Property experts tip residential as a prime target for investment January 30, 2011 PROPERTY investors plan to cash in on the fragile parts of the residential market over the next 12 months, according to survey figures released today. Just 13 per cent of the 146 property professionals surveyed by Investec believe that residential property values will go up in the next year. Almost half (49 per cent) expect [...]
House-sellers see flat prices January 30, 2011 MORE homeowners expect their house to lose value this year than in 2010, according to new figures published by property website Rightmove. Fewer than one in four people looking to sell their house think their property will rise in value this year, compared with more than half (53 per cent) in January 2010. Around a [...]
Pressure rises on F&C ahead of vote January 30, 2011 WITH just three days to go before F&C Asset Management’s boardroom showdown with activist shareholder Sherborne Investors on Thursday, mood in the City has swayed toward the F&C board. Early enthusiasm for Sherborne’s proposed board takeover, replacing chairman Nick MacAndrew with its founder Edward Bramson, has been replaced with caution as investors weigh their options. [...]
Fund managers win larger pay packets January 30, 2011 PAY for fund managers is rising more quickly that profits, according to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Asset managers have been rewarding staff with increased bonuses in order to keep top talent from moving elsewhere, despite profits rising at a slower pace. Compensation costs as a percentage of net revenue have increased by four per cent over [...]
Skrill appoints Wigley ahead of potential IPO January 30, 2011 ONLINE payments provider Skrill has appointed Yell chairman Bob Wigley as its non-executive chairman ahead of an anticipated stock market listing later this spring. Wigley, the former chairman of Merrill Lynch until it was taken over by Bank of America in 2009, will help to oversee the development of the business. Skrill, which operates the [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT IS THE LIKELY OUTCOME FOR F&C? January 30, 2011 HAYLEY TAM | CITI “Whatever happens, it is likely to cause continued disruption to ongoing operations. If Sherborne loses the vote it will create a share overhang of about 17 per cent, which will need to be disposed of – but it will allow existing management to continue to run the company with minimum disruption. [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 30, 2011 KPMG Dr Nicola Mazzarotto (pictured) has been appointed as head of competition economics for financial advisory and accountants KPMG. The appointment means that he is now a director in the firm’s economics practice. He joins the firm from the competition commission, where he performed economic analysis for eight years on several high-profile mergers, including a [...]
Alpha snaps up Massey in £4.5bn deal January 30, 2011 ALPHA Natural Resources has agreed to a $7.1bn (£4.5bn) deal to buy Massey Energy, which was rocked by a deadly coal mining accident last year. The deal – the latest in a wave of consolidation sweeping the industry – creates the second largest US coal miner by market value, holding 110 mines and combined coal [...]
Businesses can’t blame it all on weatherman January 30, 2011 WON’T blame it on myself, I’ll blame it on the weatherman”. So sang rubbish Irish girl group B*Witched in their 1999 number one hit. Over a decade later business leaders are following their lead. In December it snowed in the UK. In January we heard that people bought fewer Airfix models and drank less beer. [...]
Davos leaders on defensive as risks loom January 30, 2011 GLOBAL leaders flew back to their home countries yesterday to face up to the twin risks of high unemployment and rising inflation that marked the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos last week. The conference tried to sound an optimistic note, with trade between emerging markets flourishing and advanced economies coming out of recession, but many [...]
