UK TV exports grow to £1.3bn despite tough trading conditions October 5, 2010 SALES of UK TV programmes on the international market soared almost 10 per cent to £1.3bn last year, buoyed by the success abroad of hit shows like the BBC’s Top Gear, according to the UK TV Exports Survey. Sales to the US alone reached £485m – a three per cent hike. Sales in Australia and [...]
AIA warns on risks as it launches IPO October 5, 2010 AIA Group, which aims to raise about $15bn (£9.4bn) through a Hong Kong listing, flagged a series of business risks including the collapsed bid from Prudential as it launched the share offering yesterday. AIA, the Asian life insurance business of American International Group, also said in the preliminary prospectus filed to the Hong Kong Stock [...]
FTSE hits a five month closing high, led by banks, miners and oil stocks October 5, 2010 STRONGER banking and commodity shares helped drive Britain’s top share index to a more than five-month closing high yesterday, after encouraging US economic data gave a boost to markets. The FTSE 100 closed 79.79 points, or 1.4 per cent, higher at 5,635.76, its highest closing level since 26 April, after a 0.7 per cent fall [...]
Economic stimulus hope boosts mood of investors October 5, 2010 US stocks rallied to nearly a five-month high yesterday on growing conviction that central banks will do even more to bolster struggling economies worldwide. The Bank of Japan lit the fuse overnight when it unexpectedly cut rates closer to zero. This move came as markets increasingly believe the US Federal Reserve will stimulate its economy [...]
Buy City offices for steady income October 5, 2010 CONFIDENCE in UK property has plummeted over recent months. The recent commercial property confidence survey conducted by Lloyds showed that almost half of property professionals now think that property prices will stay flat over the next six months (up from 36 per cent in May). So is now the time to ditch commercial property and [...]
Track records no guarantee October 5, 2010 THERE is nothing institutional investors dislike more than uncertainty since it robs them of their ability to plan for the future. This has led some institutional investors, in particular wealth managers and fund selectors, to exclude funds without a record of at least three years. The rationale is straightforward: looking at past performance allows investors [...]
FUND MANAGEMENT NEWS October 5, 2010 RECORD 2010 EXPECTED FOR SOME FUNDS A number of fund groups are on track for record-setting years, according to flow data provider EPFR Global. Emerging markets, US and global bond funds as well as global emerging market equity funds are likely to experience record inflows in 2010. Against a backdrop of soaring equity markets and [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS October 5, 2010 KPMG The financial services group has hired Iain McLaughlin as its new UK head of recruitment. He joins from GlaxoSmithKline, where he spent six years working in human resources, most recently with a focus on the emerging markets. He has also worked in HR for the banking and IT sectors. McLaughlin’s appointment is part of [...]
Don’t go with the flow October 5, 2010 WHEN Brazil’s finance minister Guido Mantega last week warned of an international currency war, he said what many other emerging market policymakers were privately thinking. Competitive devaluations have become a hot topic of discussion and there are growing calls for an international accord to help coordinate a rebalancing of the global economy. According to the [...]
AUSSIE WILL HAVE TO WAIT TO HIT PARITY October 5, 2010 DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT Yesterday’s decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to keep rates steady surprised the currency markets and sent the Aussie tumbling in reaction to the news. Prior to the release traders had been relatively certain (75 per cent) that rates would increase by 25 basis points. In fact, over [...]
