the best positioned UK life assurers on any longer-term view,” the analysts [...]
FTSE gets a lift after St James’s reports results – London Report October 30, 2014 BRITAIN’S top equity index yesterday staged a late rally to recover from losses earlier in the day, with wealth management group St James’s Place outperforming after strong results. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index had been in negative territory for much of the day. The late recovery enabled the FTSE to close up by 0.2 per [...]
