Dow reshuffle ditches brands September 10, 2013 THE DOW Jones Industrial Average shook up its index yesterday, dropping three household names, citing a diminished share value. Bank of America, HP and mining company Alcoa, which had been on the index for nearly sixty years, were cast aside in favour of two financial sector giants, Visa and Goldman Sachs, alongside Nike, which will [...]
Deputy speaker stands down September 10, 2013 TORY MP Nigel Evans resigned last night as deputy speaker of the House of Commons, after he was charged with sexual offences including rape. Evans said he will fight eight offences he is accused of committing. He denied wrongdoing and pledged to remain MP for Ribble Valley.
Osborne’s austerity accused of slashing growth by Fed paper September 10, 2013 CRITICS have railed against an economic paper released by the San Francisco Federal Reserve yesterday, which claims George Osborne’s fiscal plans have made the UK economy three per cent smaller than it would have been otherwise. The authors use an experimental technique to suggest that the adverse effects of trying to reduce the UK’s deficit [...]
Cable warning over UK economy September 10, 2013 BUSINESS secretary Vince Cable will warn of the dangers of complacency as the economic recovery continues in a speech today to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). “The kind of growth we want won’t simply emerge of its own volition. I see a number of dangers. One is complacency, generated by a few quarters of [...]
First time buyer loans swell by nearly a third September 10, 2013 MORTGAGE lending to first time buyers has jumped upward, rising by 31 per cent to £8bn in the year to June, according to Bank of England figures released yesterday. New government schemes to boost activity in the housing market appear to have had the desired effect in the second quarter, as the Funding for Lending [...]
Hedge funds snap up Mayfair office space to house new staff September 10, 2013 THE AMOUNT of West End office space occupied by hedge funds has more than doubled in the past year, according to new figures, as established hedgies lease extra room for expansion plans. Over the past 12 months the West End space taken by hedge funds has ballooned from 25,000 square feet (sq ft) to 58,000 [...]
Xstrata merger saves Glencore at least $2bn September 10, 2013 MINER trader Glencore Xstrata delighted the market yesterday when it said that synergies from this year’s merger would hit at least $2bn (£1.3bn) next year, skyrocketing far beyond initial guidance of $500m. Chief executive Ivan Glasenberg said that a significant proportion of the synergies would come from cutting costs at head and regional offices, [...]
Analyst Views: What did you make of Glencore’s surprise revision to its savings? September 10, 2013 ALASTAIR MCCAIG | IG Glencore had already said there would be considerable improvements, but the $2bn figure definitely surprised the markets and distracts from the Xstrata writedown, which took the gloss off the merger a bit. I’m interested to see what they’re aiming to do with a secondary listing in Johannesburg. PAUL KAVANAGH | [...]
Foxton float set to value estate agent at £650m September 10, 2013 THE PLANNED stock market flotation of real estate agent Foxtons is over-subscribed, a source close to the process said yesterday, indicating interest in the offering may be outweighing any concerns that the London property market is looking overheated. The flotation of the London-focused group, due to happen later this month, has a price range of [...]
Gulf Keystone surges 17pc on legal outcome September 10, 2013 AIM-LISTED oil explorer Gulf Keystone Petroleum’s share price soared almost 25 per cent yesterday, after a three-year court battle over assets in Kurdistan was ended in its favour. The English Commercial Court in London dismissed all claims by Excalibur Ventures, which argued that it was owed a 30 per cent interest in GKP’s assets in [...]
