Chrysler secures $5bn debt deal February 5, 2014 Chrysler Group is set to raise about $4.8bn (£2.9bn) in debt that it will use to repay an existing bond, allowing the US car maker owned by Italy’s Fiat to save around $134m a year in interest costs between 2014 and 2016. The car maker will use all proceeds to repay a bond issued in [...]
City Moves for 06 February 2014 | Who’s switching jobs February 5, 2014 Baker Tilly The law firm has announced the appointment of Eric Solomons as head of audit for the North West. He has nearly 30 years’ industry experience. Solomons joined the firm in April 2013 from BDO. Old Mutual Global Investors The asset management firm has hired Simon Stratford as chief technology officer. He was previously [...]
Best of the Brokers for 06 February 2014 February 5, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com JD WETHERSPOON Barclays has upgraded the pub chain to “overweight” with a target of 880p. The broker thinks Wetherspoons is being overlooked due to a price to earnings ratio that is below the long-term average for the firm, but thinks the shares could [...]
London Report: FTSE pares back losses after RSA and Glaxo rally February 5, 2014 THE UK’S top top equity index snapped a five-day losing streak yesterday, lifted by rallies in insurer RSA and pharma group GlaxoSmithKline. Shares in RSA rose 4.6 per cent on expectations its new chief executive Stephen Hester, credited with salvaging RBS, would help turn around the insurer, which is struggling with a £200m pound ($330m) [...]
New York Report: Wall St drifts lower as rough ride continues February 5, 2014 US stocks slipped yesterday as technical support offset the latest batch of mixed data, which failed to lift sentiment after a string of soft economic indicators earlier in the week. In a volatile trading session, the S&P 500 index hit a session low of 1,737.92, marking its lowest level since mid-October, before rebounding to briefly [...]
Chinese monetary superpower rivals the Fed in the emerging market storm February 5, 2014 ONE OF the joys of my job is watching fashionable but off-base theories crumple in the face of real world events. The current emerging market storm has seen the obvious destruction of not one, but two cocktail party staples: the rise of the Brics/Mints and the idea of the G-Zero world. The first thought to [...]
Challenger banks face a Capital Catch 22: It’s time to level the playing field February 5, 2014 WANDER down any high street and you’ll see those well-known chain restaurants offering appetising food at a reasonable price. Then there are the one-off, often family-run eateries with their own unique menu – perhaps with a speciality that will one day become a staple of that household-name restaurant over the road. The larger chains, of [...]
Why wage subsidies are not the best way to help the poorest paid in Britain February 5, 2014 BRITAIN’S tax credit regime was introduced by Gordon Brown in an attempt to boost the living standards of the low paid. But by topping up pay, this effective state wage subsidy has worrying long-term implications for the worst off and the economy. Tax credits suppress natural market pay rises, encourage overmanning (particularly in non-growth sectors), [...]
Letters to the Editor – 06/02 – Quango bonfire, Global growth, Best of Twitter February 5, 2014 Quango bonfire [Re: How charities lavish millions of taxpayer money on left-wing campaigns, yesterday] The government should consider revisiting its “bonfire of the quangos”, although they should see it through properly this time. Over 200 have been axed, with impressive savings upwards of £2bn quoted, but far too many of the roles have been rehashed, [...]
The City’s got a brand new leather bag February 5, 2014 Satchels are back in business, showing off great British craftsmanship at its finest ORIGINALLY made in the 17th century to help Oxbridge students lug their books around, the humble satchel has nevertheless made an unexpected comeback in 21st century London. The buckled bags hav always been a distinctly British success story, made with hardy leather [...]
