Software provider Escher Group plans to raise £13.4m in AIM float August 3, 2011 ESCHER Group, a Dublin-based provider of outsourcing software to the postal industry, is planning to raise £13.4m by floating on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM), in a listing that would value the company at £28.7m. The company, which has grown pretax profits from $700,000 in 2008 to $4.3m in 2010, is raising the money via [...]
Huge cyber attack hits 72 targets August 3, 2011 MCAFEE, the US-based computer security company, yesterday issued a report revealing the largest series of cyber-attacks to date that targeted 72 organisations internationally. The hacking campaign, dubbed Operation Shady RAT, dates back to at least mid-2006. McAfee has declined to specifically identify the victims of what is believed to be the largest ever theft of [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 3, 2011 Barclays Andrew Hall will move to Barclays as a wealth adviser from Towry, where he worked from August 2010. Previously he worked with Bank of Scotland Investment Service, part of Lloyds Banking Group. Hall will be based in Glasgow Office, starting on the 25 July. He will be joined by Robin Clements, who joins the [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS August 3, 2011 VODAFONE Citigroup rates the telecoms group “buy” with a target price of 195p. The broker reckons Vodafone’s dividend will rise 52 per cent to 13.5p next year thanks to partner Verizon’s payout pledge, and predicts a 44 per cent rise in free cash flow. However, Verizon’s new dividend policy will barely affect the firm’s earnings, [...]
Commodities make losing streak worse August 3, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index fell more than two per cent yesterday, driven lower by uncertainty over global growth, with commodity stocks heading the list of fallers. The FTSE 100 sank to its lowest closing level since November 2010, dropping 133.88 points, or 2.3 per cent, to 5,584.51, extending its losing streak to four days. Integrated [...]
US markets close ahead August 3, 2011 US stocks ended higher yesterday, snapping a seven-day losing streak by the S&P 500, but worries about the economy kept trading volatile. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 29.82 points, or 0.25 per cent, to end at 11,896. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 6.29 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 1,260. The [...]
Working abroad has huge career benefits August 3, 2011 PEOPLE often describe international travel as “eye opening,” but rarely do they say it is good for your career. But research published in the Harvard Business Review shows that people who have international experience or identify with more than one nationality are better problem solvers and display more creativity. Better still, it seems that they [...]
How to reach the top of the legal ladder August 3, 2011 PARTNER AT DICKINSON DEES TO BE a successful lawyer an excellent knowledge of the law is, of course, expected. But it is the successful application of that knowledge that will get you noticed. Anyone can clock an impressive number of hours in the office, but it is the quality of the work you produce that [...]
Taking Aim to pass on your wealth August 3, 2011 WRONGLY written off as too risky by many, investing in a managed Alternative Investment Market (Aim) portfolio can be a powerful weapon in the arsenal of avoiding paying more inheritance tax (IHT) than you need. APATHETIC ADULTS Investec has exclusively released the details of a new study to City A.M. that reveals just one in [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS August 3, 2011 INVESTORS TAKE A MEGA BITE OF APPLE Clients of Barclays Stockbrokers have named Apple their favourite technology stock. 57 per cent favoured Apple over other technology stocks, 11 per cent Google, while 10 per cent said they would be interested in investing in Facebook and Twitter if and when they float. Cisco Systems, the US [...]
