Keller Group in €31.2m deal to support Koralm railway project in Austria February 23, 2015 Engineering firm Keller Group has won a €31.2m (£22.9m) contract to support construction of the Koralm railway line in southern Austria. The project, which is to start in the second quarter of 2015 and will run for around two years, comprises jet grouting, bored piling and anchor works as part of the soil preparation works [...]
City Moves for 24 February 2015 | Who’s switching jobs February 23, 2015 Axa UK Bruno Charlin has been appointed chief investment officer at Axa UK. He was previously chief operating officer of group investment and group head of asset and liability management at Axa Group. Charlin has nearly 30 years’ experience in financial services. Duke Street The mid market private equity firm has appointed Stuart McMinnies as [...]
Best of the Brokers for 24 February 2015 February 23, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com DECHRA PHARMACEUTICALS Numis has downgraded its recommendation for UK-based veterinary products manufacturer Dechra Pharmaceuticals from “add” to “hold”. Analyst Sally Taylor said: “While we believe the medium-term investment case remains fully intact, in light of strong recent share price outperformance we lower our [...]
HSBC woe drags FTSE as Greek drama continues – London Report February 23, 2015 A DROP in the shares of banking group HSBC held back Britain’s top equity index yesterday, although many traders still expected the UK stock market to reach record highs soon. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed down by 3.04 points, flat in percentage terms, at 6,912.16 points. The FTSE had risen 0.4 per cent to [...]
Apple helps Nasdaq to a healthy rise – New York Report February 23, 2015 THE Nasdaq ended higher yesterday for a ninth straight day following gains in Apple, while the Dow and S&P 500 eased off recent record highs as lower oil prices dragged down energy shares. The Nasdaq’s winning run was its longest since September 2010, putting the index closer to its 5,132.52 all-time intraday high, reached in [...]
Five policies that will transform the UK into a truly capital-owning democracy February 23, 2015 As a nation, we are bad at saving. While the reasons for this are many and varied, the belief that house prices are a one-way bet, the design of our welfare system, and the inability of humans to properly judge their future financial needs all contribute to UK households putting less aside than their counterparts [...]
Forget cutting tuition fees – student finance needs a complete overhaul February 23, 2015 In an age of big challenges, the general election campaign seems to be throwing up a host of small ideas. The Labour Party is currently quibbling internally over how to finance a policy of cutting the cap on regulated tuition fees from £9,000 to £6,000, for example. It’s unclear what problem this purports to solve. [...]
Britain’s legal sector is leading the world: It’s time we celebrated it February 23, 2015 This week, more than 2,000 delegates – lawyers, business leaders and ministers from around the world – are descending on London for the UK’s first Global Law Summit. Two years in the planning, its genesis lies in the government’s desire to promote the UK’s international standing in legal services in an increasingly competitive world-wide market. [...]
Following the latest cash for access allegations, should MPs be prohibited from outside work? February 23, 2015 Angela Eagle MP is shadow leader of the House of Commons, says Yes Voters rightly expect their MP to be representing them full-time – not earning thousands of pounds of extra money on the side. We must draw a line under these lobbying scandals, which do so much to undermine public trust in politics. That’s [...]
Election 2015: What it could mean for financial markets February 23, 2015 Traders shouldn’t fear an inconclusive result, argues Luis Eduardo Barrueto WITH just 71 days until the General Election, companies have already started to prepare for political uncertainty and negative developments in policy. Rothschild, the UK investment bank, is reported to be considering handing out its 2014 bonuses to staff in May, a month earlier than [...]