ANALYST VIEWS: IS IHG WELL POSITIONED FOR GROWTH THIS YEAR? February 14, 2012 WYN ELLIS | NUMIS 2011 preliminary results were encouraging with underlying earnings before interest and tax of $559m vs. consensus of $542m. Net debt at year end was just $538m and we believe that after the disposal of the [Intercontinental New York] Barclay as much as $1bn could be returned to shareholders. KEITH BOWMAN | [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS February 14, 2012 BARCLAYS Shore Capital has upgraded the bank from “sell” to “hold” with a target price of 240p following its full-year 2011 results, saying the company has made better progress than expected in rebuilding its core tier 1 ratio. The broker is also more positive due to the ECB’s intervention into bank funding markets, which it [...]
MEET THE ADVISERS February 13, 2012 Both Vodafone and Cable & Wireless Worldwide have been quick to maintain that there is, as yet, no deal on the table. But, should Vodafone serve an offer, CWW has its usual advisory team – comprising Barclays Capital and Rothschild – at the ready. Heading the BarCap squad is Will Peters, who has been at the [...]
Why Barclays Capital is set to go marching on February 13, 2012 WHENEVER I speak to a director at Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley about BarCap, Barclays Bank’s investment banking arm, I am reminded by them that it takes a very long time to build up a sustainable leading position in the equity markets. As Barclays geared up for publication of its financial results last Friday, questions [...]
Japan’s economy falls sharply as Thai floods and strong yen pull on exports February 13, 2012 JAPAN’S economy shrank much more sharply that expected in the final quarter of 2011, official GDP estimates showed yesterday. The strong yen and Thai floods helped cut exports by 3.1 per cent over the three-month period, leading GDP to contract by 0.6 per cent. Public fixed capital formation fell by 2.5 per cent, a second [...]
THE TIPSTER ROCKY ROAD PAVED WITH CHOCOLATE HEAVEN February 13, 2012 CHOCOLATIER Thorntons will be hoping it can keep investors sweet, when it releases its latest update this week. Its Christmas update provided little cheer, and it is somewhat hard to believe that the market for slightly upmarket chocolates has improved in any way during the post-Christmas season – even if some Britons might have turned [...]
FTSE hits six-month high fuelled by Greek deal February 13, 2012 The FTSE 100 climbed 0.9 per cent to a six-month high of 5,905.7 as investors’ confidence was buoyed by Greek politicians finally approving a new set of austerity measures. However, the move triggered civil unrest on the streets of Athens with the most violent clashes since the country’s disastrous financial situation was laid bare. The [...]
Banks miss SME lending targets February 13, 2012 Britain’s top banks fell short of their government targets to lend to small businesses last year, Bank of England data showed on Monday, dealing a blow to the Conservative-led coalition’s hopes to get credit flowing through the economy to boost growth. However, banks exceeded their target for lending to all businesses, making a total of [...]
Punch broker set to settle with the FSA February 12, 2012 ANDREW Osborne, the corporate broker at the centre of the Greenlight Capital insider dealing case, has reluctantly decided he will not fight a £350,000 fine meted out by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for his role in the affair. Osborne (pictured), whose clients at Bank of America Merrill Lynch included Tullow Oil, Cairn Energy, the [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 12, 2012 The Salamanca Group Jeremy Wrathall has been appointed as managing director of Salamanca Resources, the recently formed division of the group that will focus on the metals and mining sector. He joins Salamanca from Renaissance Capital, where he was head of investment banking for the firm’s London operation and had responsibility for metals and mining, [...]