FTSE 100 Live: Stocks to slump despite US claims of ‘good foundations’ for Iran deal; Tech-sell off hits Asia
Skipton to merge with rival mutual society Chesham February 24, 2010 SKIPTON Building Society is to merge with its smaller rival Chesham, the mutual said yesterday, as it unveiled a bumper rise in annual profits and defended its contentious decision to hike its standard variable mortgage rate (SVR). Skipton said the merger would take its branches from 89 to 92 and gave a guarantee that it [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 24, 2010 CM Murray The Canary Wharf-based law firm said yesterday that Charis Damiano, previously a partner in its London office, will relocate to expand its employment practice in the United States. Damiano recently returned from maternity leave, having worked at the employment and partnership law-focused firm since 2007. She will now be a consultant in the [...]
EX-BANKER FOLLOWS HIS RUGBY DREAMS February 24, 2010 RUGBY-lovers in the City can be rightly proud that one of their own is putting his money where his mouth is in terms of promoting the game of Rugby Sevens around the world. Sevens – a speedier, shorter version of the traditional game – has recently enjoyed a bit of a boost from the announcement [...]
GlaxoSmithKline issues 30-page defence of its diabetes drug February 24, 2010 GLAXOSMITHKLINE stepped up the defence of its diabetes drug Avandia yesterday with a detailed 30-page response rejecting a critical report by US lawmakers. The UK-based drugmaker, led by chief executive Andrew Witty, said a Senate finance committee report last week did not present “an accurate, balanced, or complete view” of information about the drug and [...]
Cost of listing on Aim soars February 24, 2010 LISTING costs on the Alternative Investment Market (Aim) continued to climb last year despite a slump in the number of initial public offerings (IPOs) on the market, pushed up by concerns over a tightening in the regulatory environment. The cost of listing on Aim reached an average of 7.24 per cent of funds raised in [...]
Drop in profits for Logica as firm warns future looks bleak February 24, 2010 Anglo-Dutch IT group Logica posted a six per cent fall in 2009 profits to £43m yesterday after clients cut spending in the Netherlands and the Nordic region, and said it did not expect a return to revenue growth in 2010. Chief executive Andy Green said companies were still reluctant to spend money on new IT [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS February 24, 2010 DRAX GROUP Standard & Poor’s maintains its “sell” rating on Drax, despite noting the group has hedged all electricity output over the next three years at higher spreads than achieved in 2009, shielding its profits. But falling power prices due to weaker demand and lower gas costs have worsened its competitive position, it believes. PROVIDENT [...]
Sovereign Oilfield collapses into administration as debt talks fail February 24, 2010 OIL engineering company Sovereign Oilfield Group called in the administrators yesterday after talks with its lenders to renegotiate the terms of its debt failed. The Aberdeen-based company appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers as administrator after failing to sell off parts of itself to pay down debt. PricewaterhouseCoopers said it would look to sell Sovereign Oilfield’s subsidiaries where it [...]
Moneysupermarket sees earnings drop February 24, 2010 Price comparison website Moneysupermarket.com saw its revenues for the full-year plunge 23 per cent to £137m while adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell 26 per cent to £36m. Despite this it will pay a special dividend after saying its business has stabilised and trading improved in February as customers hunt for better [...]
Changing the private equity model for good February 24, 2010 THE shift in investors’ attitudes towards private equity has been stark, with the relationship in some cases approaching complete breakdown. It is clearly an emotive subject – as evidenced by the response to the idea that IPO failures have given private equity a bloody nose. So what alternatives are there to the traditional private equity [...]
