…while Icap eyes London metal bourse September 29, 2011 ICAP has emerged as a contender in the race to buy the London Metals Exchange (LME), after its chief executive Michael Spencer said he was “very, very interested” to learn it was up for sale. Spencer said the LME was a “very good business” and pledged to “do a bit of research and give it [...]
Global IPO proceeds slump to 2009 lows as investors lose appetite for risk September 29, 2011 GLOBAL IPO activity fell off a cliff in the third quarter as extreme volatility in capital markets collided with low summer trading volumes, Renaissance Capital said yesterday. The 55 global IPOs floated in the three months to September raised just $19bn (£12bn), the lowest since the second quarter of 2009 and almost a 60 per [...]
Santander chief expects three year chill on profits September 29, 2011 SPANISH bank Santander expects it will take three years for profits to return to normal as higher regulatory and funding costs bite while the credit cycle gradually improves. The Eurozone’s biggest bank expects its return on equity (RoE) to improve by between three and six percentage points over the next three years and sees profits [...]
Commodities on track for dire quarter September 29, 2011 COMMODITIES, which are on course to close on their worst quarter since 2008 amid concerns over a global slowdown, gained some breathing space yesterday after the German parliament backed plans to expand the Eurozone’s bailout fund. Copper – often seen as a bell-weather for economic growth – as well as other industrial metals have been [...]
BlackRock mulls takeover bid for Axa Private Equity September 29, 2011 BLACKROCK is among a host of global buyout funds considering a bid for the private equity arm of Axa. The world’s largest money manager by assets could make an offer of around £300m, but has not got as far as opening talks, City A.M. understands. French insurer Axa confirmed on Wednesday that it had begun [...]
Possible bidders eye insurance arm of HSBC September 29, 2011 GERMAN life insurer Allianz and French giant AXA are among potential bidders for HSBC’s non-life insurance division, which could fetch more than $1bn (£640.7m) when sold, sources said yesterday. HSBC has sent out information memorandums to potential bidders for the sale of its non-life insurance business, as its chief executive Stuart Gulliver streamlines the bank [...]
Levene’s bank confirms bid for Lloyds arm September 29, 2011 LORD Levene’s British bank venture NBNK confirmed yesterday it had put in a formal bid for the 632 branches that Lloyds Banking Group is selling, with the amount on the table believed to be around £1.5bn. The NBNK offer is the only formal bid for the Lloyds’ branches so far, with Hugh Osmond’s Sun Capital [...]
What a rotten time to be selling assets September 29, 2011 IT is difficult not to feel a smidgen of sympathy for Lloyds Banking Group, instructed, as it has been, to sell 632 branches under state aid rules in the middle of a major economic slowdown. For one thing, the one financial alternative to a trade sale, an IPO, is virtually out of the question given [...]
WORLD CUP RUGBY STAR REVEALS AN UNEXPECTED WEAKNESS September 29, 2011 THERE HAS only been one occasion when Jason Leonard, the most-capped England rugby player of all time, has been intimidated on the pitch. That moment came when Leonard met Norman Hadley, a six foot nine Canadian rugby union player with a scar down his cheek that “didn’t come from rugby”. For reasons best known to [...]
Thomas Cook takes axe to its dividend September 29, 2011 THOMAS Cook yesterday ditched its dividend as it tries to shore up its finances before a series of banking covenant tests in December. The travel firm has been hit by the consumer downturn in the UK and unrest in the Middle East and north Africa regions. Thomas Cook has issued a series of profit warnings [...]
