Transport for London looks for £3.5bn of commercial revenues June 2, 2014 TRANSPORT for London (TfL) has begun searching for a new sponsor of the city’s bicycle hire scheme, hoping to bring in more money and a long-term partner following Barclays’ departure. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has written to 200 of TfL’s biggest advertisers to gauge interest in sponsoring the bicycles, which were launched on [...]
Best of the Brokers for 02 June 2014 June 2, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com ASOS N+1 Singer has lowered its target price on the online fashion retailer from 5300p to 4100p but maintained its “hold” rating on the stock. The broker is concerned that the group’s sales growth rate in overseas markets is under threat, and has [...]
London Report: UK data to show economy is on path to recovery June 2, 2014 ECONOMIC indicators out this week are expected to show the UK recovery continuing at a healthy pace. PMI survey data for services, manufacturing and construction are likely to show strong growth throughout May. Blerina Uruci, of Barclays, expects services PMI to hit 60 in May, up from 58.7 and well above the 50 figure which [...]
Investment banks suffering as bond trading revenues fall again May 29, 2014 THE WORLD’S biggest banks are taking a beating from diving bond trading revenues, analysts at JP Morgan warned yesterday. Revenues in fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) trading are set to fall by another 19 per cent in the second quarter compared with the first three months of the year. And compared with the same period [...]
Pay policy blow for Lookers as 36 per cent vote against plan May 29, 2014 MORE than a third of voting investors voted against pay plans at London-listed car dealership Lookers yesterday, making it the latest firm to endure a rebellion. The firm said 36 per cent of shareholders who voted rejected its remuneration policy, while a further nine per cent abstained on the vote. All other resolutions at the [...]
Proof that foreign call centres are best May 28, 2014 Barclays wants to keep its customers happy, so when its mortgage borrowers said they wanted British call centres, the bank agreed. It closed its overseas sites and hired Brits to help customers instead. Unfortunately, the new setup has not been as smooth as the bank hoped, and the local staff didn’t make customers [...]
The numbers that prove Nationwide is beating three of the big four banks May 28, 2014 As the name suggests, Britain’s Big Four banks are usually considered the biggest lenders in the country. But the country’s biggest building society, Nationwide, today released numbers showing it is firmly the second-biggest mortgage lender in the county. On top of that, it's growing far faster than RBS, Barclays and HSBC, pulling further [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 28 May 2014 May 27, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Pilgrim’s Pride bid disrupts deal Poultry company Pilgrim’s Pride has offered to buy Hillshire Brands for $6.4bn (£3.8bn) including debt, in a deal meant to head off Hillshire’s recent bid for Pinnacle Foods and create one of the US’s largest meat producers. Pilgrim’s offer of $45 a share – a roughly 22 per [...]
Ladbrokes taps retail bond cash May 27, 2014 BETTING firm Ladbrokes yesterday said it was venturing into the retail bond market with the launch of a new issue. The bond, which has just over an eight year maturity, will pay a fixed rate of interest of 5.125 per cent. Barclays, Canaccord Genuity and Lloyds Bank are acting as joint lead managers on the [...]
What you need to know before the US open May 23, 2014 A subdued start’s expected for US markets, ahead of home sales numbers, and after European counterparts headed lower on the back of a slip in German business confidence. Stock futures inched higher this morning. All eyes will be on the new house sales numbers, due out at 3pm. The numbers are of heightened importance, given [...]