Gold’s safe haven status questioned by investors September 26, 2011 PRECIOUS metals plunged again yesterday morning as investors continue to be spooked by the unexpected downturn in supposed “safe havens”. Gold and silver both pared losses later in the day, yet have taken a huge hit since earlier in the month. Spot gold tumbled as much as 7.4 per cent to a low of $1,534.49 [...]
GOLD – IT’S NOT INDESTRUCTIBLE September 26, 2011 Q.DOESN’T GOLD RALLY DURING ECONOMIC TURMOIL? A.Not always. Investors often flee from all their positions, and in this case have largely turned to the US dollar as the most liquid option. Q.BUT WHY HAS IT BEEN HIT SO HARD? A.There are several possible factors, with gold likely being affected by a combination. Losses on equities [...]
Balls unveils £18bn plan to aid economy September 26, 2011 ED Balls yesterday unveiled an £18bn plan to stimulate the economy, including slashing VAT on home improvements to five per cent and giving small firms a national insurance holiday if they take on new workers. Balls repeated calls for the government to reintroduce Labour’s bonus tax; to lower the headline rate of VAT from 20 [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU BELIEVE LABOUR WILL INTRODUCE TOUGH FISCAL RULES TO CUT THE DEFICIT? September 26, 2011 TROY SOP | DEUTSCHE BANK “Just look at the Labour party’s track record. I don’t believe Ed Balls. We built up this deficit when he was in power. I don’t believe his party has changed at all. Labour won’t be any different next time round.” MARC TAYLOR | CNS “It’s easy for Balls to say [...]
Shareholders calling for Weber to join UBS now September 26, 2011 A GROUP of shareholders yesterday led the calls for Alex Weber to join UBS early as more contenders emerged for the chief executive’s role. Swiss campaigning group Ethos said UBS could use an EGM, within a month, to install Weber, amid claims the former Bundesbank chief has been has been involved in all strategic decisions [...]
LCH.Clearnet mulls offers September 26, 2011 THE BIDDERS for Europe’s sought-after clearing house LCH.Clearnet were waiting for the outcome of a critical board meeting yesterday to decide which of the offers will be accepted. The decision is crucial for the London Stock Exchange, which is one of two main bidders for a controlling stake in LCH, Europe’s last independent clearing house. [...]
Ashurst set for merger September 26, 2011 CITY law firm Ashurst is set to merge operations with Australian group Blake Dawson to create a legal firm with turnover approaching £500m. The pair hopes to rebrand as Ashurst in early 2012, having tied up their Asian businesses, with a full merger expected in 2014. The tie-up was sealed by a vote by both [...]
ROGUE TRADING TALENT PULL IN THE CROWDS AS CITY ENTERTAINMENT September 26, 2011 SOMETHING to look forward to for UBS alleged fraudster Kweku Adoboli, once he has emerged from the trauma of the courts: following in the footsteps of the original rogue trader Nick Leeson by entertaining drunken clients at corporate events. Leeson has been quietly raking it in on the after-dinner speaking circuit for years, says celebrity [...]
UBS has little scope to outflank Joe Lewis September 26, 2011 THE spotlight, when it comes to UBS, is currently on where the investment bank goes from here, but elsewhere there are teams of bankers getting on with their day jobs. In London, Nick Reid and his team are trying to do the impossible; advise the pubs group Mitchells & Butler on how it might get [...]
Bunzl completes two deals September 26, 2011 FTSE 100 distribution and outsourcing group Bunzl has completed two new acquisitions, the firm stated yesterday. Bunzl has bought Ideal Global Sistemas de Higiene Ltda, a cleaning and hygiene products supplier in Brazil and D-Care BV, a medical products distributor in the Netherlands. Bunzl also recently bought Majestic Products.
