Fund managers under attack from hyper-activist investor Elliott Management February 26, 2014 US ACTIVIST investor Elliott Management flexed its muscles yesterday by taking large stakes in two of Britain’s most prominent fund management groups. The group took its shareholding in F&C Asset Management to 11 per cent while building its ownership of Alliance Trust to 10 per cent. The move will unnerve both companies given Elliott’s aggressive [...]
Warren Buffett: Markets are like sex February 26, 2014 INVESTMENT guru Warren Buffett has offered up his latest advice to would-be investors by comparing the stock market to sex. Buffett, who delivers his closely watched letter to shareholders every year, said investors should be wary of the current market rally. “A bull market is like sex. It feels best just before it ends,” he [...]
Business investment lifts economic outlook for UK February 26, 2014 BRITISH companies ramped up investment spending at the end of last year, spurred on by an improving economic outlook. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released its second estimate of fourth quarter growth yesterday, keeping it unchanged at 0.7 per cent – yet the new figures suggested a healthy balance among the factors contributing to [...]
The collapse in homeownership is a disaster for social cohesion February 26, 2014 HOMEOWNERSHIP has just fallen to a 25-year low, which means that Britain’s once-vaunted ownership society is in deep trouble. This is very bad news indeed. It is vital, for the sake of social and economic cohesion, that as many people as possible are able to own property; the only form of capitalism that is politically [...]
Rouble slips on Ukraine crisis February 26, 2014 THE rouble sank to a five-year low yesterday as investors reacted nervously to Russia’s government flexing its muscles over Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin ordered military drills near the border to Ukraine, where protests have sparked widespread violence. US secretary of state John Kerry said Washington was considering $1bn in loan guarantees for Ukraine. The greenback [...]
Scottish bank plans snubbed February 26, 2014 DEPUTY Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey became the latest in a line of critics to cast doubt on plans for Scottish independence yesterday. Speaking to the Scottish Affairs Select Committee yesterday as head of the Prudential Regulation Authority, Bailey said the plans for regulation in an independent Scotland were not “operating in any other [...]
House owning drops to 25-year low in England February 26, 2014 HOME ownership dropped once again last year, falling to the lowest level in a quarter of a century, according to shocking official figures released yesterday. The level of home ownership has now been falling for a decade. In 2012-13, 65.2 per cent of English homes were owner-occupied, down from 70.7 per cent in 2003, to [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 27 February 2014 February 26, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Hester to shore up RSA with £1.5bn Stephen Hester is finalising plans to shore up RSA’s balance sheet by as much as £1.5bn with one of the biggest equity raisings by a UK insurer, said people with knowledge of the matter. The former Royal Bank of Scotland chief, drafted in to run RSA [...]
Pre-nups head for shake-up as new laws loom February 26, 2014 COUPLES could be given the chance to draw up their own legally binding pre-nups under new plans proposed by the government today. In a report this morning the Law Commission recommends the introduction of new legally binding contracts – known as qualifying nuptial agreements – that could not be disregarded by the courts, as some [...]
Cameron and Merkel gear up for showdown over EU treaty change February 26, 2014 DAVID Cameron is being urged to confront the tricky topic of EU negotiation in a clash with German chancellor Angela Merkel today, as the two politicians meet in London. Merkel will address parliament today before joining the Prime Minister for lunch, where she is expected to insist that while reform in Brussels is necessary, the EU [...]
