Engineering giant Tomkins closes in on $550m sale of its tyre safety business November 20, 2011 ENGINEERING giant Tomkins is closing in on a sale of its tyre safety arm, with a string of private equity firms understood to be monitoring the asset. The firm’s valves and gauges business could also be hived off in what would be a major restructuring of Tomkins’ Northern Irish business, according to the Sunday Telegraph. [...]
Markets dragged down by weak banks November 18, 2011 The FTSE 100 edged lower today as the ongoing crisis with Eurozone debt continued to sap investor confidence, particularly in banks. Across Europe markets slumped, with the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares down 0.7 per cent in early trading. It is on course to fall more than three per cent over the week, [...]
MEET THE ADVISERS November 17, 2011 TADHG FLOOD AND JAMES ARCULUS DEUTSCHE BANK ITS latest mandate advising UK Financial Investments and Northern Rock on the bank’s sale to Virgin Money is one in a string of government deals secured by Deutsche Bank. Most notably, Deutsche made hay advising HM Treasury during the bail-outs of Lloyds, Halifax Bank of Scotland and RBS in [...]
IRELAND AUCTIONS BUST TYCOON’S ART TO PAY OFF SUB-PRIME DEBTS November 17, 2011 DEREK Quinlan is not a name you will have read much about recently, after the troubled property tycoon decided to lie low on the shores of Lake Geneva while he contemplated his sizeable debts to Anglo Irish Bank. But he was back in the spotlight yesterday, when Quinlan’s $2.8m art collection came under the hammer [...]
FTSE hit by soaring bank yields November 17, 2011 The FTSE 100 fell in early trading today as yields on a Spanish bond auction soared to almost seven per cent – a level considered unsustainable by economists. A warning from ratings agency Fitch that the outlook for US banks could deteriorate if the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis is not resolved also took its toll. [...]
FTSE falls as Eurozone fear factor hits banks November 15, 2011 The FTSE edged down this morning, mirroring weaknesses in Asia, as rises in bond yields in Spain and Italy heaped more pressure on markets. Italy sold three billion euros of five-year bonds at 6.29 per cent yesterday – a euro-era record. The country’s 10-year bond yields rose to 6.76 per cent, also pushing Spanish 10-year [...]
Merlin target hit yet banks face criticism November 14, 2011 UK BANKS are on track to meet their lending targets set by Project Merlin, the Bank of England confirmed yesterday, but critics attacked the figures as meaningless, with some business groups calling for more credit to stimulate growth. Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS and Santander made £57.4bn available to businesses in the UK in the third [...]
TUC attacks funds on salaries November 14, 2011 Remuneration is the topic most likely to stir up disagreement between company management and institutional investors, according to a study released today by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) today. However, the report also found bank remuneration was particularly strongly supported. Barclays led the field with 75 per cent of fund managers backing its remuneration. The [...]
FTSE falls as Italy’s bond sale reduces investor confidence November 14, 2011 BRITAIN’S top shares fell yesterday as the latest Italian bond auction dented investor confidence in the ability of new governments in Italy and Greece to tackle Europe’s debt crisis. An Italian five-year government bond auction delivered an early market view on former European Commissioner Mario Monti’s leadership after he was installed as Prime Minister of [...]
Inheritance issues stoke family feuds November 13, 2011 FOUR in 10 wealthy Britons do not trust their children to protect their inheritance, according to a report published this morning. And the higher an individual’s wealth, the more likely they are to cut people out of their will. Barclays Wealth has estimated that five per cent of those with disposable wealth between £1m to [...]