Best of the Brokers for 23 September 2014 September 22, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com PETROFAC Barclays has upgraded to “overweight” from “equal weight”, with the target price kept at 1,500p. Barclays says while Petrofac’s Great Stella development needs to come on-stream, its record order backlog will likely ensure strong growth in the years ahead, with significant upside [...]
Banks gear up to battle European Banking Authority over bonus cap September 21, 2014 Banks in Britain, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands are preparing for another legal battle over bonuses, as the European Banking Authority (EBA) considers banning them from paying fixed allowances to staff. The firms’ lawyers are adamant that paying a regular allowance in cash or shares, based on the recipient’s role and reassessed annually, does not [...]
City Moves for 22 September 2014 | Who’s switching jobs September 21, 2014 Altium The mid market financial advisory group has announced two appointments to its UK debt advisory practice. Simon Chambers (pictured) and Richard Clark both join as managing directors from DC Advisory. Clark has also held roles at Close Brothers, Houlihan Lokey and JP Morgan. Chambers has previously worked at Barclays, and also as an engineer [...]
Alibaba share price means it will to smash tech float record September 18, 2014 Chinese e-commerce titan Alibaba last night priced its initial public offering at the top end of expectations, lining it up to raise a colossal $21.8bn (£13.3bn) in what will be the biggest tech float in history today. Alibaba will price its shares at $68 on the New York Stock Exchange, giving the firm a historic [...]
City traders on 24-hour alert over sterling September 18, 2014 TEAMS of staff at the Treasury, Bank of England, as well as sterling traders across a number of London-based banks were drafted in last night to staff 24-hour desks monitoring the fallout from the Scottish referendum. BNP Paribas, Barclays and Rabobank were among the institutions who staffed currency desks through the night so that their [...]
Analyst Views: What was your reaction to Merlin’s interim management statement? September 18, 2014 IVOR JONES | NUMIS Merlin has long-term growth potential driven by capital investment, a track record of excellent execution, and the potential to enhance its business with the application of yield management technology. All of these attractions are, we believe, reflected in the current share price and we reiterate our “hold” rating. MARK IRVINE-FORTESCUE | [...]
City flocks for a taste of Boris’s Big Breakfast with Dr Fox and Richard Desmond September 18, 2014 Auch, it was nye on impossible to talk of anything other than Scotland yesterday, but Boris Johnson made a good stab at it over breakfast – hosting the London’s Big Breakfast charity campaign at City Hall with Magic FM’s Dr Fox and The Mayor’s Fund for London. Richard Desmond was there chatting to primary school [...]
City Moves for 18 September 2014 | Who’s switching jobs September 17, 2014 DWF The law firm has announced the appointment of two partners to its London real estate team. Chris Seel and Nicola Giddens (pictured) join from Stephenson Harwood, where they were partner and senior associate respectively. BlackRock Lars Meisinger has been appointed regional chief operating officer, Europe, Middle East and Africa, for BlackRock Alternative Investors. He [...]
Dark pools might never recover from accusations at Barclays September 16, 2014 BANKS’ private trading platforms for clients have taken a serious knock since Barclays was accused in the US of misleading customers, analysts warned yesterday. The British bank is fighting the accusations made by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, but its trading volumes have not recovered. Analysts at Bernstein Research fear the damage might be [...]
Monitise share price dips as mobile banking firm eyes move to FTSE September 15, 2014 Aim-listed Monitise could consider a move to the main London Stock Exchange market as soon as this financial year, the mobile banking and payments firm’s chief executive told City A.M. yesterday. “The fact that we’ve reiterated that we’re seriously considering [a move to a main listing] shows that we’re thinking imminently, hopefully within this financial [...]