London the only region to defy house price slump throughout rest of UK January 9, 2012 UK HOUSE prices continued to fall at the end of last year, a widely-regarded survey revealed this morning, yet prices in the capital are still bucking the trend. London was the only region to show a positive net balance (46 per cent) of surveyors reporting rising prices. Across the country as a whole, a balance [...]
Financials under pressure as Greek default fears rekindled January 9, 2012 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 closed down yesterday with financials under pressure after a warning by German Chancellor Angela Merkel reignited fears of a Greek default, while GlaxoSmithKline fell on worries over its key lung drug Relovair. London’s blue chip index closed down 37.42 points or 0.7 per cent at 5,612.26, with volumes just 88 per cent [...]
FTSE dented by GSK January 9, 2012 The FTSE 100 was dented by pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline today after concerns over one of its new treatments. GSK shed 2.6 per cent after reported problems with tests on its lung medication Relovair. Traders and investors were eyeing events in Berlin where German leader Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are meeting today. The [...]
FTSE solid as banks edge up January 9, 2012 The FTSE 100 saw modest advances today ahead of talks between France and Germany on how to create the environment for a sustained recovery in the Eurozone. The bloc’s debt crisis will be top of the agenda when German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy meet in Berlin. Later this week the European [...]
FTSE steady as investors eye US jobs data January 6, 2012 The FTSE 100 was steady in early trading with media and telecoms gains offsetting weak financial services and retail sectors. Investors were focusing on US jobs data out later while the Eurozone debt crisis continued to dampen sentiment. Analysts’ fears that Eurozone countries and banks could struggle to tap markets for capital this year continue [...]
Euro woes return with a vengeance January 5, 2012 EUROPEAN banks were caught in a wave of new anxiety yesterday as doubts over capital-raising plans and Hungary’s solvency caused investors to drop stock in the continent’s major lenders. Shares in UniCredit, Italy’s biggest bank, dropped 17.3 per cent to their lowest level since 1985 as markets fret over its heavily discounted rights issue, which [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 5, 2012 Plethora Solutions Holdings James Mellon has been appointed as a non-executive director of the urological products developer. Mellon started his career with GT Management, and later became the co-founder and managing director of Thornton Management (Asia), based in Hong Kong. He is also co-founder of Regent Pacific Group and Charlemagne Capital, chairman of Manx Financial [...]
Yahoo nabs a leader from eBay’s PayPal January 4, 2012 YAHOO has named PayPal’s Scott Thompson its fourth chief executive in less than five years, concluding a four month search for a new leader after Carol Bartz was ousted in September. Thompson, who will also become a director, will on Monday take the helm from Tim Morse, Yahoo’s chief financial officer, who has been manning [...]
BOARDROOM CLEAROUT January 4, 2012 Like former PM Harold McMillan, who had his own “night of the long knives” in 1962 by sacking eight cabinet ministers in one go, incoming chairman Frank Meysman has dispensed with three of Thomas Cook’s five non-executive directors. The soon to be ex-execs have a combined age of 202. But who are they? Peter Middleton [...]
Banks drag FTSE down as UniCredit prices at discount January 4, 2012 CONCERNS over the Eurozone sent Britain’s top shares into reverse yesterday after the previous session’s sharp gains, as Italian lender UniCredit priced a rights issue at a huge discount, and a German bond auction failed to excite. The FTSE 100 fell 31.46 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 5,668.45, albeit in light volume, at 79 [...]