UK technology darling’s rocky road to HP deal November 20, 2012 WHEN Autonomy was sold to Hewlett-Packard (HP) for $11bn (£6.9bn) in October 2011, the deal was hailed as a defining moment for Cambridge’s technology scene and chief Mike Lynch was made a poster boy for British entrepreneurship. But seven months later, Lynch was out of HP, fired by the US giant’s new boss Meg Whitman. [...]
Cable and Caan cheer City ladies November 20, 2012 TO the Marriott hotel in Grosvenor Square last night for the seventh annual Women of the Future awards. The City’s fairer sex were celebrated at the black tie drinks and dinner do, and unsurprisingly there was no shortage of both men and women turning out to show their appreciation for Britain’s outstanding ladies aged 35 [...]
FTSE 100 edges down as Moody’s downgrades France November 20, 2012 The blue chip index inched lower in trading this morning, as Moody’s downgrade of France stifled investor sentiment. On the FTSE All-Share, platinum miner Lonmin sank more than 40 per cent in early trading. Yesterday its shareholders voted through an $817m (£514m) rights issue at a general meeting. Pub group Punch Taverns fell almost four [...]
Ocado investors prop up £36m capital raising November 19, 2012 OCADO’S shareholders ploughed more money into the online grocery chain yesterday to support a £36m placing that will keep the firm financially stable for at least 18 months. Existing shareholders including Jorn Rausing of the Tetra Pak dynasty and Ocado’s management team took up around 19 per cent of the shares placed, in line with [...]
Positive housing market figures give boost to US recovery hopes November 19, 2012 AMERICA’S ailing housing market could be on the mend, according to two positive surveys released across the pond yesterday. US homebuilder sentiment rose for a seventh consecutive month in November and hit its highest level in over six years, according to one widely-regarded survey. The National Association of Home Builders’ housing market index, conducted with [...]
UK’s WANdisco buys out Silicon Valley company November 19, 2012 SHEFFIELD-BORN software company WANdisco yesterday announced it had bought out Silicon Valley data firm AltoStor, as the recently-listed UK outfit makes an aggressive move into the lucrative and fast-growing “Big Data” market. “It’s a real coup for the business,” chief executive David Richards told City A.M., revealing that WANdisco beat “a much bigger, established Silicon [...]
Taylor wins a bigger role at Barclays’ investment bank November 19, 2012 BARCLAYS announced yesterday that Richard Taylor will be its new head of investment banking in Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA), filling a gap left by Tom King’s move to take on a global role in a shake-up last month. Taylor, formerly at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, is currently head of the investment banking [...]
FTSE 100 up on optimism over fiscal cliff deal November 19, 2012 The leading share index was trading up this morning, buoyed by optimism that the US will avoid the fiscal cliff. Miners and banking shares led the FTSE 100 higher this morning, with Eurasian Natural Resources the biggest blue chip riser, adding 3.27 per cent. On the FTSE All-Share, internet grocer Ocado rose almost 21 per [...]
Grocer Ocado dismisses loan breach fears November 18, 2012 OCADO, the online grocery shop, yesterday brushed off market speculation that it is seeking to renegotiate its debt covenants with its lenders, saying there was “no threat” it would breach its covenants. A weekend report suggested the online supermarket, which floated to much fanfare in 2010, was seeking to reset its debt or extend the [...]
City Moves | Who’s switching jobs November 18, 2012 Boost ETP The investment product provider has appointed Richard Kent (right) as head of product operations and Jose Poncela as senior in-house counsel. Kent joins from UBS, where he was a director in its equity and fund-linked derivatives team. He has also worked for Barclays Capital. Poncela has held roles at Nomura International, UBS and [...]