Slump for Asos despite stellar Christmas sales January 14, 2014 ASOS shares slid yesterday despite the online fashion retailer posting another set of glowing results, boosted by sales in Europe and a surge in UK customers clicking online in the run-up to Christmas. The retailer’s shares fell as much as seven per cent before closing down three per cent yesterday, with analysts pointing to an [...]
More banks join bid to cut hours for junior staff January 14, 2014 CREDIT Suisse yesterday became the latest investment bank to tell its interns and junior employees to take more time out of the office, after increased worries that young staff are pushing themselves dangerously hard. The giant Swiss bank has told junior staff they should try not to come into work on Saturday, in an effort [...]
Out in the City G3 Awards name some of our top diversity champs January 14, 2014 THE CITY hasn’t always been a place praised for its diversity but thanks to the Out in the City/G3 Readers Awards, it’s proven itself to be more inclusive than you might think. The shortlist for the awards – which recognise outstanding commitment to promoting equality and diversity in relation to the LGBT community – was announced [...]
Europe’s banks are losing share of M&A deals January 14, 2014 AS GLOBAL merger and acquisition activity looks like springing back into life after a six-year downturn, it’s worth noting that the likely benefactors among bank advisers to these mega deals are likely to be increasingly American. While the likes of Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Merrill Lynch find themselves set [...]
The funds that could see big gains this year January 14, 2014 But if you want your investments to do well, avoid 2013’s winners WITH the FTSE 100 nearing an all-time high and the S&P 500 rising by 29.6 per cent, 2013 was a bumper year for equity investors. Those who had backed a fund manager investing in small British companies or Japan – last year’s big [...]
What happened to the Great Deleveraging? January 14, 2014 Back in the gloomy days of 2010, the phrase bandied around by many US economic forecasters was the appropriately foreboding ‘great deleveraging’. This was an epoch-defining moment when US consumers would stop splurging on nice things like cars and TVs and hunker down to pay back their debts for decades to come. The only problem [...]
Barclays names Shell as its top pick for 2014 January 14, 2014 Barclays has given Royal Dutch Shell’s new chief executive Ben Van Beurden the ultimate vote of confidence by declaring today that the oil major is its top pick for 2014. Low-profile internal candidate Van Beurden replaced Peter Voser at the start of the year, surprising some investors who had expected finance chief Simon Henry to [...]
Mega deals have returned – but European banks are losing out to US rivals January 14, 2014 As global merger and acquisition activity springs back into life after a period of relative inertia, it's worth noting that the likely benefactors amongst bank advisers to these mega deals are likely to be increasingly American. While the likes of Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Merrill Lynch find themselves set [...]
Amec sets out £1.9bn offer for Foster Wheeler January 13, 2014 ENGINEERING firm Amec has provisionally agreed to buy US rival Foster Wheeler for $3.2bn (£1.9bn), both parties said yesterday. Samir Brikho, chief executive of the FTSE 100-listed company, described the acquisition as “transformational” for Amec, enhancing its position in the downstream energy sector and in developing markets such as Latin America. Threadneedle Investments, a top [...]
Derivatives guru exits trade body January 13, 2014 VETERAN trade body chief Anthony Belchambers yesterday said he will step down from the influential Futures and Options Association (FOA) trade body after more than 20 years leading the group. Belchambers, founder of the FOA and a seasoned champion of the derivatives sector, will take on a pared-back role as special adviser when he leaves [...]