Kerviel called an evil genius June 22, 2010 Former Societe Generale chief executive Daniel Bouton lashed out at rogue trader Jerome Kerviel in a Paris court yesterday, labelling his unauthorised trades the mark of an “evil genius” that shattered trust at the bank. Bouton also said the sheer fear he felt at discovering Kerviel’s “monstrous” unauthorised trading positions – which were blamed by [...]
Hammerson offloads £135m Docklands office June 22, 2010 REAL estate investor Hammerson has sold Docklands office block Exchange Tower to MPGA Europe Fund III for £134.6m. The sale represents a 74 per cent return on the £77m Hammerson paid for the 16-storey tower in 1999, on top of annual rents of up to £10.7m over the course of its 11-year ownership. Its main [...]
NEWS | IN BRIEF June 22, 2010 US!HSBC!cuts Angolan ties A US unit of HSBC has cut ties with some Angolan banks, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said, months after a US Senate investigation criticised it for lax oversight of accounts held by Angolans, including a former central bank governor. The southwest African country is a lucrative prospect for [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS June 22, 2010 EASYJET JP Morgan Cazenove said it believes that easyJet’s share price performance is being overshadowed by Stelios’ disagreements with the board over strategy. JP Morgan said that until such time as these are seen to be resolved permanently it expects share price performance to remain muted. JP Morgan downgrades its rating on the airline to [...]
Acquisition strategy gives boost to Bunzl June 22, 2010 DISTRIBUTION and outsourcing group Bunzl yesterday said trading in the first half of the year was boosted by acquisitions, favourable currency movements and strong revenue growth in the US, placing it on target to meet full year expectations. Bunzl has made five acquisitions so far this year, contributing a combined annualised revenue of £85m. The [...]
Global wealth close to 2007 levels again June 22, 2010 WEALTHY individuals have now recouped most of the losses that they sustained during the financial crisis of 2008, according to the World Wealth Report released yesterday by Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and Cap Gemini. High net worth individuals (HNWIs) – classified as those with investable assets of $1m (£673,000) or more – climbed back to [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS June 22, 2010 Heartwood The wealth manager has hired Michael Stanes as an investment director, playing a key role in the asset allocation process as well as managing portfolios for ultra high net worth clients. Stanes previously spent 15 years at Mercury Asset Management / Merrill Lynch Investment Managers and then joined Goldman Sachs Asset Management as an [...]
Arden shakes up management team June 22, 2010 CITY stockbroker Arden Partners is having a management shake-up that will see Jonathan Keeling step down as chief executive. He will move to the position of deputy chairman, focusing on the group’s Indian operations, .which account for 50 per cent of the group-’s operations. “The Indian operations need somebody running and developing them full-time,” Keeling [...]
MORTGAGE ARREARS FALL June 22, 2010 MORTGAGE arrears fell by four per cent in the first quarter of 2010 but the total value of outstanding loans has remained flat at £1,206bn, according to data from the Financial Services Agency published yesterday. The number of new advances was 22 per cent down on the previous quarter at £32bn. New possessions totalled 10,500 [...]
Segro finalises APP purchase and sells assets June 22, 2010 INDUSTRIAL landlord Segro completed its purchase of BAA’s 50 per cent stake in the Airport Property Partnership (APP) yesterday, by selling £237m of its own assets to the venture. The sale means the APP portfolio of UK airport real estate has grown to £684m, the biggest investor in the sector. Segro agreed to buy into [...]
