London Report: Petrol prices to help inflation to a four-year low March 24, 2014 INFLATION is expected to hit a four-year low, with data this week likely to show petrol prices and the pound’s strength controlling prices. Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures due out tomorrow are forecast to show inflation at 1.7 per cent in February, down from 1.9 per cent in January. and the lowest since October 2009. [...]
Annuity market to collapse by £8bn because of rule switch March 20, 2014 SAVERS fleeing the pension annuity market will cause it to collapse by two-thirds over the next 18 months, analysts predict, as the fallout from the Budget continued to hit markets. Barclays analysts said the annuity market could shrink from £12bn a year to just £4bn by September 2015, due to changes announced in the Budget, [...]
Inside Track: In Barclays we trust: Retail investors rely on bank for new issues March 20, 2014 @hellierd There’s a page on the Barclays website that directs customers to the joys of investing in new issues and flotations. It is headlined: “Access investments before they become available on the market.” The trouble is that unless Barclays itself is working on one of the current crop of share issues, it is highly likely [...]
Bottom Line: This will be the end for some – but for others it’s a chance to innovate March 20, 2014 GEORGE Osborne’s bombshell Budget announcement means the law that introduced annuities is not even going to make it to its 60th birthday. Since the Finance Act of 1956, Britons have been forced to buy an annuity at some point between the age of 60 and 75. But from April next year, that requirement will be [...]
Witty proves a big hitty with GSK employees March 20, 2014 WHEN you start a new job, it can be quite difficult to know whether you’re walking into the garden of worklife Eden or the gates of Hades. Unless you’ve got someone on the inside. Lucky you. Well thanks to the people at Glassdoor (it’s all about transparency – see what they did there) we have [...]
Testing firm Exova plans £110m float on London Stock Exchange March 20, 2014 EXOVA yesterday became the latest company to unveil its plans to float on the London Stock Exchange. The Edinburgh-based firm, which tests components for customers in a wide range of sectors including aerospace, oil and gas and pharmaceuticals, is looking to raise £110m from a premium listing on the main market next month. Around 30 [...]
London Report: Failed vaccine test for Glaxo pricks the FTSE March 20, 2014 BRITAIN’S top equity index fell yesterday, hit by a drop in drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline and a hint from the Federal Reserve that US interest rates may rise sooner than previously expected. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index, which rose 14.4 per cent in 2013 and came close to a 13-year high in January, closed down 30.69 [...]
Best of the Brokers for 20 March 2014 March 19, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com ROLLS-ROYCE UBS has reversed its view on the engineering giant, moving from a “sell” to “buy” and hiking its target from 900p to 1,160p. The broker believes the firm’s cash conversion will improve towards the end of the decade and has raised its profit forecasts [...]
EU tries to stop banks swerving bonus cap rules March 18, 2014 THE EUROPEAN Union banking regulator is preparing to clamp down on a system of allowances, paid to bankers to get around tight new bonus rules. Michel Barnier, the EU financial services commissioner, said banks that pay employees monthly allowances in order to boost their take-home pay without directly contravening the bonus cap will be examined by [...]
Shares plunge as Asos ramps up investment March 18, 2014 ASOS shares plunged eight per cent yesterday after the online fashion retailer said it will ramp up spending on warehouses to meet growing demand at the expense of short term profits. Chief executive Nick Robertson said it will lift capital expenditure this year to £68m from the £55m previously forecast as it accelerates its investment [...]