Davos ready for a deluge of bankers January 23, 2011 FINANCIAL services firms are set to make a strong reappearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week. Guests at the forum will include Barclays’ Bob Diamond, JP Morgan’s Jamie Dimon, Deutsche Bank’s Josef Ackermann, HSBC’s Stuart Gulliver and outgoing Lloyds chief executive Eric Daniels among others. The strong presence of banking executives comes [...]
Growth to slip after record winter freeze January 23, 2011 THE coldest winter in 100 years may have contributed to a slowdown in economic growth in the three months to December, economists said ahead of official GDP figures released tomorrow. Experts have forecast an average 0.4 per cent GDP growth for the quarter, down from 0.7 per cent in the previous quarter. Heavy winter snow [...]
Inflation expectations surge to highest ever level, poll reveals January 23, 2011 INFLATION expectations have soared to a record high this month, as rising prices add to the squeeze on household spending, a survey said today. With 89 per cent of respondents expecting the cost of their purchases to rise this year, the Markit household finance index dropped to its lowest level since April 2009. “The recent [...]
ECONOMISTS’ VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM FOURTH-QUARTER GDP? January 23, 2011 GEORGE BUCKLEY | DEUTSCHE BANK “We expect the headline rate to be 0.6 per cent quarter on quarter, but there are downside risks. PMI surveys weakened in December, but on average the whole economy PMI is around the same in quarter four as it was in quarter three. Overall for the year it looks like [...]
Oberthur and Bain mull De La Rue bid January 23, 2011 OBERTHUR Technologies, the French group eyeing British banknote printer De La Rue, has joined forces with private equity firm Bain Capital to lift its bid. However, Bain will only support the deal if it gains approval from De La Rue’s board, sources said. De La Rue last month rejected a takeover approach from Oberthur worth [...]
Worldwide consumer squeeze January 23, 2011 Consumers in most countries globally look set to keep a tight grip on spending in coming months as they worry about job security and rising inflation, according to a Nielsen Company survey released yesterday. Almost half (45 per cent) of Americans foresee a weak economic environment this year, compared with 38 per cent of Europeans [...]
GOOGLE’S GOLDEN GOODBYE January 23, 2011 Google will give a $100m (£62.5m) equity award to Eric Schmidt (right) as he hands over the chief executive officer job to co-founder Larry Page (left), and takes on the role of executive chairman. The award will include stock units and options and will vest over four years. The news follows the disclosure that Google [...]
Serco walks from bid for US spy firm January 23, 2011 TALKS of a $2bn (£1.2bn) bid by outsourcing giant Serco for US spy firm SRA International were last night downplayed by the company. The contracting firm, which runs many of Britain’s public services, had reportedly considered a takeover bid for SRA in a deal that would have propelled it to become one of the biggest [...]
Investors beat tax by using CFDs January 23, 2011 HALF of all equities traded in the UK last year were traded as contracts for difference (CFD), as investors looked to evade stamp duty. A total of €1.3 trillion (£1.1 trillion) worth of shares were traded through CFDs, according to data compiled by US research house Tabb Group. CFD, a form of equity derivative that [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 23, 2011 ASSOCIATED BRITISH FOODS Deutsche Bank rates the consumer group “sell” with a target price of 950p. The broker has downgraded its earnings per share forecast by two per cent thanks to falling sugar yields after the snow and margin pressure in some divisions. It also warns that Primark’s sales growth is continuing its slow-down. MAN [...]
