Glencore float on track as prices shares at 530p each May 17, 2011 COMMODITIES giant Glencore is expected to price its up to $11bn (£6.7bn) initial public offering (IPO) at or above the midpoint of its previously announced range. The Swiss firm will price shares at 530p per unit or more, giving the commodities trader and miner a valuation of £36bn. Glencore had initially said its London share [...]
…As a third of bankers say they would move abroad May 17, 2011 TALENTED City workers are increasingly prepared to move abroad to take advantage of rising salaries in emerging markets, with Singapore and Hong Kong seen as top choices, according to a survey by recruiting website eFinancialCareers.com. The survey of 444 London bankers found that 34 per cent were prepared to move country and that only 12 [...]
Cameron: Banks face more levies if Merlin fails May 17, 2011 BRITAIN’S banks could face a barrage of new bank levies and taxes if they fail to keep credit flowing in line with the Merlin deal struck with the Treasury, Prime Minister David Cameron has warned. Speaking before a committee of MPs, Cameron said that banks could face “further bank levies, taxes, bonus taxes and all [...]
Babcock credits VT Group for a surge in profits May 17, 2011 DEFENCE services group Babcock International said yesterday its acquisition of rival VT Group drove a 57 per cent rise in annual profit, and that it expects outsourcing contracts to power growth this year. Babcock, which maintains Royal Navy submarines, reported an underlying pre-tax profit of £228.2m for the year to the end of March, driven [...]
Vodafone sees profits surge May 17, 2011 VODAFONE saw its full-year profits surge despite taking a £6bn impairment charge on its businesses in Spain, Greece, Portugal, Italy and Ireland. It was buoyed by fast-growing markets in India, South Africa and Turkey, and the rapid uptake of higher-margin smartphones. Pre-tax profits grew 9.5 per cent to £9.5bn, on revenues up 3.2 per cent [...]
Higher data revenues save the day May 17, 2011 EUROPEAN telecoms firms are having a torrid time. Earlier this month, Deutsche Telekom and Telecom Italia failed to hit expectations for first-quarter earnings, while Dutch telco KPN and Belgacom both issued profit warnings. The fact that Vodafone met consensus for earnings and beat at the top line while its rivals flounder means it is probably [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU HAVE A SMARTPHONE? May 17, 2011 NIPON RAVEL | XCHANGING “Yes, my head’s always in it! I use it for both work and social purposes, and I also have a separate smartphone just for work.” PAM TREVETT | AVIVA “I’ve had one for a while now and I definitely wouldn’t survive without it. It’s great being able to combine work and [...]
CITY BIRDS SWOOP ON GULLS’ EGGS LUNCHEON May 17, 2011 THE City’s summer season is officially underway, marked by yesterday’s Macmillan Gulls’ Eggs City Luncheon at the Merchant Taylors’ Hall. The quirky institution serves guests green speckled gulls’ eggs – which are only in season for four weeks of the year – as they get stuck into some serious networking. “It is like Linked In [...]
Aviva enjoys UK sales jump May 17, 2011 GROWTH in UK home and motor insurance boosted Aviva in the first three months of the year, offsetting a sluggish performance in its life division, the company said yesterday. Aviva, the UK’s second-biggest insurer, saw global non-life insurance premiums rise nine per cent to £2.7bn in the quarter, compared with the same period in 2010, [...]
Chief of Lloyd’s warns insurers to raise rates or risk collapse May 17, 2011 ANY further major catastrophe will have a dramatic effect on the insurance industry, the head of the Lloyd’s of London market said yesterday. A run of serious natural disasters since the start of the year, including the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, have depleted insurers’ reserves and another large event could eat into their capital [...]
