IAG targets £1bn profit by 2015 November 11, 2011 British Airways and Iberia owner IAG said it had increased its growth and cost savings targets and expected to make an operating profit of around 1.5bn euros (£1bn) in 2015. Europe’s second-biggest airline group by value behind Germany’s Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) said it expected to achieve annual synergies of 450m euros in 2015, the fifth year [...]
Rolls-Royce sees 2011 profits grow November 11, 2011 Aero enginemaker Rolls-Royce said it had performed well in the third-quarter and expects to deliver strong growth in full-year profit, shrugging off turmoil in financial markets. Rolls, the world’s second-largest maker of aircraft engines behind U.S. group General Electric Co (GE.N), on Friday said it had continued to make progress since the half year, helped [...]
Barclays private equity unit in management buyout November 11, 2011 Barclays Private Equity is being bought out by its own management team and will be relaunched as Equistone Partners Europe, it said, adding that the value of the gross assets being sold off was expected to be around £45m. Barclays, which last month posted higher profits as gains in its retail banking and credit card [...]
Bond markets target France November 10, 2011 CONFIDENCE in France’s and Spain’s ability to pay back their debts weakened yesterday as investors piled into UK and German government debt. Yields on 10-year French bonds rose 0.3 percentage points over the day, to 3.47 per cent. Spain’s yields too have risen steadily, hitting 5.95 per cent for 10-year bonds, before falling back to 5.86 [...]
HSBC to axe hundreds of bankers in London and Hong Kong November 10, 2011 HSBC is to make hundreds of bankers redundant this week in London and other financial centres such as Hong Kong and the US, it emerged yesterday, as it struggles to get back to bumper profits in the current troubled economic climate. City A.M. understands that staff in HSBC’s City offices were told about the cuts [...]
City’s chief to stand down November 10, 2011 STUART Fraser, the City of London Corporation’s policy chairman – its chief executive in all but name – yesterday said he would step down to the deputy’s seat to free up more time to experience “a very special year for London” in 2012. Fraser (pictured) – also a City A.M. columnist – will step aside [...]
Britain’s safe haven status won’t last November 10, 2011 SOMETHING seemingly astonishing is happening. Despite suffering from a gigantic budget deficit of at least £120bn, out-of-control inflation and an economy that has ground to a halt, investors are giving Britain the thumbs-up. The cost at which the government can borrow keeps on falling, and reached its lowest level since the 1950s yesterday. In real [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 10, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES EXXON SIGNS KURD EXPLORATION CONTRACTS ExxonMobil has become the first of the “supermajor” oil companies to venture into Kurdistan, in a controversial move that will be seen as a huge vote of confidence in the semi-autonomous region of Iraq but could spark a backlash in Baghdad. Exxon, the largest international oil company, signed [...]
City A.M.’s trading show November 10, 2011 City A.M. has joined forces with IG Index, the UK’s largest spreadbetting firm, to launch a major new retail trading show, with IG as headline sponsor. Active Trader 2012 will take place on Thursday 24 May 2012, with speakers drawn from top industry experts and City A.M.’s regular commentators. IG Index managing director Tim Hughes [...]
UBS settles short selling case November 10, 2011 UBS, Switzerland’s biggest bank, paid $8m (£5m) to settle a US case that it had failed to keep accurate records on its short selling business. US markets regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission had investigated its selling practices and alleged that since at least 2007 UBS’s records showed it had claimed to borrow stock to [...]
