Recession fears brushed off by UK businesses April 2, 2012 FEARS of a technical recession have eased as a couple of upbeat business surveys suggest that the UK economy grew in the opening three months of the year. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) announced this morning that they expect GDP expansion of 0.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2012, reversing the knock-back [...]
Bullish American data pushes S&P to a fresh four-year high April 2, 2012 ANOTHER wave of upbeat economic data in the US last night pushed the S&P 500 to a fresh four-year intraday high. The highly-regarded ISM factory survey reported growth in the sector for the 32nd straight month. The index jumped from 52.4 for 53.4, reflecting faster expansion. All scores above 50 indicate economic growth. The positive news provided [...]
Co-operative Bank hikes its mortgage rate April 2, 2012 THE Co-operative Bank has become the latest UK bank to raise its standard variable mortgage rate (SVR) by half a percentage point in the face of higher costs. The rate will go up from 4.24 per cent to 4.74 per cent on 1 May – raising mortgages an average £15 per month for around 54,000 [...]
Misys sinks as ValueAct and CVC walk away April 2, 2012 SHARES in Misys dropped three per cent yesterday when ValueAct and CVC admitted they do not intend to bid for the banking software firm. The private equity partnership, which had until yesterday to “put up or shut up”, confirmed it would not rival Vista’s £1.27bn offer for Misys. ValueAct, which holds a 21.5 per cent [...]
MEET THE LAST ONE STANDING: VISTA April 2, 2012 Vista Equity Partners first piped up on 20 February and two weeks ago unveiled a £1.27bn cash offer for Misys. Officed in San Francisco, Chicago and Austin, the company invests in software and technology enabled businesses, “with a focus on long-term value creation”. It counts among its portfolio Turaz, the trade and risk management software [...]
Chancellor hits out at India’s tax plans April 2, 2012 BRITISH chancellor George Osborne yesterday warned Indian authorities that a retrospective tax on cross border investment would hit the Asian country’s economic development. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has already been advised against implementing the measures by international trade groups representing more than 250,000 companies. The plans would retrospectively tax acquisitions of Indian assets, such as [...]
Rolet relief as LSE set to seize LCH.Clearnet April 2, 2012 THE LONDON Stock Exchange is closing in on its takeover of LCH.Clearnet after winning sufficient backing from shareholders in the clearing house. The deal, which values London-based LCH at €813m (£675.7m), is expected to be approved today at shareholder meetings of both firms. The LSE plans to take a stake of up to 60 per [...]
Standard Life bosses bag £2m each in 2011 April 2, 2012 TWO directors of insurance firm Standard Life earned more than £2m each last year, according to figures contained in the firm’s annual report released yesterday. Chief executive David Nish took home £2.04m, including a £1m bonus, while there was a seven per cent pay rise for Keith Skeoch, head of the group’s asset management arm, [...]
Markit buys Data Explorers April 2, 2012 FINANCIAL data firm Markit yesterday bought stock lending analytics firm Data Explorers from private equity firm Bowmark Capital for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition is Markit’s first move into the securities lending business at a time when firms are looking to increase their use of this market to meet regulatory requirements for more collateral. “[The [...]
Search for new BBA boss starts as Knight quits April 2, 2012 THE HEAD of the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), the banking trade body, is to step down after a tumultuous five years at the helm, marking a period of heavy lobbying by lenders. Former Tory MP and BBA chief Angela Knight said she is leaving in the summer because “I have one more job in me”, [...]
