NEWS OF THE WORLD TO CLOSE July 7, 2011 James Murdoch announced the closure of the News of the World in a statement to employees yesterday (see above). In it he admits that he was wrong to approve out-of-court settlements to victims of phone-hacking and also that the paper made statements to the House of Commons select committee that could have been misleading.
ECB changes rules in a bid to save Lisbon July 7, 2011 The European Central Bank (ECB) threw its rulebook out the window yesterday in a bid to protect Portugal from spreading Eurozone contagion. In a question-and-answer session with journalists, ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet abruptly announced that the Bank will suspend its normal criteria for acceptable collateral in order to keep the taps running for Portuguese banks. [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 7, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES STANDARD LIFE COMES UNDER FIRE FOR RAISING FUND FEES Financial advisers have threatened to pull millions of pounds out of Standard Life Investments after the provider took the unusual step of raising fees on some of its funds, bucking the trend for fund managers to cut headline costs for investors. SLI said that [...]
Europe’s rate hike to 1.5pc puts spotlight on the UK July 7, 2011 THE lines were drawn more starkly in the inflation debate yesterday as the Bank of England again refused to raise rates while the European Central Bank (ECB) hiked rates for a second time this year to 1.5 per cent. ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet said: “It is essential that the recent price developments do not contribute [...]
Spencer sells Origin stake to US group July 7, 2011 ORIGIN Asset Management, a boutique fund manager backed by Icap’s Michael Spencer (pictured), was snapped up by US asset manager Principal Financial Group for $66m (£41m) yesterday. Iowa-based Principal has agreed to buy a 74 per cent stake in Origin, which manages £2bn of equity portfolios out of London for institutional clients, while Origin’s partners [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: IS THIS THE END OF MAN GROUP’S TROUBLES? July 7, 2011 JONATHAN JACKSON | KILLIK & CO They’re better placed now than they were before, although if markets remain volatile it’s difficult for their AHL fund to perform in that environment and it’d be hard to say if the worst is over for them. We remain positive on their shares. DAVID MCCANN | NUMIS The momentum [...]
JAPAN INFLOWS BOOST MAN July 7, 2011 MAN Group’s recovery from the financial crisis gathered place yesterday as the world’s largest listed hedge fund manager reported a net inflow of $3.7bn (£2.3bn) in its first quarter. Shares in the firm rose 8.8p to 255.7p as it provided the market with further proof it was turning itself around after nine consecutive quarters of [...]
LSE board faces investor revolt July 7, 2011 INFLUENTIAL shareholder adviser Pirc has urged London Stock Exchange investors to block the re-election of four directors at this month’s annual meeting, in the wake of the bourse operator’s collapsed merger with TMX Group. The adviser questioned the independence of two non-executive directors, Janet Cohen and Robert Webb, who have been on the board for [...]
NYSE votes for Deutsche deal July 7, 2011 SHAREHOLDERS in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) yesterday agreed to its planned $9.6bn (£6bn) takeover by Deutsche Boerse. The deal now needs approval from 75 per cent of the Frankfurt exchange operator’s shareholders by next Wednesday. The creation of the exchange titan also needs to survive a European Commission antitrust review.
Second bid for Lookers was 70p per share July 7, 2011 CAR dealership Lookers yesterday revealed that the bid it rejected last week from a group of investors led by Jack Petchey was priced at 70p per share, below the expected 80p. Petchey’s Trefick vehicle downgraded its offer after taking a gloomy view of Lookers’ pension fund and valuing its property portfolio at a lower level [...]
