Private equity is being forced to face new reality December 8, 2011 Cheap money era is over, but there’s still opportunity THERE are those in private equity who like to pretend that our industry somehow escapes the laws of supply and demand. They would prefer investors to believe returns – at least when they are healthy – rest on the “magic touch” of fund managers, rather than [...]
Poetry and capitalism make a heroic couplet December 8, 2011 T.S. ELIOT was a banker, but that hasn’t stopped two poets from refusing to be shortlisted for this year’s prestigious, £15,000 Eliot Prize over a sponsorship deal with Aurum Capital, an investment firm specialising in funds of hedge funds. First Alice Oswald and now John Kinsella have given up their coveted places on the list. [...]
RAPID RESPONSES December 8, 2011 Chinese walls Terrific advice [Culture clash: Five tips for Western firms that want to do business with China, yesterday]. I’ve lived and worked in Greater China many times over the past 15 years. How I wish I read this article before my first trip. If anyone is skeptical about anything in the article, trust me, [...]
Premier Farnell cautious as third quarter sales fall short December 8, 2011 BRITISH electronic parts distributor Premier Farnell reported a slight dip in third-quarter sales yesterday, and said it remained cautious on the global economic outlook. “The quarter’s profit was in line with our expectations, compared with last year’s strong performance,” the company said. “Although we remain cautious on the global economic outlook, the business has responded [...]
Shares slump at L&S after GE pulls out December 8, 2011 SHARES in London & Stamford Property plunged by more than 13 per cent yesterday after its largest shareholder sold its stake in the struggling business. London & Stamford stock fell by 13.2 per cent during the day before closing down 7.55 per cent at 106.5p after GE Asset Management offloaded all of its 74m shares, [...]
Beltane Asset Management fills its maiden building at Cloak Lane December 8, 2011 BELTANE Asset Management has filled its 9 Cloak Lane office block, six months after starting its search for tenants. The firm has signed up ERIM Services to take the fifth floor, completing its lettings drive for the building near Cannon Street and taking its average rents to £51 a square foot. Beltane, which was set [...]
OFT to review private health care in the UK December 8, 2011 THE UK’s £5bn private healthcare market is set to come under scrutiny, after The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said yesterday it planned to examine whether larger players were preventing competition in the sector. The OFT said it had provisionally decided to refer the market for privately funded healthcare services to the Competition Commission to [...]
PZ Cussons says trading is tough after first-half miss December 8, 2011 BRITISH soap and shampoo maker PZ Cussons said its first half profit was below expectations and it expected trading conditions to remain tough given pressures on consumer spending. The maker of Imperial Leather soaps and Carex anti-bacterial hand washes said high raw material costs and adverse exchange rate movements impacted margins, while trading conditions remained [...]
French court denies iPhone ban December 8, 2011 A French court yesterday rejected Samsung’s request for an injunction to prevent Apple from selling its iPhone 4S in France, sought on the grounds it copied elements of Samsung’s Galaxy line of mobiles. Calling the request out of proportion, the court also ordered Samsung to pay €100,000 of Apple’s legal fees.
Alibaba seeks financing for Yahoo December 8, 2011 Alibaba Group is seeking up to $4bn in debt financing, sources said yesterday, in a deal expected to help the Chinese e-commerce giant buy back a 40 per cent stake in the company owned by Yahoo. As Alibaba Group is private, there is no public figure on what Yahoo’s stake is worth, though some analysts [...]
