M&A deals at lowest since 2003 November 8, 2011 THE UK’s share of mergers and takeovers globally has slumped to the lowest on record as just five per cent of world deals now involve UK target companies, data from Dealogic yesterday showed. Dealmaking in the UK this year has been worth only $116.3bn (£72.6bn), 14 per cent lower than in the same period in [...]
IPOs set for November rebound in the US November 8, 2011 THE IPO machine is set to roar back into life this month with 16 floats due in the US. The 11 deals scheduled for next week will make it the busiest seven day period since November 2007, according to US investment advisor Renaissance Capital. The US listings include consumer reviews website Angie’s List, which wants to [...]
Polymetal expects ruling November 8, 2011 GOLD miner Polymetal yesterday said it should know the outcome of a ruling on buying out its Russian minority shareholders by the regulator in Moscow in about 15 days’ time. Polymetal, which started trading on the London Stock Exchange on 2 November after switching from a Moscow listing, said its subsidiary Polymetal Holding had sent [...]
Asia powers Pru but M&G flows reduce November 8, 2011 PENSIONS group Prudential said surging growth in its US and Asian businesses this year raised its profits, but fund flows fell in its M&G investment arm as investors took fright over the Eurozone crisis. Prudential’s sales were £2.7bn in the nine months to September, 10 per cent higher than in the same period in 2010, [...]
Phoenix soars on solid results November 8, 2011 Shares in life insurance group Phoenix closed more than seven per cent higher yesterday as it said the market turmoil caused by the Eurozone crisis had not affected its business. Despite poor stock and bond markets, Phoenix said it had generated £603m cash in the year to the end of September, while its assets under [...]
JLT on track despite tough time November 8, 2011 Insurance broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson said its business was trading in line with expectations as growth in its emerging markets businesses offset “challenging” conditions in Europe. It said companies had little appetite to pay higher insurance premium rates, and clients in its employee benefits division were cutting back on discretionary spending such as insurance. Job [...]
Olympus hid losses during two decades November 8, 2011 JAPAN’S Olympus admitted yesterday it hid losses on securities investments dating back two decades, bowing to weeks of pressure to explain a series of baffling transactions that have put the future of the firm in doubt. The revelations by the 92-year-old company seem to vindicate ex-CEO Michael Woodford, who has staged a campaign since being [...]
Galleon Group trader fined a record $92m November 8, 2011 A FEDERAL judge has ordered Raj Rajaratnam, the Galleon Group hedge fund founder sentenced to 11 years in prison for insider trading, to pay a record $92.8m (£57.7m) penalty in a related Securities and Exchange Commission civil case. The penalty imposed by US District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan is in addition to the $63.8m [...]
Persimmon and Bovis see demand rise November 8, 2011 TWO of the UK’s biggest housebuilders yesterday reported a boost in demand as the sector picked-up with first time buyers helping to lift the gloom. Persimmon said the number of first-time buyers has risen by over 35 per cent since the same period last year, a welcome boost to the industry that has seen first-time [...]
Hunt for $600m MF Global cash begins to produce results November 8, 2011 THE SEARCH for $600m (£373m) in missing customer money from defunct broker MF Global Holdings may begin with a lender in Chicago, it emerged last night. A Harris Bank branch office was the main repository for money from many of MF Global’s 150,000 customers, according to customers and representatives with smaller investment firms that introduced [...]
