Optimal Payments gets go ahead for €1bn Skrill takeover June 1, 2015 Optimal Payments came a step closer to its reverse takeover of Skrill yesterday after the firm said it had met several of the conditions necessary for the deal. The announcement is the latest sign of progress since Optimal stated its intention to conduct the reverse takeover, worth €1.1bn (£791m), in March. The deal will see [...]
Corruption crackdown adds to Macau woe as gambling slumps June 1, 2015 The ongoing slump afflicting Macau’s gaming industry shows no sign of abating after figures released yesterday revealed a 37 per cent plunge in year-on-year revenues for May. The decline represents the twelfth consecutive month of year-on-year falls after Macau’s Gaming Inspection & Coordination Bureau said revenues for the period fell to $2.6bn (£1.7bn). Macau, which [...]
Aveva expands portfolio with FabTrol buyout June 1, 2015 Aveva Group has agreed to acquire Oregon-based software firm FabTrol in a deal worth $6.5m (£4.2m), it announced yesterday. FabTrol, which is currently owned by Dowco Group, specialises in the provision of management software for the steel fabrication industry. Aveva views the acquisition as a way of further integrating this technology into its existing Bocad [...]
City Moves for 2 June 2015 | Who’s switching jobs June 1, 2015 DTZ The commercial real estate services provider has announced three appointments to its data centres team. Mark Trevor joins as senior director, Begoña Cerdan joins as a director, and Michael Hunter joins as an associate director in its London office. Lloyds Bank Andrew Charnley has been appointed regional head of the trade and working capital [...]
Best of the Brokers for 2 June 2015 June 1, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com CARPETRIGHT Ahead of the flooring firm’s preliminary results, Shorecap upgraded its pre-tax profit estimate for 2015 to approximately £13.1m. The analysts said restructuring of the store footprint and a more enticing brand is driving cash generation and profitability, and maintained a “buy” rating. [...]
Energy stocks drag FTSE as oil price stays low – London Report June 1, 2015 OIL AND gas led the FTSE down yesterday, while disappointing domestic economic data pointed to a weak manufacturing outlook. Energy stocks shaved more than 10 points off the blue-chip FTSE 100 index, with crude oil prices weak on expectations that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (Opec) production would remain high, pointing to the potential for [...]
Traders remain cautious as US rate hikes loom – New York Report June 1, 2015 LAST week’s losses were partly recovered yesterday, as stocks made modest gains in a session marked by cautious trading as investors reacted to mixed economic data. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 29.69 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 18,040.37, the S&P 500 gained 4.34 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 2,111.73 and the Nasdaq [...]
Only greater personal accountability at all levels will rebuild trust in banking June 1, 2015 Like other football supporters up and down the land, I was really pleased that Prince William, in his role as president of the FA, spoke out at the weekend about Fifa. The issues he raised – particularly around personal accountability – are central not only to those who lead our great sporting institutions, but they [...]
Why businesses don’t need “corporate social responsibility” to be ethical June 1, 2015 Would anybody ever be brave enough to oppose “corporate social responsibility”? Certainly, it is a good marketing strapline. And CSR proponents have been very successful at putting up and knocking down straw men in which they claim their opponents believe. For example, it is argued that those who do not believe that companies should have [...]
US transparency over state surveillance puts British efforts to shame June 1, 2015 Two very different stories are being played out on each side of the Atlantic on the subject of government surveillance. In the United States, intrusive powers permitted under the Patriot Act were allowed to expire on Sunday evening, after the libertarian senator Rand Paul used procedural objections in the US Senate to delay the passage [...]
