FTSE lurches towards worst month since August May 30, 2012 The FTSE 100 dipped this morning as the Eurozone’s debt woes continued to cast a shadow and hopes that China would trigger further fiscal stimulus were dealt a blow. Investors are awaiting the European Commission’s economic strategy on how austerity measures can be introduced without quashing the growth required for recovery. Concerns about Spain’s ability [...]
Merci but no grazie: Barclays scraps French and Italian sale May 29, 2012 BARCLAYS has called off talks over the sale of its French and Italian businesses. The bank has decided against a sale and aims to improve the profitability of the two arms as it continues to shake up or dispose of the parts of its business that do not meet its minimum level for return on [...]
Thomas Cook investors back crucial sell-off May 29, 2012 THOMAS COOK won a major breakthrough in its turnaround plans yesterday after shareholders almost unanimously backed two key disposals, without which the holiday giant had warned it could collapse. The 171 year-old tour operator said 99.99 per cent of proxy votes supported the planned sale and leaseback of part of its aircraft fleet and the [...]
CITY VIEWS | WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THE PASTY TAX U-TURN? May 29, 2012 HOWARD WATT FIDELITY I bought a pasty from Greggs this morning and it did seem a little expensive, but it’s still much cheaper than a lot of the other food that is being sold in the City. I think booze and cigarettes should be taxed to encourage healthy lifestyles and pasties are quite fattening too. To [...]
Barclays jumps the gun on sunny high street sale stats May 29, 2012 Whoops! The British weather and bank holidays are often blamed for economic under- performance, even when it’s not especially bad. So yesterday when the CBI issued its latest take on the state of distributive trades, a statement from Richard Lowe, head of retail and wholesale at Barclays, promptly followed blaming the rain: “The biblical weather [...]
Diamond slams government for breaking taxpayer confidentiality May 28, 2012 BARCLAYS chief executive Bob Diamond has slammed the government for hitting the bank with a huge retrospective tax bill earlier this year and for damaging its reputation by “effectively naming” Barclays as the culprit in a tax avoidance scheme. In a letter to Andrew Tyrie, chair of the Treasury Select Committee of MPs, Diamond complains [...]
Italian business confidence down on sustained recession May 28, 2012 ITALIAN business confidence plummeted to a near three-year low in May, official data showed yesterday, as the country continued to struggle through recession, reforms and spending cuts. Istat’s manufacturing confidence index dropped from 89.1 in April to 86.2 in May, its lowest since August 2009. Employment expectations worsened further, from minus 13 to minus 19, [...]
Barclays sells German property May 28, 2012 GERMAN real estate group Deutsche Wohnen said yesterday it has agreed to buy a real estate portfolio valued at about €1.24bn (£992m) from Barclays. The deal comprises about 23,500 apartments with a low average vacancy rate of 2.7 per cent, most of which are located in or near cities including Hanover, Berlin and Magdeburg, Deutsche [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 28, 2012 DC Advisory Partners The corporate finance advisory firm has appointed Jack Dessay as an executive director in its technology, media and telecommunications team. He joins from Deutsche Bank, where has worked for the past six years. Dessay has also held senior posts at Citigroup, working from its New York and London offices. KPMG Charlie Patrick [...]
Miners lead FTSE advance May 28, 2012 The FTSE tracked rises across Europe as a poll in Greece showed that that the pro-austerity conservative party in the debt laden state was ahead in the polls. According to the figures the New Democracy party could gain about a quarter of the votes, making it the biggest party with elections due on 17 June. [...]