Burberry leads FTSE 100 up October 11, 2012 The blue chip index was up in early trading, led by fashion retailer Burberry and UK banking shares. The collapse of the merger talks between BAE and EADS and Direct Line’s £2.62bn float were the main talking points this morning. Nat Rothschild’s Bumi rose 15.35 per cent in early trading on the mid-cap index, as [...]
Ashmore lifted by fresh inflows October 11, 2012 Emerging market investor Ashmore said this morning its assets under management rose by 6.8 per cent in the three months to September, as inflows from Asian and Middle East government investors boosted the asset manager. Over its first quarter, assets increased to $68bn (£42.5bn). Positive investment performance accounted for $3.7bn, while inflows accounted for $600m. [...]
Bakries propose divorce from Bumi October 11, 2012 Indonesia’s influential Bakrie family have asked to cancel their shareholding in miner Bumi, offering to take back the Indonesian assets they brought in less than two years ago. In a statement this morning, Bumi, founded by Nat Rothschild, said that the Bakrie group proposed cancelling their 23.8 per cent shareholding in the London-listed miner. In [...]
Burberry confirms slowing sales October 11, 2012 Fashion retailer Burberry this morning confirmed that retail sales growth slowed in the second quarter, after warning on profits last month. In an interim trading statement, the fashion house said demand in the UK and China had slackened. The group said like-for-like sales grew by one per cent in the three months to 30 September. [...]
BAE board under fire as deal fails October 10, 2012 BAE was last night scrambling to save the reputation of its board following the embarrassing collapse of the high-profile tie-up with EADS yesterday. The £30bn mega-merger between the two defence and aerospace companies skidded to a halt yesterday afternoon as talks between the governments broke down in mutual recrimination. A source with knowledge of the [...]
Direct Line to ring in at 175p a share October 10, 2012 ADVISERS to Direct Line were last night set to price the insurance group’s shares at 175p, valuing the firm at around £2.62bn. The biggest London float of the year is now certain to get off the ground with trading ready to begin this morning. Although the price is in the bottom half of the original range, [...]
PM: I want to make the UK an aspiration nation October 10, 2012 DAVID Cameron yesterday attempted to realign the Conservatives on the side of hard-working “strivers”, telling his party conference that he wants to lead an “aspiration nation”. In a speech that sought to reconnect with the lower middle and working class voters who bought into Margaret Thatcher’s vision of Britain, Cameron said the Conservatives must be the [...]
Cameron right to back strivers – but words aren’t enough October 10, 2012 LET us hope David Cameron actually means what he says. His speech to the Tory party conference yesterday was the best he has made in years. He outlined a different vision for Britain, appealing to the strivers who want to work hard and get on in life, a crucial audience whose disenchantment with the Tories [...]
S&P cuts Spain credit rating by two notches October 10, 2012 STANDARD & Poor’s yesterday slashed Spain’s sovereign credit rating by two notches, citing rising unemployment, social unrest and a deepening economic recession that is limiting the government’s policy options. The ratings agency cut the country’s long-term credit rating from BBB+ to BBB-, just above junk territory, and warned of possible further downgrades if Spain did [...]
What the other papers say this morning October 10, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Goldman “muppet hunt” draws blank Goldman Sachs has told its board of directors that an internal investigation found little substance to allegations made by Greg Smith, the disaffected employee who claimed the bank has a “toxic environment” where bankers refer to clients as “muppets”. The review found that weeks before his public resignation [...]
