Index reshuffle is chance to make a substantial profit May 17, 2009 INDEX reshuffles, at least in Britain’s FTSE indices, don’t tend to spark much more than some token interest among the trading community. The process is deliberately as transparent as possible and well publicised in advance in order to minimise any dramatic share price movements ahead of the rejig. Unfortunately for spread betters looking to capitalise [...]
MP expenses scandal has cut general election odds May 17, 2009 THERE is nothing like a good political scandal to get the blood flowing. Watching Question Time last week was a bit like watching Doctor Who when you were a child – best done from behind the sofa and through the fingers. Never has there been so much fury against politicians. The atmosphere is even worse [...]
Beware green shoots: the bears will still beat the bulls May 17, 2009 THE fragility of the “green shoots” recovery theory that has seen the FTSE 100 rise almost 30 per cent since its 9 March low, came to a shuddering halt last week as it lost 2.6 per cent, breaking its five-week winning streak. The blue chip index is now stuck in the middle of a tug [...]
BILL OF THE WEEK May 17, 2009 IF anyone out there believed elaborate dinners were going out of fashion in these straitened times, think again. Friday night, and four guests rocked up at the Lanesborough hotel’s Apsleys restaurant for Dom Perignon champagne, exquisite Scavino Barolo Annunziata Reserva wine, lobster spaghetti, veal and Dover sole. But it was after dinner, when they retired [...]
CELEBRITY CIRCUIT BECKONS FOR THE BEEB’S RESIDENT HEARTTHROB May 17, 2009 THAT Robert Peston just keeps popping up on the celebrity circuit. The BBC business editor has enjoyed something of a meteoric rise to fame since his scoop about the crisis at Northern Rock back in 2007 – so much so that he even managed to scoop eighth place in a recent Britain’s Sexiest Brains poll, [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS May 17, 2009 CARPHONE WAREHOUSEMorgan Stanley upgrades its price target for Carphone Warehouse to 185p from 173p citing its decision to buy Tiscali’s UK operations. It sees Carphone as an “attractive” investment, which remains one of the only retailers (alongside Debenhams) that it believes is undervalued by the market. It notes demerger plans are also now well advanced. [...]
CITY MOVES Who’s switching jobs May 17, 2009 Bank of New York MellonThe banking group has appointed Timothy F. Kearney as its new head of global client management and chairman of Europe. Kearney will also retain his existing role as co-chief executive of BNY Mellon asset servicing, though he will relocate from New York to London to take up his new position. He [...]
BT bosses face no bonuses if they fail to meet standard performance targets May 17, 2009 TELECOMS firm BT will claw back executives’ bonuses, it emerged yesterday, should they fail to meet performance targets. The news comes after BT announced a crisis in its corporate services arm, more job losses and cut its final dividend last week. BT’s annual report, due to be published on 27 May will outline the details [...]
Nomura to focus on US in its global expansion push May 17, 2009 NOMURA, Japan’s largest brokerage, will today officially announce a policy of beefing up its US equities division as it presses on with its global expansion drive. Nomura Securities (NSI), the firm’s US broker-dealer arm, said it was pursuing a strategy of “market leading teams to build out and leverage Nomura’s global franchise”. NSI has made [...]
Commerz state deal backed May 17, 2009 THE GERMAN government put the seal on its acquisition of more than 25 per cent of Commerzbank over the weekend, after the bank’s shareholders approved a share issue as part of state support for the lender. In a near unanimous vote at the bank’s annual general meeting, investors approved the issue of 295m new shares [...]
