CITY VIEWS: WILL UNEMPLOYMENT CONTINUE RISING? February 17, 2010 GRAHAM WOOD | LINEDATA SERVICES “Unemployment will go up because the effects of the recession on the manufacturing sector still haven’t come through. This year’s graduates will be competing with graduates from last year and there are not enough jobs to soak this up. It’s going to be hard.” BRET JACKSON | CORNHILL CAPITAL “It [...]
Insurance on the rebound, L&G predicts February 17, 2010 INSURER Legal & General yesterday brought good cheer to the market despite posting a 6.6 per cent fall in worldwide sales, as it announced a strapping performance from its fund management arm and predicted a surge in new business in 2010. L&G said worldwide new business sales dropped to £1.39bn, from £1.49bn in 2008, though [...]
Sell into strength as concerns remain February 17, 2010 UNCERTAINTY has haunted Legal & General (L&G) for the past year, and yesterday’s interim update did little to change this. Shares in the UK’s fifth-biggest life assurer, long touted as a takeover target, closed at 76.35p, over three times its all-time low of 21p last year when it cut its dividend for the first time [...]
London base for new BoA global head February 17, 2010 BANK of America Merrill Lynch yesterday named Paul Donofrio, one of its three co-heads of investment banking, as its new head of global corporate banking business. Donofrio will replace Cathy Bessant, who has been named global technology and operations executive. He will continue to report to Tom Montag, global banking and markets president. London-based Donofrio [...]
Man Group rises on bid talk February 17, 2010 SHARES in Man Group jumped 5.2 per cent yesterday as rumours of a takeover bid from American money manager BlackRock swirled through the City. The British hedge fund’s paper gained 11.8p to close at 239.6p, although analysts were sceptical about the prospects of an offer. BlackRock has pulled off large deals in the past, merging [...]
IMF: Dubai debt revamp poses challenge for UAE February 17, 2010 The global financial crisis and Dubai’s debt restructuring raise important challenges for the United Arab Emirates economy, but its prospects remain favourable, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said yesterday. The crisis sent the world’s third largest oil exporter into a downturn last year, its first since 1993, while Dubai debt woes are seen weighing on [...]
Morgan Stanley to lose hotels February 17, 2010 Morgan Stanley may have to hand over to creditors its $2.4bn (£1.5bn) investment in a Japanese hotel chain when the debt becomes due in April, according to sources. Morgan Stanley acquired the chain of 13 hotels from All Nippon Airways in 2007, in what was then the biggest hotel transaction in Asia. Since then, property [...]
Rowntree sells stake in Vedanta February 17, 2010 Miner Vedanta Resources yesterday suffered another setback in its long-running altercation with human rights organisation Survival International, after the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust said it would sell all its shares in the business. The news came just weeks after the Church of England also sold its stake in Vedanta, which aims to mine extensively on [...]
Jarvis downgrades loss forecasts February 17, 2010 Rail network services firm Jarvis warned yesterday that its full-year operating loss will be wider-than-expected, citing lethargic trading volumes and contract spending delays from Network Rail. Jarvis now expects to make a £5m loss this year, as well as posting £3m worth of costs associated with restructuring the business. The firm saw revenues almost halve [...]
Ref ‘mistake’ could cost us, says Wenger February 17, 2010 FC PORTO(2) v/s ARSENAL(1) INCENSED Arsene Wenger insisted referee Martin Hansson had made a “massive mistake” as Arsenal were hit by a Champions League sucker punch in Porto. Wenger was furious after the Swedish official awarded Porto an indirect free-kick inside the box after keeper Lukasz Fabianski had picked up Sol Campbell’s back-pass. Hansson then [...]
