Westfield to separate UK arm from Australian operations December 3, 2013 THE PARENT company of west London shopping centre Westfields yesterday said it would carve out its international operations into a standalone business. Westfield Group, which is listed in its Australian homeland, said it will form a company called Westfield Corporation to house its UK and overseas operations. Its native operations in Australia and New Zealand [...]
Aggreko steps into the ring with Cirque du Soleil December 3, 2013 AGGREKO has signed a deal to supply power and temperature control systems to the world famous Cirque du Soleil for the next four years. The FTSE 100-listed temporary power provider, which supplied electricity for the 2012 London Olympics, said yesterday it will power the Montreal-based circus’ big-top touring shows across the US, Canada, Latin America, [...]
Commerzbank offices searched as part of tax evasion investigation December 3, 2013 GERMAN prosecutors searched Commerzbank offices yesterday, looking for evidence that a foreign life insurance company may have helped German investors evade taxes. State prosecutors in Bochum said around 270 tax officials searched the bank’s headquarters and branches across Germany, looking into the sale of wealth management products “disguised” as tax-efficient life insurance policies. “The aim [...]
Pearson takes over language schools in Brazil December 3, 2013 PEARSON added to its education arm yesterday by unveiling plans to spend £440m on an English language training company in Brazil. The FTSE 100 firm, which owns the Financial Times, said its purchase of Grupo Multi is part of its goal to expand in fast-growing economies. The company will pay £440m in cash and assume [...]
BlackBerry says corporate clients are upping interest in new service December 3, 2013 THE NUMBER of large business and government clients that have installed or are testing BlackBerry’s mobile device management service has risen roughly 20 per cent over the past six months, the embattled smartphone maker said yesterday. BlackBerry, which recently halted plans to sell itself and shook up its management team, said large customers such as [...]
Barclays’ institutional investors say no-no to cocos mixed into fixed income indices December 3, 2013 BARCLAYS is considering creating a new index for contingent convertible (coco) bonds in a push to attract more investors into the new asset class and ensure demand for the securities becomes well established. However, investors are thought to be less happy with a previous plan to add cocos to existing bond indices. The bank is [...]
Former Man Group strategist starts up quant fund manager December 3, 2013 ONE OF Man Group’s top strategists has left the company to form his own Mayfair-based fund management company. Richard Bateson, who was head of strategy for the firm’s AHL quantitative trading unit, has founded London Quantitative Investments (LQI) alongside ex-Goldman Sachs alumni Jonathan Greenhalgh and former Lehman Brothers banker Patrick Coppens. Bateson left Man in [...]
Numis back on form after rally spurs revenues December 3, 2013 CITY broker Numis put the financial downturn behind it yesterday after posting a thumping increase in full year revenues and profits. The firm, which helped bring seven companies to the stock market over the year, said revenues rose 55 per cent to £77.7m and adjusted pre-tax profits increased to £25m – close to a three-fold [...]
O2 refuses to back Maria Miller’s plan to cap stolen phone bills December 3, 2013 CULTURE Secretary Maria Miller plans to cap bills on mobile phones that are lost or stolen at £50 and work with mobile operators to eliminate roaming charges across Europe by 2016. EE, Three, Virgin Media and Vodafone all joined Miller in support of the plan – that includes a commitment to Ofcom’s ruling in October [...]
Bank of Montreal shares fall after disappointing earnings in US unit December 3, 2013 QUARTERLY earnings at Bank of Montreal rose one per cent due to stronger wealth management profit, Canada’s No 4 bank said yesterday, but its shares fell on the back of a sluggish performance at its US Harris Bank unit. Shares of BMO, the first Canadian bank to report fiscal fourth-quarter results, were down 3.7 per [...]
