City A.M. Shadow MPC holds, despite growth March 5, 2014 ALLISTER HEATH | CITY A.M.“The collapse of forward guidance is just the latest evidence that a tightening of monetary policy is long overdue. Significant capacity constraints are already emerging and will worsen as the economy returns to a normal growth rate. Bank rate should immediately be raised to one per cent.” JAMES SPROULE | INSTITUTE [...]
BBA Aviation profits lifted March 5, 2014 Plane services firm BBA Aviation yesterday posted an eight per cent rise in pre-tax profits to $170.5m, slightly short of forecasts, and unveiled plans to buy back shares worth $125m. The FTSE 250 firm said profits rose two per cent to $2.2bn, which it hailed as a strong result given the lack of growth in [...]
Eurostar carries 10m a year March 5, 2014 Eurostar, which runs the passenger trains to the continent, carried 10m people last year and posted a seven per cent rise in sales revenue to £857m and operating profit up four per cent to £54m. “After a period of economic uncertainty we are now starting to see more confidence in the business market,” said boss [...]
Sportech looks to US for growth March 5, 2014 Gambling company Sportech is aiming to expand further in the US by offering internet betting on horse racing in Connecticut and opening sports bars there and in California. The move follow the liberalisation of gambling legislation In a number of states. It reported a pre-tax profit of £5.2m for 2013, up from £1.3m in 2012. [...]
City Moves for 06 March 2014 | Who’s switching jobs March 5, 2014 BNP Paribas The investment bank has appointed Stephanie Sfakianos as head of sustainable capital markets for fixed income. She was most recently its head of liability management, having joined the bank in 2002. Sfakianos previously held fixed income roles at Deutsche Bank and HSBC. Allen & Overy The law firm has hired Karan Dinamani as a partner [...]
Best of the Brokers for 06 March 2014 March 5, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com DIGNITY Panmure Gordon keeps its “buy” rating on the funeral provider and raises its target from 1,600p to 1,800p following strong full-year results yesterday. The broker is impressed by the firm’s growth combined with good cost control. IAG Cantor Fitzgerald keeps its “hold” [...]
London Report: FTSE falls again as tensions in Ukraine make traders wary March 5, 2014 THE UK’S top share index fell again yesterday after rebounding from two-week lows in the previous session, with updates from some companies disappointing investors and tensions over Ukraine weighing on sentiment. Engineering turnaround specialist Melrose fell 7.8 per cent, the top decliner on the FTSE 100 index, after warning of challenging market conditions and saying [...]
New York Report: Wall St shrugs off tensions March 5, 2014 THE S&P 500 finished almost flat yesterday, a day after closing at an all-time high, as investors shrugged off soft data on jobs and the services sector while keeping an eye on developments in Ukraine. The market showed little reaction to the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, as the Dow Jones industrial average fell 35.70 points [...]
Saving procrastination nation March 5, 2014 Melissa York on the internet blocking apps and downloads designed to save you from yourself ACTRESS Jennifer Saunders revealed this week that she’s seeking help from a hypnotist to combat her tendency to procrastinate while scriptwriting. Perhaps we should take a leaf out of Saunders’ book and try to do something about this collective bad [...]
Letters to the Editor – 06/03 – Investment risks, Russia’s takeover, Best of Twitter March 5, 2014 Investment risks [Re: Memo to the City and UK industry: 2014 is the year for business investment, yesterday] Danny Alexander’s challenge to businesses for a pick-up in investment misses the fact that political factors are behind part of the recent lull. As the CBI recently pointed out, the uncertain political environment is currently one of the [...]
