BEST OF THE BROKERS September 28, 2010 CARPHONE WAREHOUSE RBS initiates coverage with a “sell” rating and a target price of 180p. The broker believes the company’s mature core retail operation depends too much on competing in the crowded smartphone market. RBS predicts profits of more than ten per cent below consensus estimates, with earnings per share in 2012 forecast at 13.5p. [...]
Close upbeat as loan book boosts profit September 28, 2010 MERCHANT bank Close Brothers posted a seven per cent rise in underlying profits yesterday on the back of a 23 per cent rise in its loan book and said it expects further growth in lending this year. The group said its underlying operating profit rose by £7.6m to £121.3m in the year to 31 July, [...]
Centrica takes on Connaught’s gas safety arm September 28, 2010 THE OWNER of British Gas has bought a chunk of Connaught’s surviving business and taken on 600 employees, the energy giant announced yesterday. Centrica paid £11.2m yesterday for the gas and electrical safety branch of Connaught Compliance, one of the few parts of the firm to escape administration. It has also bought Connaught’s training academy [...]
The defence industry boss who is reshaping his firm for new realities September 28, 2010 FOR Cobham’s chief executive Andy Stevens, life is measured out in five-year plans. The head of the FTSE 100 defence company first joined the business in 2003 as head of its aerospace division and played a key role in the 2005 strategic review that “took a root a branch look at our operations and decided [...]
CITY SET TO APPOINT ITS LATEST LORD MAYOR September 28, 2010 IT’S ALL change for the City in the traditional sense this week, with the annual election of the Lord Mayor taking place later on today. As is the way with these things, the result of the “election” is almost a foregone conclusion before it’s even begun, since the City of London’s senatorial group, the Court [...]
CITY EYE September 28, 2010 A pair of City gents take time out to have a rest as they get their loafers polished into tip-top condition.
Mining lifts FTSE while banks drag September 28, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index closed slightly higher yesterday as stronger mining stocks offset falls from banks still dogged by investor concerns over sovereign debt. The FTSE 100 closed 5.02 points, or 0.1 per cent, higher at 5,578.44 in skittish trading, with the index having dipped as low as 5,506.07. Miners were in demand, boosted by [...]
Latecomers run to join stock rally September 28, 2010 US stocks rose yesterday as latecomers jumped onto the September bandwagon, buying up sectors that have outperformed during the month. The S&P 500 has risen 9.4 per cent so far in September, historically the worst month for stocks. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 46.10 points, or 0.43 per cent, to end at 10,858.14. The [...]
Brazil’s central banker denies a currency war September 28, 2010 BRAZIL’S central bank president Henrique Meirelles yesterday warned that there is a serious problem of competitive currency devaluation among central banks but refused to join the Brazilian finance minister Guido Mantega in saying that an international currency war had broken out. Speaking to journalists at the Brazilian ambassador’s Mayfair residence, Meirelles said countries should not [...]
EURO-DOLLAR TRADE IS AN UGLY CONTEST September 28, 2010 DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT LET’S just retrace Tuesday’s euro-dollar price movements. First, the pair rallied in early Asian trade when a Wall Street Journal article reported that the Fed is considering a quasi-permanent QE policy, raising fears that the central bank will eventually monetise more than a trillion worth of US debt. Then, before [...]
