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, [...]
Greek shambles saps investor confidence February 10, 2012 Markets saw confidence drain away again today as the shambles surrounding Greece’s attempts to trigger further bailout funds continued unabated. Greece’s economic future hangs in the balance after the country’s international creditors demanded more steps from Athens before they release a rescue package. Resource stocks pegged the FTSE 100 back with miner Anglo American down [...]
Barclays profits fall to £5.9bn February 10, 2012 Barclays has reported a three per cent drop profits to £5.9bn for 2011 – dented by a slowdown at its investment bank arm. The bank also said the bonus pool at the investment banking division was down 32 per cent to £1.5bn in 2011. Income at investment bank arm Barclays Capital (BarCap) fell to £1.8bn [...]
BarCap wins accreditation on Xstrata February 9, 2012 BARCLAYS Capital was yesterday granted accreditation from Thomson Reuters for its role as an investment banking adviser to Xstrata in its £56bn merger deal with Glencore. Its inclusion as an adviser is massively important to the bank, elevating it from eighth to sixth place in the Thomson Reuters M&A league table, as it seeks eventual [...]
Doughty in €355m Spain deal February 9, 2012 BUYOUT group Doughty Hanson has bolstered its presence in the private healthcare market by agreeing to buy Spain’s third largest private hospital operator for €355m (£298m). It will take USP Hospitales, a Madrid-based hospital chain, off the hands of creditors Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). The firm’s bid represents a nine times multiple [...]
UK trade deficit plummets to nine-year low as imports take a sharp tumble February 9, 2012 IMPORTS fell sharply in December and exports expanded slightly, taking the UK’s trade deficit to its lowest level since 2003, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed yesterday. The deficit in goods and services fell to £1.1bn for the month, compared with £2.8bn in November. In goods, the deficit fell from £8.9bn to [...]