Best of the Brokers December 20, 2012 SPORTECH Peel Hunt yesterday raised its guidance from “hold” to “buy” due to the betting company’s £7.6m acquisition of US horce racing firm eBet. It raised the target price from 70p to 78p. DIAGEO JP Morgan Cazenove has uploaded the drinks company from “underweight” to “neutral” on an improved pricing environment in the US. Target [...]
Obama barney with Boehner bumps stocks December 20, 2012 US stocks rebounded from early losses yesterday after Republican House Speaker John Boehner said he would keep working on a solution to the “fiscal cliff” while also slamming President Barack Obama’s approach to budget talks. NYSE Euronext was the S&P 500’s biggest gainer, surging 34 per cent to $32.25 after Intercontinental Exchange said it would [...]
Doddering fiscal cliff talks prevent FTSE from jumping towards 6,000 December 20, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index steadied around nine-month highs yesterday, pausing within reach of the 6,000 points mark. Investors were discouraged from pushing the market too much higher by the lack of progress by US politicians on a deal to avoid a “fiscal cliff” of planned tax hikes and spending cuts that threatens the health of [...]
The euro heroically survived 2012 but new dangers await next year December 20, 2012 NO REVIEW of the global economy in 2012 could fail to focus on Europe’s long-running and ever-changing debt crisis. The continent is emerging from its most difficult year since the birth of the euro. It’s in a better shape than many expected, but European policymakers still face formidable challenges in 2013. The year has been [...]
Three messages to warm your spirits during the hectic Christmas period December 20, 2012 AHECTIC round of after-work parties and shopping, interspersed with a few brief moments wondering where the year went. Then a frenzy of unwrapping, a battle in the kitchen with a recalcitrant turkey, the family lunch, a silly game, a surreptitious snooze in the middle of Pirates of the Caribbean. Christmas has its routines, but every [...]
Don’t be a misery: Festive decadence has a fine heritage December 20, 2012 EVERY December, eco-miserabilists and anti-consumerist curmudgeons attack people for indulging in Christmas-time debauchery. Fancying themselves as experts on Christian festivals, these killjoys inform the moronic masses that boozing, overeating and splashing out on pressies is not what Christmas is supposed to be about. Christmas, they declare, is meant to be a time of reflection and [...]
Will 2012 be remembered by the public as a good year for the coalition government? December 20, 2012 YES David Skelton It’s been a tough year for so many people – the cost of living continues to rise and the economy continues to flat-line at best. Given that background, it might seem odd to argue that 2012 has been a good year for the coalition. But it has. Indeed, I would argue that [...]
Rapid responses December 20, 2012 The Russian way [Re: Russian business stereotypes need to be consigned to the distant past, yesterday] For hundreds of years, Russia was part of Europe and the wider international community. Communism was a short diversion and, since 1991, the country’s integration has become more and more obvious. On the one hand, this means the West [...]
CITYA.M. Guide to givers 2012 December 20, 2012 Welcome to City A.M’s second annual Guide to Givers, bringing to the limelight business individuals and organisations that have donated not just their resources, but also their time and effort towards improvements for those less fortunate than themselves. As belts are being tightened, public charitable spending is understandably at a significant low point, putting emphasis [...]
Private philanthropy is more crucial than ever before December 20, 2012 It is widely recognised that this is a tough time for the charity sector in the UK. Public donations to charities have fallen by 20 per cent in real terms in the past year, with £1.7bn less being given. £81bn in spending cuts will also have far-reaching consequences, with a third of charities’ funding (£13.9bn) [...]
