BEST OF THE BROKERS June 27, 2010 MARKS & SPENCER UBS maintains a “buy” recommendation for Marks & Spencer and said that it forecasts first quarter like-for-like growth of three per cent in general merchandise and 1.5 per cent in food. UBS said the consensus may be a little higher and that there may be an Easter impact as last year’s first [...]
MA pays $1bn for Albaugh June 27, 2010 ISRAEL’S MA Industries is to buy US firm Albaugh for about $1bn (£664m) to bolster its presence in the Americas and solidify its position as the world’s biggest generic agrochemical maker. MA, also known as Makhteshim Agan, said yesterday it signed a memorandum of understanding to pay $340m in cash, $455m in seven-year promissory notes [...]
City’s competitive edge blunted by bank levy June 27, 2010 THERE can be no doubt that Asia holds the key to the future growth of the global financial services industry, providing a whole host of new opportunities for the international business community, including many UK firms. And it is in all of our interests to help these rapidly emerging markets succeed and grow. That is [...]
Hertz raises €400m in loan notes through Netherlands subsidiary June 27, 2010 HERTZ, the car hire company, has placed €400m (£328m) in senior secured notes through its Dutch subsidiary to refinance its outstanding international fleet debt facilities. The group said the 8.5 per cent notes, which are due in 2015, would be sold to institutional investors. The notes are rated “B1” by Moody’s and “B” by Standard [...]
BOXING BANKERS UNLEASH THEIR BULLISH INSTINCTS IN THE RING June 27, 2010 ONE of the City’s biggest bankers’ boxing clubs is setting up a championship fight for a charity night soon. The Real Fight Club in Spitalfields, London’s original home to the practise of “white collar boxing” (i.e. boxing by bankers) is holding a boxing showcase evening on 15 July and expects to see a City audience [...]
Take a view on the UK with the FTSE 250 June 27, 2010 INVESTORS in the FTSE 100 have endured a difficult couple of months as heavyweight BP’s tumbling share price dragged the rest of the index down with it. But while the blue-chip index has lost almost 13 per cent since the middle of April, the FTSE 250 has fared a little better. It too has suffered [...]
THE TIPSTER June 27, 2010 IT WAS good news for the pound at the end of last week. Sterling-dollar briefly rose above $1.50 last week – its highest point since mid-May – after the markets signalled overall approval of the Budget package. But with the Federal Reserve reiterating its pledge to keep interest rates low for an extended period, the [...]
THE WORLD CUP TIPSTER June 27, 2010 AFTER what was a tense and ultimately (for England) depressing weekend, the remaining quarter final places will be decided over the course of today and tomorrow. Some teams, such as Holland and Brazil, which have sailed through the group stage, appear to be on track to progress – but as the shock exits of Italy [...]
SPREAD BET GURU June 27, 2010 MARKET STRATEGIST josh@cityindex.com Q. Dear Josh, can you tell me how the markets reacted to the emergency Budget presented by George Osborne last week? A. The banks and the retailers all performed strongly in reaction to the budget while the pound also received a boost. We saw banking stocks such as RBS, Lloyds Banking Group [...]
Banks headed higher as governments back BP June 27, 2010 EUROPEAN markets are set to jump higher on the open this morning, with bank stocks most likely to rally following on from the agreement in the US over the details of the financial reform bill which was hammered out last week, and which appears to be less strict than many in the sector had feared. [...]
