IG Group gets tight on costs to head off fall December 11, 2012 IG Group, the spread betting company, yesterday said it would curb costs to help deflect flatlining revenues forecast for the second half of the financial year. The company, which yesterday revealed a 14 per cent drop in revenues for the first half of the year, said the traditionally booming second part of the calendar between [...]
Lords call for a battle to retain London as EU’s financial centre December 11, 2012 THE HOUSE of Lords’ EU Committee this morning called on the government to fight for the position of the City as Eurozone members consider a banking union. Without proper oversight, such a union could threaten the single market, the peers warned. “Tomorrow the government must go into battle at the critical European Summit to fight for the City [...]
Bolton backs Chinese economic upswing December 11, 2012 ONE of the UK’s most successful money managers has forecast a reversal of fortunes for the Chinese economy next year. Anthony Bolton, the star fund manager of the £510m Fidelity China Special Situations, said increased political certainty in China following the appointment of new leaders and an upswing in investor sentiment will open the door [...]
Guildhall chases voters in local City elections December 11, 2012 STAFF at the Guildhall, the City’s historic headquarters, are under the cosh to chase up errant businesses in the Square Mile which, despite several reminders, still haven’t filled in their registration forms to vote in the forthcoming local elections. A dedicated team of three assistants at the Guildhall are currently spending most of their time [...]
That’s a wrap: Citi’s tardy trader gets extra paperwork December 11, 2012 A TRADER over at Citi clearly hasn’t heeded The Capitalist’s recent warning about office Christmas party hijinks, which result in one in ten festive revellers being disciplined at work the next day. At a desk at Citi, one team decided to take the matter of punishment into their own hands when a colleague was AWOL [...]
Diageo shelves bid to buy out Cuervo brand December 11, 2012 DIAGEO has called off talks over a multi-billion dollar buyout of the maker of Jose Cuervo tequila. Paul Walsh, the drinks company’s chief executive, said a deal for Mexico’s Cuervo had failed to materialise, since “it has not been possible to agree a transaction which delivers value for Diageo’s shareholders”. Diageo’s valuation of Cuervo is [...]
Hedge fund take off to short airlines stocks despite tie-ups December 11, 2012 SHORT selling of airline stocks by hedge funds has continued to remain buoyant despite a spate of proposed deals between national carriers, data out yesterday revealed. Demand to borrow stock from Air-France-KLM has increased by just over six per cent, with 4.9 per cent of the stock out on loan, a record high, in spite [...]
Heathrow’s November traffic up 3.1 per cent year-on-year December 11, 2012 PASSENGER traffic at London’s Heathrow airport rose 3.1 per cent on the same month last year, Heathrow, the British airport operator formerly known as BAA, said yesterday. Of the 5.4m passengers who passed through the London hub last month, passenger numbers to China rose 12.9 per cent, with Brazil and Russia also delivering good growth, [...]
Diageo calls shots over tequila December 11, 2012 JOSE Cuervo isn’t on the rocks, but losing its distribution deal with drinks giant Diageo must be a blow. Yet, like the notorious tequila hangover, it shows every sign of being a self-inflicted injury. Negotiations between Diageo and the Beckmann family, which owns the tequila brand, are understood to have been ongoing for well over [...]
Sunbelt shines on Ashtead as it raises its annual profit forecasts December 11, 2012 INDUSTRIAL equipment hire firm Ashtead yesterday posted record first-half profit of £141m, as it lifted its profit expectations for the full year. First-half profit for Ashtead, which makes 85 per cent of its revenue from US arm Sunbelt, was up 64 per cent from £84m over the same period last year. Strong growth on rents [...]
