BEST OF THE BROKERS May 25, 2010 INVESTEC Citigroup reiterates its “buy” rating for Investec and said that the bank’s client franchise businesses should benefit from an expected cyclical recovery in 2011. Moreover, Citi believes it is in a stronger competitive position than it was before the global financial crisis given the misfortunes of many of its peers. SANTANDER Evolution Securities maintains [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 24, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES AIA CHIEF IN THREAT TO QUIT OVER PRU DEAL AIA’s chief executive has told friends and industry executives that he would quit if the UK’s Prudential succeeded in its $35.5bn (£24.6bn) takeover of the Asian businesses of AIG. Mark Wilson has said he would step down once the deal closed because the proposed [...]
Room with a brilliant view May 24, 2010 Paramount Centre Point, 101-103 New Oxford Street WC1A 1DD. Tel: 020 7420 2900, www.paramount.uk.net Cost per person without wine: £45 IN the food’n’drinkosphere, the days of exclusivity seem to be numbered – just last week, private casino Les Ambassadeurs opened its restaurant, The Milroy, for the hoi polloi’s lunchtime pleasure. Bureau, another swanky bar/lounge that [...]
BT boss Livingston in £1m bonus boon May 23, 2010 BT is set to anger its unions this week with the announcement that bonuses for its top executives have tripled. In its annual report, due on Wednesday, Britain’s biggest phone company will reveal chief executive Ian Livingston was awarded about £1m – up from £343,000 last year. He also received a £808,000 salary. Meanwhile Gavin [...]
Eurozone debt fears weigh on FTSE as investors flee from risky asset classes May 20, 2010 MOUNTING fears on Eurozone debt and doubts about the global economic recovery sent investors fleeing from riskier assets, shoving Britain’s top share index 1.7 per cent lower by close yesterday. In a volatile session, the FTSE 100 ended down 84.95 points at 5,073.13, its lowest close since 5 February having fallen 2.8 per cent on [...]
Canvas gets the all clear from the OFT May 19, 2010 THE Office of Fair Trading (OFT) will not investigate Project Canvas, a tie-up between large media players, over fears it will stifle competition. The proposed joint venture by firms including BBC, BT, TalkTalk and ITV will offer video-on-demand content through a viewer’s Freeview box. The scheme has come under fire from rivals Sky and Virgin [...]
LISTED PRODUCT NEWS May 19, 2010 COOKING UP A WINNER AT ISHARES The ETF provider iShares launched a new educational campaign this week in novel fashion. If you were around the City earlier this week then you may have seen two chefs, former contenders on MasterChef no less, cooking up a storm to promote the benefits of ETFs. The chefs used [...]
Delays for iPad in UK after pre-orders outstrip demand… May 17, 2010 THE instant success of Apple’s iPad in its native US looks set to be repeated in the UK after record pre-orders have already outstripped demand. The tablet notebook – described by Apple as “revolutionary” – finally goes on sale in the UK on 28 May after a series of delays. But now Apple is warning [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS May 16, 2010 BT Citigroup has recommended BT as a “buy” after the telecoms group posted impressive fourth quarter results. Citi said revenue was ahead of estimates and consensus by four to five per cent. Revenue was driven by Global Services which beat consensus by £164m, according to Citi. BRITVIC Credit Suisse has issued Britvic with an “overweight” [...]
BT will spend an extra £1bn on broadband May 13, 2010 BT WILL plough an extra £1bn into its broadband network as it strives to roll out superfast internet to thousands of new homes. It will also invest heavily in its struggling BT Vision television service, which it hopes can pull off a remarkable turnaround now it can offer Premier League football matches. The news came [...]