Magic Circle law firms cut fees in half September 21, 2009 THE CITY’S Magic Circle legal institutions have been forced to slash their partners’ hourly fees by almost half, as they fight for business in a recessionary market. The latest closely-watched average hourly rate survey by Knightsbridge-based costs lawyer Jim Diamond has revealed the Magic Circle is offering out lawyers at bargain rates. “It is now [...]
Air France-KLM cuts capacity September 21, 2009 Europe’s biggest airline, Air France-KLM, plans to reduce seating capacity on its flights by two per cent during the winter season to lessen the impact of falling demand. Capacity for the period beginning 25 October will be 1.8 per cent lower than a year ago on long-haul services and down 2.9 per cent on medium-haul [...]
Banks and insurers look cheap September 21, 2009 British banks and insurers will further outperform because they still look cheap despite a sharp rally this year, while telecoms and pharmaceuticals should also fare well, Nick Purves, a fund manager at Schroders said yesterday. Purves, who manages the £1.19bn Schroder Income Fund alongside Ian Lance, said some of those companies most savagely mauled by [...]
Phorm narrows its losses September 21, 2009 Targeted online advertising firm Phorm posted a narrower pre-tax loss for the first half, helped by cost cuts, and said it remained confident about its future. The company said it was progressing well to commercially deploy its technology in a major market, with expected generation of meaningful revenues. Its pre-tax loss from continuing operations was [...]
EUrules on hedge funds will hit taxes September 21, 2009 THE HEDGE fund and private equity industries yesterday welcomed a survey that said they pump €9bn (£7.9bn) a year into the tax coffers of European Union (EU) governments. The survey also says that a proposed EU directive – which seeks to regulate alternative funds over €100m in size with an iron fist – would cause [...]
Hedgie recovery continues as August’s gains take yearly growth to 11.6 per cent September 21, 2009 HEDGE funds booked their sixth straight month of gains in August, according to data released yesterday that suggests the industry’s recovery is powering on. The Credit Suisse/Tremont Hedge Fund index rose by 1.53 per cent last month, bringing year-to-date returns on the index to 11.57 per cent. The Convertible Arbitrage strategy, where funds exploit price [...]
CITY VIEWS: DOES TONY BALL DESERVE TO EARN 30M AS ITV BOSS? September 21, 2009 ROY PARCHMENT AVIVA“That is a huge amount of money for that kind of role. The question is how much value is added by that person to the company? You have to ask how much chief executives contribute to shareholders and profits. If Tony Ball can turn around ITV, then he might be worth it.”DECLAN WOOLOUGHAN [...]
Holliday to join board at BoA September 21, 2009 DUPONT chairman Charles Holliday is expected to be added to Bank of America’s (BoA) board of directors. The bank’s directors were due to agree the appointment in a board meeting, in which they were also due to be briefed on options if the bank’s chief executive Kenneth Lewis is charged with civil fraud. Last week, [...]
HIM launches new fund for ex-New Star manager September 21, 2009 FORMER NEW Star fund manager Nick Brind is to be handed the reins of a new financials fund at investment boutique HIM Capital. The fund, set to be domiciled in Dublin, will be launched on 15 October and will be the first Brind will manage since he gave up the New Star Financial Opportunities fund [...]
Oil to hit $100 as supplies hit delivery glitch September 21, 2009 CHRISTOPHE de Margerie, head of oil giant Total, yesterday warned that underinvestment in exploration due to the downturn will lead to a world shortage of oil. He added that he saw the price of oil rising to more than $100 a barrel, up from around $70, as the price stands at current levels. Total’s boss [...]
