Brussels’ plans to cap bonuses will be a disaster for London February 18, 2013 ONCE again, Britain is about to shoot itself in the foot. The latest proposals from Brussels – this time, to impose a cap on bank bonuses – look like they may shortly be nodded through, with George Osborne seemingly too frightened by anti-City sentiment to block them. Bonuses may have to be no more than [...]
European Report: Hangover from Carlsberg hits European stock February 18, 2013 EUROPEAN shares dipped for a third straight session yesterday, led by Danish brewer Carlsberg after disappointing earnings, and some analysts expected further weakness in the market in the near term. The world’s fourth-biggest brewer posted a weaker-than-expected quarterly profit as sales stalled in key market Russia and remained sluggish in western Europe, sending its shares [...]
Equistone exits UK energy firm at a premium February 18, 2013 EQUISTONE, the private equity group, yesterday exited its majority stake in oil and gas company Hydrasun after selling it to a Bahraini-listed investment company. The sale, which comes over five years after Equistone backed a management buyout of the firm, represents more than a 2.5x premium to the firm’s original money investment of £38m. The [...]
Rothschild heir backs launch of merchant bank February 18, 2013 EDMOND de Rothschild, the wealth manager chaired by an heir of the Rothschild banking dynasty, is to launch a UK merchant bank after winning regulatory approval for the plan. The new outfit, which was given consent to launch by the Financial Services Authority in mid-January, will be called Edmond de Rothschild Private Merchant Banking and [...]
Mixed mining shares weigh on FTSE February 15, 2013 The blue chip index edged down in early deals after a mixed performance from headline mining shares. Anglo American was the biggest riser, adding more than three per cent in early deals, despite it posting a sharp drop in 2012 earnings as it was hit by last month’s $4bn write-down on Brazilian project Minas Rio. [...]
City Moves for 15 February 2013 | Who’s switching jobs February 14, 2013 CBRE The property firm has appointed Andrew Peacock as head of central London asset management. He joins after 24 years at Aviva Investors, where he held a number of senior roles, including manager of its central London office portfolio. Towers Watson The professional services company has appointed Liz Rennie as senior consultant in its human [...]
Amec weighs on FTSE February 14, 2013 The FTSE 100 edged down this morning as oil engineer Amec weighed heavily on the index. Shares in the engineer lost more than 5.5 per cent in early trading, despite it posting an 11 per cent hike in annual earnings this morning, enabling it to pledge a 20 per cent increase in its dividend. “In [...]
Crest Nicholson hails a jubilant market return February 13, 2013 CREST NICHOLSON made a successful return to the stock market yesterday, after the 50-year old British housebuilder completed a listing which valued it at £553m. The company, taken private by Scottish entrepreneur Tom Hunter at the height of the housing bubble in 2007, priced its shares at 220p, the upper half of its original range. [...]
City Views | Are you worried inflation has been above target for so long? February 13, 2013 RICHARD WINSTON | BADENOCH & CLARK On a such a small percentage, when I get my monthly paycheck I don’t think about it and if you’re getting an annual pay rise above the rate of inflation, then in real terms it’s not affecting you. GLYNIS WIGGINTON | KEMP LITTLE The rise is very tangible for [...]
Firms going ex-dividend hit FTSE 100 February 13, 2013 The leading share index fell this morning, ending a three-session rally as it was weighed down by a number of blue chips going ex-dividend. Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca led the fallers, shedding more than three per cent as it went ex-dividend. Business software provider Sage and oil giant BP fell 1.63 per cent and 1.44 per [...]