Norwegian PM turns taxi driver August 11, 2013 Norway’s prime minister worked secretly as a taxi driver in central Oslo for a day in June, leaving his passengers wondering whether their elected leader had quit the day job. Wearing a taxi driver’s uniform and sunglasses, Jens Stoltenberg drove passengers around the streets of the Norwegian capital for several hours, in an attempt to [...]
Cardiff City FC mull plan for a stock market float August 11, 2013 FORMER ENRC chairman Mehmet Dalman is pushing forward with plans to take newly promoted Cardiff City Football Club onto the stock market. The Square Mile veteran, who is chairman at the club, is understood to have met with capital market bankers to discuss plans for the club, which could include a market float. Hong Kong [...]
British art exports hit highest level since credit crunch began August 11, 2013 FOREIGN buyers paid almost £2bn for British art and cultural items during 2011-12, up a third on the previous year, according to figures out today that show the UK art market is near its pre-crash peak. This is despite the introduction of new laws granting artists – or heirs of artists who have died within the [...]
Gherkin co-owner IVG reveals a £1.85bn debt for equity scheme August 11, 2013 THE GERMAN co-owner of London’s iconic 30 St Mary Axe, otherwise known as the Gherkin, has outlined a debt for equity swap to slash its debt pile by £1.85bn. IVG Immobilien, which bought the Gherkin with Evans Randall from insurer Swiss Re for £600m in 2007, has agreed to give its creditors 77 per cent [...]
Diageo decants £15m into new scheme for spirits start-ups August 11, 2013 DIAGEO, the world’s largest drinks company, is to pour up to £15m of investment into a new joint venture with agency Independents United to help fledgling spirits businesses. The FTSE 100 firm, which created its premium Ciroc vodka brand from scratch, said Distill Ventures is the first scheme to provide seed-funding for start-ups in the [...]
Boss of BDO says bigger is better for the accountant August 11, 2013 Simon Michaels, managing partner of the UK’s sixth largest professional services firm, thinks it is all to play for BY THE end of July, the builders had almost finished with BDO’s London headquarters. The glass-fronted Baker Street building, once the home of Marks & Spencer’s main office, has been revamped to make space for [...]
City Moves for 12 August 2013 | Who’s switching jobs August 11, 2013 Aquila Capital The alternative asset management firm has announced the appointment of Dorothee Goerz as senior fund manager. Goerz has over 12 years’ industry experience, and specialises in value and event-driven investing. She joins from Aremus Partners, where she was a portfolio manager. Prior to that, she was a portfolio manager at Lombard Odier. She [...]
Best of the Brokers for 12 August 2013 August 11, 2013 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com CINEWORLD With the cinema chain’s results due this week, broker Panmure Gordon has reiterated its “sell” rating on the stock but increased its target price from 238p to 260p. It said while revenues would be up around a fifth versus last yea,r a [...]
London Report: More details of Carney’s policy change are due August 11, 2013 AFTER Bank of England governor Mark Carney’s landmark forward guidance announcement last Wednesday, documents released this week should provide more clues as to how the new policies were agreed. The minutes from the monetary policy committee’s latest meeting, due on Wednesday, are likely to hint at a divide among the members over how comprehensive the [...]
Wall St The Week Ahead: Stock investors pin hopes on retail therapy August 11, 2013 WALL Street’s spotlight will fall on the consumer this week. Investors will look to earnings from major retailers and data on consumer spending with the hope that the numbers will show that Americans have indulged in some retail therapy in recent weeks. Good news on the shopping front could provide some potential catalysts for a [...]
