Greece close to aid as bond yields surge April 20, 2010 GREEK borrowing costs hit a 12-year high yesterday as Athens prepared to launch talks on an EU/IMF bailout package aimed at rescuing Greece from a debt crisis rocking the eurozone. The yield on Greek ten-year government bonds rose to 7.807 per cent, more than double the level for German debt and far beyond the level [...]
Nick Clegg wins on performance, not policy April 20, 2010 THE question in everyone’s mind: will the Nick Clegg bounce last? Will we get a hung parliament? Is this the start of a new politics or a fun moment before we return to politics-as-usual? Let’s look at a new kind of data to see if it suggests anything about Clegg’s strengths and vulnerabilities, from our [...]
Coca-Cola results worse than expected April 20, 2010 COCA-COLA reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenue, hurt by a decline in North American sales volume. The world’s largest soft drink maker said sales volume fell two per cent in North America, citing the weak economy and unseasonably cold weather in January and February. The company also said its deal to acquire the North American operations of [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS April 20, 2010 PHILIPS ELECTRONICS Philips Electronics has been given a “buy” recommendation by Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Equity Research after the electronics company reported better-than-expected first quarter results. S&P says group profitability was seasonally very strong. Revenues of €5.68bn beating S&P’s forecasts. S&P’s target price is €27 per share. ING Evolution Securities has issued a “buy” recommendation [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 20, 2010 Merrill Lynch The bank has appointed Patrick Ramsey as chief executive of Merrill Lynch Bank Suisse, the Swiss wealth management division. Ramsey, who will report to Merrill’s EMEA head of wealth management David Jervis, joined the group in 2002. He most recently held the role of head of European private banking. Prior to joining Merrill, [...]
Rebound in oil prices and strong bank results give FTSE a one per cent boost April 20, 2010 RECOVERING oil prices fuelled a one per cent rise in energy stocks and banks also gained to push Britain’s top share index one per cent higher by yesterday’s close. The FTSE 100 index ended up 55.78 points at 5,783.69, having closed down 0.3 per cent on Monday. The index is up 6.9 per cent this [...]
Apple and Yahoo lift US stocks with strong results April 20, 2010 US stocks rose yesterday as oil prices lifted energy shares and investors were upbeat about the overall profits recovery, even as some high-profile results fell short of lofty expectations. Goldman Sachs earnings trounced forecasts, but its stock slipped 2.1 per cent to $159.98. UK regulators launched a probe into alleged fraud by the company, adding [...]
How to find alpha even in a storm April 20, 2010 ABSOLUTE return funds claim to offer the Holy Grail of fund management, by delivering positive returns regardless of whether markets rise or fall. It’s a great pitch, and there has been a spate of new launches. But is absolute return really that fabulous? Absolute return funds work differently to conventional “relative return” funds, where the [...]
With a global fund, the world is your oyster April 20, 2010 TRADITIONALLY, British institutional investors have been interested mostly in regional funds, leveraging local knowledge to bring returns. But there are signs that global funds – which cover all sectors and regions – are growing in popularity. Data from Lipper, the fund management research firm, shows that 16 and 20 global equity funds available to UK [...]
SALISBURY LIVES ON IN BRITAIN PLC April 20, 2010 DICK TURPIN MANAGING DIRECTOR, ARTEMIS WHOEVER wins the election, one thing is clear. The UK economy is in dire straits. Amid the abundance of analysis, the billions here and there, one simple statistic makes sense to me. The UK government is spending £4 for every £3 of revenue. And as even Errol Flynn discovered, reconciling [...]
