No Eurozone rate cut as Draghi plays down fears of deflation February 6, 2014 THE EUROZONE will not tip into deflation, European Central Bank boss Mario Draghi said yesterday, defying the monetary policy doves who had called for him to cut interest rates again. Inflation in the Eurozone has fallen to 0.7 per cent in the year to January, well below the target of below but near to two per cent. [...]
Rawlinson left red-faced after overheard lunch February 6, 2014 IT’S THE nightmare scenario we all dread. Going for a meeting with a prospective employer and getting spotted (and overheard) by your current boss. But that’s exactly what happened to mining investment maestro Michael Rawlinson when he was thinking about leaving his role as head of mining at Liberum Capital during the summer. Amid talks [...]
Best of the Brokers for 07 February 2014 February 6, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com DAILY MAIL AND GENERAL TRUST Nomura has hiked its target price on shares in the Daily Mail-owner to 1,060p , up from 900p, albeit maintaining its “neutral” rating. Nomura cited slightly higher advertising growth and a lower print decline. DMGT said this week that its property website [...]
Forex rate-rigging scandal 2015 probe: Foreign exchange crisis engulfs London February 5, 2014 City foreign exchange desks were thrown into turmoil yesterday as top traders at Goldman Sachs and Citi resigned, while Deutsche Bank fired three New York traders. Banks are being lent on hard by regulators over alleged FX benchmark manipulation, adding to chaos in the sector. The New York Department for Financial Services (DFS) has become [...]
Best of the Brokers for 06 February 2014 February 5, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com JD WETHERSPOON Barclays has upgraded the pub chain to “overweight” with a target of 880p. The broker thinks Wetherspoons is being overlooked due to a price to earnings ratio that is below the long-term average for the firm, but thinks the shares could [...]
London Report: FTSE pares back losses after RSA and Glaxo rally February 5, 2014 THE UK’S top top equity index snapped a five-day losing streak yesterday, lifted by rallies in insurer RSA and pharma group GlaxoSmithKline. Shares in RSA rose 4.6 per cent on expectations its new chief executive Stephen Hester, credited with salvaging RBS, would help turn around the insurer, which is struggling with a £200m pound ($330m) [...]
Lenders pay off £300m of £3bn swaps redress February 4, 2014 BRITAIN’S biggest banks have paid £306.3m to small firms who were mis-sold interest rate swaps, the Financial Conduct Authority said yesterday. The figure for January is almost double the £158.6m completed by December, as the banks get closer to finishing their evaluations of customers and can pay more of the compensation. But around another £2.7bn still remains, [...]
Barclays’ chief Jenkins gives up 2013 bonus February 3, 2014 BARCLAYS’ chief executive yesterday turned down his bonus for the second year running, a week after the bank set aside another £330m to pay for legal bills and regulatory costs. The lender also raised almost £6bn from investors in the last year, and Antony Jenkins does not want to take a bonus so soon after [...]
Smith & Nephew beefs up sports medicine arm February 3, 2014 BRITISH medical equipment company Smith & Nephew yesterday announced the biggest UK healthcare M&A deal so far this year after striking a $1.7bn (£1bn) deal to buy US-based medicine company ArthroCare. The business, led by Frenchman Olivier Bohuon, will pay $48.25 a share in cash for Texas-based ArthroCare, a 20 per cent premium to its [...]
Bank of America pay rise to ease bonus cap blow February 3, 2014 SENIOR staff at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) are getting a 20 per cent pay rise to make sure they do not lose out as a result of the EU’s incoming bonus cap. Managing directors at the bank’s offices in London and the rest of Europe will now receive a base salary of $500,000 [...]