UK banks benefit from housing upturn as corporate lending remains weak October 23, 2013 Citi Research has released a report concluding that there is an increasing upside to UK banks. Analysts cite several positive indicators leading to a positive assessment of the sector. There was a significant increase in mortgage volumes in July and August, with gross mortgage lending for the eight months to August 2013 amounting to £99bn, [...]
Osborne warns the deficit remains a major threat October 22, 2013 THE UK’S budget deficit shrank again in September, official figures showed yesterday, but the chancellor warned it will take a sustained policy drive to remove the underlying problems in the government’s finances. In September the deficit came in at £11.1bn, or £1bn smaller than the same month a year earlier. Tax receipts increased seven per [...]
US jobs data pushes easing taper away October 22, 2013 THE LONG-awaited tapering of the US Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing (QE) programme is likely to be pushed back further, after the US jobs figures released yesterday failed to meet expectations. The non-farm payrolls data for September, which was delayed by more than a fortnight by the shutdown of the federal government, shows that 148,000 jobs [...]
City Moves for 23 October 2013 | Who’s switching jobs October 22, 2013 Deloitte The business advisory firm has appointed Olaf Theilmann as a senior partner in its financial services practice. He was most recently at Barclays, where he was European chief commercial officer and member of its executive committee. Baker Tilly The accountancy firm has announced the hire of Karen Hine as head of private client tax. [...]
One chart that shows how the federal shutdown hit the US economy October 22, 2013 Despite having avoided a US government default, the economic damage of the temporary October shutdown can't be so easily undone. We're beginning to see data releases for those weeks now, and they're beginning to reveal a grim economic picture. Betsey Stevenson of President Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisers has pointed to this chart: We'll [...]
Public offered a ride on theme park flotation October 21, 2013 ALTON Towers owner Merlin Entertainments yesterday said members of the public will have the chance to become shareholders in the company when it floats in London next month, with a minimum investment of just £1,000. The business, which also owns Madame Tussauds and Legoland, plans to raise £200m in an initial public offering of shares. [...]
Equistone fancies French pudding maker October 21, 2013 EQUISTONE, the private equity house founded by ex-Barclays buyout executives, has taken a bite out of a French luxury pudding maker that supplies tasty treats to M&S and McDonalds. The outfit, led by managing partner Guillaume Jacqueau, has bought a majority stake in French dessert conglomerate Europeenne des Desserts (EDD) for an undisclosed sum. The [...]
Analyst Views: What do you make of Informa’s nine month trading update? October 21, 2013 PATRICK YAU PEEL HUNT The third quarter looks good, although timing has helped. Guidance for the full year is unchanged. Looking to 2014, the main issue for forecasts seems to be currency rather than trading assumptions, with the dollar especially a key factor. We put our recommendation and target price under review. NICK DEMPSEY BARCLAYS [...]
City Moves for 22 October 2013 | Who’s switching jobs October 21, 2013 Brocade The networking solutions company has announced the hire of Joy Gardham as regional sales director for Western Europe. She was previously at Oracle, where she was operations director. Prior to that, Gardham held various roles at ICS Solutions and Microsystems. Macquarie Securities Duncan Farr has been appointed head of financial institutions sales for Europe at [...]
Alternative finance could liberate UK SMEs if regulators lift the speed limit October 21, 2013 THE ARGUMENT about banks and the adequacy (or not) of their lending to small businesses has raged on for about four years. It is a length of time comparable with the duration of the First World War, and this is a depressingly appropriate comparison. For all the thousands of rhetorical shells fired by both sides [...]