Google is not the only challenger to Microsoft July 9, 2009 GOOGLE opened yet another front in its war on Microsoft earlier this week by announcing the launch of its new PC operating system. Chrome will compete directly with Microsoft’s sacred cash cow, Windows, which accounted for around 45 per cent of the software giant’s $22.5bn operating profit last year. Google’s decision to take on Microsoft [...]
Quantitative easing won’t be extended July 9, 2009 THE Bank of England (BoE) announced yesterday no further expansion of its quantitative easing scheme (QE), surprising markets which had widely expected the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to boost QE by another £25bn. The Bank left rates on hold at 0.5 per cent for the fourth month running and said that it would review the [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS July 9, 2009 ADMIRALAdmiral’s recent underperformance makes them an attractive prospect, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, who upgraded it to a “buy” recommendation. Admiral’s stock has underperformed the sector by 11 per cent over the past three months, but Merrill Lynch believe Admiral’s near term trading outlook appears robust, and the insurance firm’s returns should be [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 9, 2009 F&C Asset ManagementThe asset manager has appointed Jacob De Wit and Richard Wilson (pictured), respectively head of fixed income and head of equities at the firm, to its executive committee following its de-merger from Friends Provident. The news follows the appointment of Kieran Poynter, the former chairman of accountancy firm PwC, and former Henderson Group [...]
Individual Restaurant Co beats share sale targets July 9, 2009 INDIVIDUAL Restaurant Company, the group behind the Restaurant Bar and Grill and Piccolino chains, yesterday said it has beaten its target of raising £2.1m with a share sale. The firm took the opportunity to place a further 3,950,216 shares – the 10 per cent maximum amount it was granted at its recent annual meeting – [...]
US jobless claims back to Jan level July 9, 2009 THE number of US workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell to the lowest level since January, however the seasonally adjusted data was distorted by an unusual pattern of layoffs in the automotive industry. Economists watch the labour market closely for signs that the impact of the most severe recession in decades is fading, [...]
More jobs axed at Corus as steel demand plunges July 9, 2009 STEELMAKER Corus said yesterday it was planning to cut a further 366 jobs at its Scunthorpe plant, taking the total for the group to nearly 5,000 this year. The news comes a week after the group axed 2,000 posts throughout the UK, as the recession leads to a slump in the demand for steel. Corus [...]
Sky fraud probed by UK site July 9, 2009 SKY CAPITAL Holdings, the brokerage at the centre of a $140m (£87.2m) “boiler room” investigation, threatened to sue a city website that was investigating its operations, a City source told City A.M. yesterday. The news came as it emerged that as many as 400 UK retail investors may have been duped out of their money [...]
Santander in move to raise capital ratio July 9, 2009 Spain’s Santander said yesterday it would swap securities issued by its subsidiaries for new securities from the parent bank to strengthen its balance sheet and improve capital structure efficiency. Santander, the eurozone’s largest bank by market capital, said it would make exchange offers for 30 outstanding US dollar, euro, sterling and yen Tier 1 hybrid [...]
Results season off to a positive start July 9, 2009 US stocks edged higher yesterday as investors snapped up battered technology and commodity shares, while a positive broker comment on Goldman Sachs boosted the financial sector. Trading was choppy in light volumes for most of the day as investors remained cautious ahead of more corporate earnings reports in the coming weeks. Alcoa set a positive [...]
