France and Belgium end shorting ban February 13, 2012 REGULATORS in France and Belgium have finally lifted the bans on the short-selling of certain financial stocks, six months after they were introduced as markets plunged on Eurozone debt fears. The separate decisions, by French watchdog AMF and Belgium’s Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA), come after a boost to market sentiment and are expected [...]
Swiss are global leaders for 2012 cross-border takeovers February 13, 2012 SWISS corporations have taken a global lead in international acquisitions during 2012 and are responsible for 16 per cent of cross-border takeovers this year. The relative strength of the nation’s financial sector has allowed Switzerland to surge the top of the M&A rankings, with outbound acquisitions by Swiss firms totalling $12.8bn (£8.1bn) in 36 deals [...]
Knight Vinke ups Kesa stake February 13, 2012 KNIGHT VINKE, the activist US investor, has increased its stake in Kesa, sending shares in the electricals retailer up by 1.42 per cent yesterday. Kesa revealed yesterday that its biggest shareholder has upped its holding by 2.2m shares, takings its stake to 107.6m shares, or 20.32 per cent. The electricals group sold its loss-making Comet [...]
IFA reforms may result in higher fees February 13, 2012 REFORMS designed to regulate the world of independent financial advisers will lead to higher costs for consumers who seek investment guidance, according to a survey by accountancy firm BDO. The report suggests that 90 per cent of advisers expect their earnings to stay stable or increase after the reforms and claims that the new regulations [...]
Fidessa beats profit forecast but warns of slowdown ahead February 13, 2012 BRITISH trading software firm Fidessa yesterday announced that its pre-tax profit had risen to £43.2m in 2011, up from £40m a year earlier. The results beat analysts’ predictions, despite the tough trading conditions caused by a wave of insolvencies and consolidation in the sector. Revenue for last year was up six per cent at £278.3m [...]
Turmoil forces GLG to shut the door on Harker’s Japanese fund February 13, 2012 CONCERNS over liquidity in Japan have forced GLG to close the door on a key fund in the nation. Stephen Harker’s £1.1bn Japan CoreAlpha fund faces a “soft closure” from 30 March, meaning it will place restrictions on new investment. The fund, which has beaten the Japanese sector average for the last three years, will [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: CAN FIDESSA CONTINUE TO GROW AT ITS CURRENT RATE? February 13, 2012 DAVID TOMS | NUMIS Fidessa’s results are modestly ahead of our expectations. Management’s increasing confidence in the multi-asset opportunity and the potential for a new engine of growth from hosted platforms for larger customers continue to support our positive stance. JULIAN YATES | INVESTEC Unsurprisingly the company is seeing continued weakness in its SME customer [...]
JOE LEWIS TO HOST HIGH-ROLLERS’ GOLF IN HIS TAKEOVER DOWNTIME February 13, 2012 THERE IS still more than a month to go before Bahamas-based billionaire Joe Lewis can come back with a bid for pub chain Mitchells & Butlers. To occupy himself in the meantime, the financier is hosting two of the world’s most high net worth golf tournaments. The first, the Albany International Challenge co-hosted with Rob [...]
Heathrow hit as Chinese go to rival hubs February 13, 2012 HEATHROW is lagging behind major rivals in the race to attract passengers from China due to a lack of capacity, BAA warned yesterday. London’s biggest airport is losing out to the likes of Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt, airport chief Colin Matthews said. Heathrow’s January traffic from China, including Hong Kong, was down by 0.7 per [...]
Airbus joins aviation tax row February 13, 2012 GLOBAL planemaker Airbus joined a chorus of concern that a European scheme to charge airlines for carbon emissions risks triggering a full-blown trade war, with implications for plane deals and even Europe’s crippling sovereign debt crisis. The EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), introduced on 1 January, has drawn howls of protest from airlines around the [...]
