HarbourVest pays back $12m in September to reduce debt pile October 15, 2012 HARBOURVEST Global Private Equity, the London-listed investment company, yesterday posted a small uptick in fund value and a slowdown in fund commitments for September as it reduced its debt pile. The fund, which is run by Boston-based fund of fund manager HarbourVest Partners, increased the estimated net asset value of the fund by 0.8 per [...]
Analyst Views | What were the highlights from Fresnillo’s production update? October 15, 2012 JONATHAN GUY RBC CAPITAL MARKETS The weakness in silver was offset by stronger-than-expected gold production. Annual targets are expected to be met, with gold targets likely to be exceeded, in our view. There was good progress recorded at key development projects as well as with brownfield exploration. CAILEY BARKER NUMIS SECURITIES Another strong quarter with [...]
Talvivaara warns on nickel target October 15, 2012 Finnish miner Talvivaara yesterday warned it would miss its nickel production target for 2012, sending its shares on a downward spiral. The miner said historically heavy rainfall at its Sotkamo mine had impacted its ability to deliver a target of 17,000 tonnes of the base metal. The miner produced 4,030 tonnes of nickel in the [...]
Filtrona sales up in third quarter October 15, 2012 Foam products supplier Filtrona yesterday said trading in the third quarter was in line with the board’s expectations, with revenue up by 26 per cent compared to the same period last year. Like-for-like sales for the three months were up 10 per cent on last year. Chief exec Colin Day said the firm’s aim for [...]
Quindell acquires law firm October 15, 2012 Insurance outsourcing firm Quindell Portfolio yesterday announced the acquisition of personal injury claims specialist Pinto Potts for an initial payment of £1.5m, with a further £1.5m and shares to follow. Fast-growing Quindell has been on a spending spree, snapping up four firms in the last month. Yesterday it reported turnover for the first nine months [...]
City Moves | Who’s switching jobs October 15, 2012 Alvarez & Marsal Taxand The tax advisory firm has appointed Stephen Labrum as a managing director and global head of transfer pricing. He joins after 13 years at Ernst & Young, where was a transfer pricing partner. Allianz Global Investors The asset management firm has appointed Andy Wiggins to the newly-created role of head of [...]
Best of the Brokers October 15, 2012 OPTOS Panmure Gordon has upgraded the retinal imaging firm to “buy” from “hold”after a strong trading statement. The broker has also raised its target price to 320p from 230p. LLOYDS BANKING GROUP Shore Capital has upgraded the bank from “hold” to “buy” with a target price of 53p, saying that central bank action and a [...]
UK shares lifted by banking gains on hopes for Spanish bailout soon October 15, 2012 UK shares rose yesterday, buoyed by gains for heavyweight banks as the sector tracked continental peers on expectations Spain was moving closer to asking for a bailout. A 12.29 point, or 0.2 per cent, move higher to 5,805.61 points was not enough to take the FTSE 100 out of its recent tight trading range, however, [...]
Wall St rises as Citigroup sales beat forecasts October 15, 2012 US stocks climbed yesterday, rebounding from last week’s losses after Citigroup’s earnings and retail sales sharply exceeded expectations. Citigroup shares shot up 5.5 per cent to $36.66 and gave the biggest lift to the S&P 500 after the third-largest US bank reported quarterly adjusted earnings that surged from the year-ago quarter and beat expectations. The [...]
Life companies aren’t up to scratch as grave pensions problem looms October 15, 2012 WE ARE heading towards a serious pensions problem. That much, the experts agree. In the UK alone, some estimates suggest the nation should be putting aside an extra £300bn each year if today’s workers are to enjoy a decent standard of living in retirement. That is the size of the current savings gap – or [...]
