Angela Merkel open to Greek debt haircut December 2, 2012 GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday said the Eurozone powerhouse would be willing to consider forgiving some Greek debt, if the troubled country brought its budget into surplus. But even if everything went to plan, Greece wouldn’t be turning a surplus until at least 2014-5, Merkel pointed out, leading opposition politicians to accuse the chancellor of [...]
Reputational crises hit value of firms’ shares December 2, 2012 REPUTATIONAL crises such as a products recall or environmental disasters involving a listed companies are a bigger threat to shareholder value than loan defaults or rogue employee behaviour, a study out today reveals. A survey of 16 global stock markets conducted by law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer shows operational crises – such as the Gulf [...]
Ministry of Sound boosts profit on back of strong brand label December 2, 2012 MINISTRY of Sound, the iconic dance record label and nightclub co-founded and chaired by ex-City worker James Palumbo, doubled its pre-tax profits last year after reaching nearly £40m turnover for its core business, accounts show. The company, which is made up of a record label, bar, publishing and clothing arms, said turnover for the 12 [...]
Fund industry could take up to a decade to alter fees model December 2, 2012 ASSET managers could take five to 10 years to change their business models to reflect the push towards lower fund manager fees, the chief executive of the Investment Management Association has said. Daniel Godfrey, who takes over from departing chief executive Richard Saunders today, told City A.M. fee levels would be determined by market forces [...]
City Moves | Who’s switching jobs December 2, 2012 ECU Group Antony John has been appointed chief executive at the currency management firm. He joins from BNP Paribas FundQuest, where he was chief executive officer. John has also held senior roles at Investment Manager Selection and Lombard Odier. Barclays The bank has announced the appointment of Hayley Rees as head of the infrastructure and [...]
Best of the Brokers December 2, 2012 BREWIN DOLPHIN Peel Hunt has a “buy” rating and target of 185p ahead of the investment manager’s full-year results on Wednesday. The broker expects broadly flat fee income as the firm gets on with its repositioning. NATIONAL GRID Morgan Stanley rates the utility “overweight” and raises its target from 730p to 775p, with a regulatory [...]
Stage set for more austerity as the chancellor gives Autumn Statement December 2, 2012 THE biggest news of the week will come from chancellor George Osborne on Wednesday, when he delivers his Autumn Statement. Osborne has already revealed he will be continuing Britain’s austerity drive, saying in a television interview that to turn back from the policy now would be “a complete disaster for our country”. His half-yearly financial [...]
Fears of fiscal cliff could halt December rally December 2, 2012 IN normal times, this week’s slew of US economic data could be a springboard for a December rally in the stock market. December is historically a strong month for markets. The S&P 500 has risen 16 times in the past 20 years during the month. But the market has not been operating under normal circumstances [...]
The Chancellor can stick to his debt target by following Canada’s lead December 2, 2012 ON WEDNESDAY the Chancellor will announce whether he plans to stick to the government’s pledge that debt will fall as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2015/16. Worse than expected growth forecasts make it more – not less – vital that he sticks to that plan. Economic forecasters are lining up to predict [...]
We need to put the past behind us and get the special relationship right December 2, 2012 ONLY a few months ago, talk of a special relationship between the US and the UK would have provoked some quizzical looks among many in the City. A number of British banks – Standard Chartered, HSBC and Barclays among them – had faced a summer of discontent as they were subject to accusations of wrongdoing [...]
