Silverfleet eyes Hunter’s Office chain November 28, 2010 HIGH STREET shoe retailer Office is likely to be bought by Silverfleet Capital after the private equity firm entered exclusive talks with current owner Sir Tom Hunter, a source close to the deal said yesterday. The exclusivity agreement all but scuppers the chances of Blackstone and PAI Capital, who had pursued Office since Sir Tom’s [...]
Irish most charitable despite crisis November 28, 2010 IRELAND puts more time into philanthropy than other countries, despite its economic crisis, according to research published today. Twenty per cent of high net worth individuals in Ireland spend at least five hours a week doing charity work, more than anywhere else in the world. The research also shows that charitable spending is likely to [...]
Greenergy launches bid for Total’s UK forecourts November 28, 2010 GREENERGY, a supplier of fuel to British supermarket petrol stations, has launched a £1bn-plus bid to buy Total France’s UK retail network. Greenergy’s chief executive Paul Lester said he had held preliminary discussions with the French oil major about buying its portfolio of 780 petrol station forecourts. The supplier, in which the world’s number three [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS November 28, 2010 ENTERPRISE INNS Numis rates the pub chain a “buy” with a target price of 155p. The broker recently met with management, and believes the firm’s shares should rise if it can return to growth in one or two years as planned, with flat profit in 2011. Shareholders could also benefit from the firm’s excess cash [...]
Bumpy ride likely because of EU debt and Korea November 28, 2010 INVESTORS are likely to be in for another bumpy ride this week, as the European sovereign debt crisis and military aggression from North Korea look set to continue. For today’s open, GFT is expecting the FTSE 100 index to open 11 points off from Friday’s close, at 5658. The German DAX 30 is expected to [...]
THE WALL STREET WEEK AHEAD November 28, 2010 THERE is no sign that investors’ headaches from Europe are going away, but early indications of strong holiday spending and an improving labour market could soothe Wall Street this week. Fears that Europe’s debt crisis could spiral out of control have pushed stocks off two-year highs hit earlier this month. Since 5 November, the S&P [...]
There’s more pain and selling to come for banking stocks November 28, 2010 EACH time that European banks have taken a step towards recovery since autumn 2008, it seemed that they suffered another a setback. Whether it was revelations of bad debts, government bailouts, exposure to indebted sovereigns or tighter regulation, it has been hard for their share prices to make sustained headway. The second bout of the [...]
When the torrent turns into a trickle November 28, 2010 THANKSGIVING might not make much of an impact on most British households, but for those trading on the financial markets, it will certainly have been noticeable. As millions of Americans take leave from work to eat turkey, drink, shop and nurse their hangovers, the number actually still trading shares drops off heavily. But it isn’t [...]
SPREAD BET GURU November 28, 2010 MARKET STRATEGIST josh@cityindex.com Q.Dear Josh, is the Christmas rally a myth? A.Historically at least, a Christmas rally is by no means a myth. The last 10 years have seen the FTSE 100 rally nine times in the month of December, with an average rally of 3 per cent. The only year where the index actually [...]
THE TIPSTER November 28, 2010 THE US is back in play now that the Thanksgiving holiday is over. The Dow Jones index has been dragged lower by weak European indices, but American investors usually don’t like being led astray by other indices. Monday could well bring a renewed bout of bullishness. Capital Spreads quotes 11,075-11,077 for the Wall Street index (the [...]
