Robertson joins the board of Hargreaves Lansdown October 3, 2011 INVESTMENT adviser Hargreaves Lansdown yesterday announced that British Retail Consortium (BRC) director general Stephen Robertson would be joining as a non-executive director. Robertson’s career has spanned 14 years on the boards of major UK retailers, including previous management roles with Mars, Unilever and Alberto-Culver. He also served for seven years as marketing director at B&Q [...]
Deadline passes for Axa PE bids October 3, 2011 The deadline for first-round bids Axa’s private equity arm closed yesterday with a series of private equity houses interested in a deal. US giant KKR and 3i, the UK-listed buyout vehicle, were believed to be mulling a bid but did not comment last night. City A.M. understands BlackRock has not pursued its early interest. Axa [...]
Icap reshuffles Japan operation October 3, 2011 Broking giant Icap has announced a shake up of its Japanese operation as it seeks to expand its government bond business and its growing derivatives business. Icap Totan Securities, 60 per cent owned by Icap, is selling its JGB business to Central Tanshi Securities. It will also take a 20 per cent stake in Central [...]
LME deal not seen before 2012 October 3, 2011 Any potential deal to sell the London Metal Exchange is unlikely to be concluded before the end of the first quarter next year, LME chief executive said yesterday. Martin Abbot told the annual LME Metals Seminar that “if and when the board is satisfied” that there is a viable bid to show shareholders, they will [...]
BT suffers huge broadband failure October 3, 2011 A power failure at a major exchange in Birmingham caused problems for hundreds of thousands of BT Broadband customers across the UK yesterday. The firm said the “brief outage” would have lasted would have lasted for “little more than an hour” and had now been restored.
US car sales enjoy a jump start after supply issues October 3, 2011 SOME of the biggest carmakers in the United States have reported sales jumps of at least 20 per cent during September, in a sign that consumers have returned as vehicle inventories have risen after being crimped by the March earthquake in Japan. General Motors, the world’s biggest carmaker, said yesterday its sales were driven by [...]
TURNOVER RISES AT AGENT PROVOCATEUR October 3, 2011 Agent Provocateur, the lingerie firm backed by private equity giant 3i, said yesterday that sales rose eight per cent to £26.7m for the year to 26 March. Operating profit was £1.33m. The brand, famed for its risque lingerie, now has 55 outlets around the world and has opened stories in Moscow and Beirut this year. [...]
NEXT LORD MAYOR SETS OUT A CITY MANIFESTO October 3, 2011 ALL CHANGE in the Lord Mayor’s office, as alderman David Wootton was yesterday elected the 684th Lord Mayor of the City of London at the Guildhall. The Lord Mayor Elect, as Wootton will be known until he takes office on 11 November, used his election day to declare that the theme of his year in [...]
UK and US rebound in manufacturing… October 3, 2011 MANUFACTURING took a surprise upturn in the UK and US in September, according to purchasing managers’ indices (PMI) for the sector, released yesterday. In the UK the index rose from 49.4 in August to 51.1 last month, said Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS). Any figure above 50 indicates economic expansion. [...]
…yet BRICs and Eurozone suffer a factory slump October 3, 2011 NEW orders from factories in the Eurozone shrank at their fastest pace since mid-2009 last month, as weak manufacturing figures from across the world stoked fears of another recession. Markit’s Eurozone manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) came in at 48.5 in September, down from 49 in August. All figures below 50 point to economic contraction. [...]
