BEST OF THE BROKERS April 5, 2010 VODAFONE Collins Stewart has issued a “sell” recommendation on Vodafone after Ofcom’s mobile termination rate (MTR) proposals to bring down rates. Collins Stewart said that it could have a 20 per cent drag on Vodafone’s UK revenue by 2015. Over the four years Collins Stewart expect it will have a £330m impact on Vodafone profits. [...]
MPC to hold fire on rates and QE April 5, 2010 Inaction will be the name of the game this week at the April meeting of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), according to economists. The MPC is unlikely to either move the interest rate from its current 0.5 per cent or add to the £200bn already spent on quantitative easing, after all nine [...]
Macro funds falter in debt crises April 5, 2010 Hedge funds betting on macroeconomic trends have been wrong-footed by the Greek sovereign debt crisis and the plummeting values of sterling and the euro. The average macro hedge fund has kicked off 2010 with a 1.25 per cent loss, according to data from Hedge Fund Research, making suggestions of links between speculators and movements in [...]
Mattel chief’s pay cut to $7.9m April 5, 2010 Mattel’s chief executive and chairman received nearly $7.9m (£5.17m) in compensation for 2009, an eight per cent cut on his 2008 pay package. The toy maker handed Robert Eckert an unchanged base salary of $1.25m, plus a bonus of $2.5m and stock options worth $3.7m.
Oil futures hit $86 on strong jobs numbers April 5, 2010 CRUDE oil futures crossed an 18-month high yesterday, rising towards $86 per barrel after positive jobs data from the US boosted hopes of a speedy economic recovery. US crude futures for May delivery hit a session high of $85.89 as Asian traders responded to figures showing the fastest increase in North American job creation since [...]
Watch out as those bond yields drift upwards April 5, 2010 Something very interesting is happening in the bond market these days, and, yes, it has to do with the enormous amount of bonds that are being issued by governments. In one word, it can be described as distortion. For a very long time, even with the knowledge that budget deficits were ballooning from government overspending, [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 5, 2010 Threadneedle The asset management firm has hired George Gosden to join its Asian equities desk. Gosden spent the past eight years as a director at Insight Investment, where he was part of the international team. Prior to that, he was a director of Asian equities at Clerical Medical Investment Management. In his new role, he [...]
Microsoft phones on the way April 5, 2010 Microsoft is set to announce its long-awaited “Project Pink” phones early next week, sources familiar with the matter said on Monday, as the world’s largest software company attempts to gain traction in the growing market for young smartphone users. The mobile phones, to be sold by top U.S. mobile operator Verizon Wireless which is partly [...]
Entergy cancels nuclear plans April 5, 2010 Entergy Corp cancelled the planned spinoff of several of its nuclear power plants after hitting regulatory hurdles in New York, and the utility owner said it would take more than $75m (£49m) in charges from the effort. The company, the second-largest US nuclear power plant operator, said it would unwind the business infrastructure associated with [...]
GM to install brake override April 5, 2010 General Motors said yesterday it will install brake override systems on nearly all of its vehicles by 2012. The move follows mass recalls at rival Toyota. Toyota has been expanding the use of brake override systems to calm fears after defects caused vehicles to speed uncontrollably.
