CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS December 18, 2011 The Miles Partnership Sue Shipley is to join the search firm as a partner to specialise in retail. Shipley was previously the global practice leader at Odgers Berndtson, where she led successful searches for the chief executives of Primark and Thorntons, the managing director of Wickes, and the director general of the British Retail Consortium. [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS December 18, 2011 BP Evolution has maintained its “buy” recommendation on BP, after the oil giant settled its dispute with contractor Cameron over the Macondo accident – although its target price of 510p is at “the lower end” of a valuation range that scales to 771p/sh. Evolution also notes that BP is talking to Ophir Energy about farming [...]
No chance of a Christmas rest as markets stay under pressure December 18, 2011 AFTER failing to break above resistance at 5,600 (the 61.8 per cent Fibonacci Retracement of this year’s May-to-August sell-off) last week, the FTSE100 pulled back sharply. Sentiment turned negative following another botched EU summit. While the UK has been labelled the villain for vetoing treaty changes, the fact is that EU policymakers remain unwilling to [...]
WALL STREET WEEK AHEAD December 18, 2011 WITH two weeks left in the trading year, the Eurozone debt crisis will remain the primary impediment to pushing the S&P 500 index into positive territory for 2011. Uncertainty over progress in the region, along with the potential for credit rating downgrades on Eurozone countries, have kept investors on edge and market volatility high. Even [...]
Port out, starboard home for yachting December 18, 2011 AS LEHMAN Brothers was filing for bankruptcy in September of 2008, Stephen White was sitting in Monaco on the back of Bad Girl, one of the most expensive superyachts in the world, owned by a top New York financier. White was then its highly respected captain. The financier, who had predicted the financial crisis, was [...]
SEIS’s beauty is in the eye of its beholder December 18, 2011 I WAS disappointed to read the criticism the finance industry levied at the new Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS). For example, an article in this paper concluded: “The SEIS is a gimmick and will not be particularly fruitful for investors or the economy.” The critics highlight the risk of investing in start-ups. Of course, the [...]
The City of London needs a Europe strategy that does not lead to it being sidelined December 18, 2011 FEAR is stalking parts of the city that Brussels is determined to undermine its competitiveness. But ask any senior banker or businessman what particular measure it is that Britain needs saving from, they draw a blank. The implementation of a Financial Transactions Tax (FTT) in the EU alone, and not on a global level, would [...]
Eurozone’s bank sector is facing a wintry new year December 18, 2011 IT’S hard to be optimistic about European banks: they are operating in a highly volatile economic environment that still seems a recipe for trouble ahead. To start with, take rising capital requirements and mix with new liquidity standards. Then add in constrained economic growth alongside the need for future restructuring and significant cost cutting. Combined, [...]
It’s a good time for the City’s taxes to pour in December 18, 2011 AT A time when the City’s value is being questioned, both in the UK and in Europe, it is more important than ever that we highlight the huge contribution it continues to make – even in this extremely challenging economic environment. It was timely therefore that last week a new City of London Corporation report [...]
RAPID RESPONSES December 18, 2011 Fire and ice Benny Peiser argues “the green agenda will remain firmly on ice for the rest of this decade”. [Durban’s climate conference puts green deal on ice, last Wednesday]. What’s true for inter-governmental climate treaties may also be coming true for the green energy movement, as governments realise they can’t afford the costly subsidies [...]
