CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 22, 2011 Coutts Coutts, the wealth division of Royal Bank of Scotland Group, has appointed Amir Sadr as head of the UAE market and private office in the Middle East, based in Dubai. In his new role, Sadr will develop Coutts’ ultra high net worth proposition in the Middle East, reporting to Alex Classen, chief executive of [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS November 22, 2011 MITIE UBS rates the outsourcing group “buy” with a target price of 290p, up from 280p following better than expected results. The broker is impressed by the firm’s confident outlook, noting its significant order wins that have driven its order book, and thinks Mitie will benefit from cost saving drives in both the public and [...]
FTSE slumps to seven-week low on further euro unease November 22, 2011 BRITAIN’S top shares index hit a seven-week closing low yesterday, led lower by energy stocks on worries slower US growth would crimp demand for crude while Commerzbank’s funding concerns hit Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group. The US economy grew more slowly than previously expected in the third quarter, and the news hurt [...]
US slide continues for a fifth session November 22, 2011 US stocks fell for a fifth day in a row yesterday, having lost more than five per cent over that period as borrowing costs in Spain hit another record high. The market remains anchored by concerns about the worsening debt crisis in Europe where rising yields suggest the outlook continues to deteriorate and stocks have [...]
Our economy and housing supply are being held back by planning: Liberalise now November 22, 2011 THE roots of our urban and housing crises began in the 1947 Town and Country Planning Act. This created the current planning framework where all major private property changes are subject to state veto. All land released for housing has to be approved by councils. Councils tell developers what they should build and where it [...]
Social investing will give a boost to philanthropy November 22, 2011 GEORGE Osborne’s Autumn Statement is likely to reveal that things are going to be tough for some years. One consequence is that money to tackle many social issues will be in short supply. One hope is that the third sector can plug some of the hole created by the deficit reduction plan. But funding for [...]
Why the drugs debate requires more humility November 22, 2011 THE former head of MI5, Baroness Eliza Manningham-Buller, last week called on the government to decriminalise cannabis. She thinks the “war on drugs” is not working. Like most who make this claim, she counts undiminished drug consumption as one of the policy’s failures. Liberalisers seem to agree with prohibitionists that drugs are bad for their [...]
RAPID RESPONSES November 22, 2011 Brown and out Spot on, Allister Heath [Brownonomics makes a shock return, yesterday]. The coalition’s other housing policy announcement is equally poorly thought out. It proposes to raise the discount for individuals buying their council home to 50 per cent, giving an unearned windfall to a lucky few. But this will raise only a trickle [...]
Political ineptitude is driving euro-dollar November 22, 2011 THE string of announcements yesterday provided a snapshot of the failings of politicians and committees on either side of the Atlantic to come up with any form of solution to their respective debt woes. We saw some short-term euro-dollar moves off the news that the IMF had approved changes to credit line structures designed to [...]
EUROBONDS COULD BE THE SOLUTION November 22, 2011 AS TURMOIL in the European credit markets continues to weigh on the euro, some analysts are pressing for the European Central Bank (ECB) to engage in Swiss National Bank (SNB) like intervention. But even the most accommodative monetary policy in the world will not produce a long-term solution for Europe. If the euro is to [...]
