Over a quarter of British babies born to foreign mothers in 2011 February 4, 2014 THE NUMBER of babies being born in the UK climbed to nearly three quarters of a million in a recent year, official statistics revealed yesterday. The figures, released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), also showed that 26 per cent of births were to women born outside the UK. Using data from 2011, the latest [...]
St Modwen profits jump thanks to Elephant and Castle disposal February 4, 2014 ST MODWEN said yesterday it would submit its planning application for New Covent Garden Market within the next six months as it posted a jump in profits and net asset value (NAV). The developer and joint venture partner Vinci are redeveloping the 57-acre site to house the market’s 200 businesses and completed a £49m share [...]
UK slides down progress ranks as crisis bites February 4, 2014 THE BRITISH economy has displayed “persistent structural weaknesses” in comparison to many other countries, losing a significant part of its competitive edge since the millenium. According to a report released by PwC this morning, the UK ranked 19th on a list of 30 large economies in 2012, when accounting for 20 major economic, political and social [...]
Eurozone businesses start to feel benefit of super-low rates February 4, 2014 THE INTEREST rate paid by businesses on new loans fell in the final month of 2013, the European Central Bank (ECB) said yesterday, as the market continues to improve. New floating rate three-month loans of over €1m (£828,000) saw the cost fall five basis points on the month to an average of 2.18 per cent. A [...]
Record month for European IPOs February 4, 2014 Initial public offerings in Europe, the middle east and Africa had their best January on record this year, figures released yesterday show. Six stock market flotations helped raise $3.1bn (£1.9bn) of cash, led by the $1.8bn float of Altice, according to data provider Dealogic. This is the biggest amount ever recorded for January, and comes [...]
JP Morgan pays $1.45m to settle case February 4, 2014 JP Morgan Chase will pay $1.45m (£888m) to settle a government lawsuit that charged the company with maintaining a sexually hostile environment for women in an Ohio mortgage center more than four years ago. A commission said the work situation included sexually charged behaviour. “We fully agree with (the commission) that harassment and discrimination have [...]
Better Capital gets set to write down two firms February 4, 2014 BETTER Capital plans to write down the value of two of its portfolio companies after tough trading in recent months. The turnaround investor, led by Jon Moulton, said a pair of “more material” companies in the 2009 fund had suffered a difficult few months. While the unnamed companies “remain profitable”, Better said it will make [...]
Bottom Line: Ocado profits set to come in the nick of time February 4, 2014 OCADO’S detractors are starting to wear a little thin. For three-and-a-half years – since its market debut in July 2010 at 180p – investors have mostly stuck around as the price fluctuated between 54p to recent record highs close to 10 times that. For the most part, the upward trajectory has been uninterrupted since Sir [...]
City Moves for 05 February 2014 | Who’s switching jobs February 4, 2014 Trowers & Hamlins The law firm has announced the appointment of Simon Owen as a partner in its banking and finance division. He was most recently at Squire Sanders, where he was a partner in its banking team and head of its banking practice before the Squires merger. Julius Baer The private banking group has recruited [...]
Best of the Brokers for 05 February 2014 February 4, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com SERCO Cantor Fitzgerald has kept its “sell” rating and slashed its target from 460p to 365p in the wake of the outsourcing group’s profit warning last week. Despite the firm’s repaired relationship with the government, the broker is worried that management changes will [...]
