US jobless claimants fall as manufacturing keeps rising March 1, 2012 NEW JOBLESS claims in the US fell to their lowest level in nearly four years, data showed yesterday, and strong retail and car sales figures combined to give a strong image of the economy’s health. However, manufacturing cooled off in February and consumer spending stayed flat in January, taking the edge off the optimism. Jobless [...]
MEET THE ADVISERS March 1, 2012 TOPSY MATHEW STANDARD CHARTERED Tata Communications has hired Standard Chartered bank to advise it as it considers a bid for CWW. Heading the team of financial advisers is Topsy Mathew, the Mumbai-based managing director of the bank’s corporate advisory division. In 2010, Mathew led StanChart to number three for deals in India, beating takeover king [...]
Tata to rival Vodafone in bid for CWW March 1, 2012 A SECOND bidder has entered the ring to fight for Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW), the ailing telecoms company which has already attracted the interest of Vodafone. Tata Communications yesterday said it was “evaluating a possible cash offer for CWW”, but emphasised that “considerations are at a very preliminary stage.” Its announcement comes just two [...]
A record year takes WPP to profit of £1bn March 1, 2012 THE WORLD’S biggest advertising company yesterday posted a record year as WPP’s pre-tax profits hit the £1bn milestone in 2011, a growth of 18 per cent on the year before. The British company generated revenues of an unprecedented £10bn, up 7.4 per cent on 2010, and said it expects to generate more in 2012 thanks [...]
George Osborne celebrates the start of new City base for UBS at Broadgate March 1, 2012 CHANCELLOR George Osborne yesterday broke new ground to mark the start of construction work on UBS’s new headquarters at 5 Broadgate. The occasion marks the beginning of three years of building work overseen by site owners British Land and Blackstone, and the success of a campaign by City A.M. to allow the £850m development to [...]
DOES WPP HAVE A BRIGHT FUTURE? March 1, 2012 LORNA TILBIAN NUMIS We have long been supportive of WPP management’s focus on digital and emerging markets. Digital now accounts for 30 per cent of group revenues (with a five year target of 35-40 per cent), and absolute digital revenues are $4.6bn, well ahead of the nearest competitor at $2.5bn. We believe that, as the [...]
Might of Man returning as turmoil eases March 1, 2012 SHARES in Man Group were the biggest riser on the FTSE 100 yesterday after the world’s largest listed hedge fund reported a fall in outflows. The stock soared 12.68 per cent to 147.5p, providing some relief for management who have seen the value of Man’s shares halve over the past year. Man’s assets under management [...]
Meaty dividend looks less vulnerable March 1, 2012 IT’S the dividend, stupid. Since September, when Man revealed it had been hit by billions-of-pounds-worth of redemptions, its meaty payout has looked distinctly vulnerable. Yesterday, chief executive Peter Clarke made it clear that Man is committed to paying bumper dividends, even if times are hard. From now on it will pay out 100 per cent of [...]
Hoare Govett loses another client as Mouchel hires Goldman Sachs March 1, 2012 HOARE Govett, the corporate broker that has just been bought by the investment bank Jefferies, has lost another client. Mouchel, the outsourcing group, said yesterday it had appointed Goldman Sachs as its new broker and financial adviser. Goldman, which had traditionally served only the larger UK corporates, has been moving down the value chain in [...]
Greenhill to lose banker to Experian March 1, 2012 INFORMATION services group Experian has hired top Greenhill banker Brian Cassin as chief financial officer. Cassin, currently co-head of European corporate advisory at Greenhill, will join Experian on 30 April, the firm said yesterday. The loss of Cassin will come as a blow to investment bank Greenhill, which last year saw chief executive Simon Borrows [...]
