Banks pitch for diamonds IPO December 6, 2011 Several banks pitched yesterday for a role in the forthcoming Hong Kong IPO of the UK high-end jewellery chain Graff Diamonds. The beauty parade was arranged by Rothschild, which is acting as an adviser to the company. One banker said he expected just four banks to be chosen for the process. Graff is expected to [...]
Activists and UBS face off in High Court December 6, 2011 UBS tried to kick out protesters from its disused City office block by sending a text message, the High Court was told yesterday. The Swiss bank also made a series of errors in its late-night legal efforts to remove the Occupy group, and sent the text on the suggestion of the judge handling the case [...]
CITY VIEWS: ARE YOU MORE OR LESS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE EUROZONE SOLVING ITS DEBT CRISIS THIS WEEK? December 6, 2011 RYAN LEHMANN | BLOOMBERG “Yes, I’m hopeful, because it looks as if things are moving along and they are under pressure to do something. I think since the expectancy is there, that it will be solved.” DEEPAK ARORA | FOX WILLIAMS “They have had so many meetings where nothing was solved, that I am not [...]
Job firm warns on profit December 6, 2011 RECRUITMENT consultant Michael Page yesterday warned of falling profits for the second time this year, blaming the worsening Eurozone crisis for a spate of employers and jobhunters abandoning their plans to hire or change jobs. Shares in the global recruitment group slumped more than ten per cent in early trading and closed 5.2 per cent [...]
High street has its worst sales growth since May December 6, 2011 SALES on the British high street dwindled to their lowest level of annual growth since May last month, despite retailers slashing prices to try and drum up a pre-Christmas rush. Figures from the British Retail Consortium showed that like-for-like sales volumes were 1.6 per cent lower than a year ago in November, though total sales [...]
OECD: tax more to cut inequality December 6, 2011 Inequality in the UK rose more quickly than in any other member country of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) from 1975 to the present day, the group revealed in a report published yesterday. The highest-earning 10 per cent earn an average of 12 times more than the lowest ten per cent, according [...]
Gilbert’s fear over Bank’s gloomy view December 6, 2011 THE BANK of England’s downbeat view risks dragging Britain back into recession, the head of Aberdeen Asset Management has warned. Martin Gilbert, the chief executive of Aberdeen – which posted a sharp exodus of funds in the run-up to its year-end – said Sir Mervyn King’s attitude could hit the economy in 2012. Last week King [...]
Football-mad boss knows Aberdeen funds can’t win new fans all the time December 6, 2011 “We have got to do it all over again – and that is always very difficult”, Martin Gilbert said yesterday, as he unveiled soaring profits for Aberdeen Asset Management. Cash flowed into its higher-margin areas, with demand growing for its emerging market funds. If he sounded like a footballer, repeating the mantra that it’s always [...]
Defined contribution pensions to get new regulation December 6, 2011 EMPLOYERS offering defined-contribution pension schemes will need to meet stricter standards in future, the UK’s pensions watchdog will say today as it starts a consultation on new principles for schemes to comply with. The Pensions Regulator is setting out six new “principles” for pension providers covering the features schemes should include, their governance and administration. [...]
Fund bosses go for gold December 6, 2011 INVESTORS have moved away from private equity and hedge funds and towards assets such as gold, according to new research. Market volatility has driven the change over the last six months, according to a study from LPEQ, the association of listed private equity investment companies, and the Scorpio Partnership. It said, however, that fund managers [...]
