Apple dodges calls to reveal Jobs’ successor February 23, 2011 APPLE shareholders yesterday voted down demands for a succession plan for chief executive Steve Jobs. Investors decided not to back a call from the Labourers’ International Union, which would have forced the firm to reveal whether and how it will eventually replace Jobs, who is currently on medical leave and did not attend the meeting [...]
Bets on early rate hike rise as Dale turns February 23, 2011 THE rift at the heart of the Bank of England deepened yesterday after its chief economist threw his weight behind calls for interest rates to rise. Spencer Dale joined independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) members Andrew Sentance and Martin Weale in voting for higher borrowing costs this month to bring runaway inflation back under control, [...]
HOW THE BANK OF ENGLAND’S INTEREST RATE SETTERS ARE DIVIDED February 23, 2011 MARTIN WEALE The newest member leapt off the fence last month to support a rate rise. CHARLES BEAN The Bank’s deputy governor might be expected to side with King, yet has been sounding more hawkish than usual of late. MERVYN KING The Bank’s governor insisted they could be “many quarters” away from a slow normalisation [...]
F&C disputes contract with key client BCP after Sherborne coup February 23, 2011 F&C ASSET Management is in legal wrangling with key client Millennium BCP over compensation due should the Portuguese bank end its contact. BCP believes it can exit its exclusive contract, which sees F&C manage £15.6bn of its assets, at any time without paying compensation or giving any notice, thanks to a break clause that took [...]
Inflows up at Henderson as assets rocket February 23, 2011 ANGLO-AUSTRALIAN fund manager Henderson said its profits leapt 37 per cent last year, despite a £7.6m charge. Underlying profit before tax increased to £100.7m, up from £73.7m a year earlier, at the firm led by chief executive Andrew Formica. Henderson was forced to pay a £7.6m charge into the Financial Services Compensation Scheme as a [...]
St James’s Place profit leaps 70pc February 23, 2011 PROFITS at wealth manager St James’s Place grew 70 per cent yesterday, despite the group being hit by a £6.2m charge. The firm said it had to pay a £4.8m interim levy into the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, resulting from the collapse of Keydata, as well as a £2.4m annual levy charge. St James’s profits [...]
Gartmore closes chapter on an inglorious 2010 February 23, 2011 YESTERDAY, investors likely saw Gartmore report as an independent fund manager for the last time. It wasn’t a pretty sight. Assets under management now stand at £15.8bn, a £7.7bn drop on the end-March figure. Of course, the real loss is far greater than that. Gartmore managed to lose billions of pounds in assets while its [...]
Barclays deal with Lehman cleared in US February 23, 2011 BARCLAYS is in line for an estimated £500m windfall after winning a legal battle with the bankruptcy estate of Lehman Brothers. Lehman’s creditors were attempting to extract $11bn (£6.8bn) from the bank on the grounds that it had improperly snapped up assets during a fire sale following Lehman’s collapse. But the bank’s lawyers fended off [...]
Private equity exits by IPO to hit record high February 23, 2011 SHARE offerings by private equity-backed firms are set to reach a record high this year as funds take advantage of the market upturn to exit deals, research showed yesterday. Funds have taken 11 companies public already this year, raising a total $10.2bn (£6.3bn), and there are many more waiting, data from research firm Preqin found. [...]
Nasdaq could muscle in on NYSE-DB deal February 23, 2011 US stock exchange Nasdaq is mulling a bid for NYSE Euronext, sources said yesterday, in a move that has the potential to scupper NYSE’s $9.5bn (£5.9bn) planned merger with Deutsche Boerse. Nasdaq, which is valued at $5.7bn, is thought to be looking at muscling in on the NYSE deal to avoid becoming a takeover target [...]
