Volatile trading and uncertainty are set to persist September 25, 2011 AFTER another roller-coaster week, which was the second-worst of the year for the FTSE 100, the only really safe call this morning is for the volatility to rumble on. Despite repeated international assurances that action will be taken to preserve financial stability and restore economic growth, the markets start another week without anything definite on [...]
Buy-outs slump as morale takes a knock in 2011 September 25, 2011 WEAKENING business confidence has seen the value of UK buy-outs slump this year, according to research published yesterday. Buy-outs in the first three quarters came to £7.8bn, down from £13bn over the same period last year, the Centre for Management Buyout Research said. The three months to September have seen the most significant drop in [...]
THE TIPSTER September 25, 2011 SHARES in Dominos Pizza tumbled below 500p on Friday. However, spread betters have been in a largely positive mood ahead of the firm’s results on Wednesday. The long-term trend has been upwards for the firm over the past year, as penny-pinching Britons shun meals out for takeaway pizzas at home. Traders were anticipating longer-term gains [...]
FTSE closes narrowly up after fight back from banks September 23, 2011 A strong rebound in banking stocks saw the FTSE end higher on Friday after a turbulent week, with investors pinning hopes on more action from the European Central Bank to deal with the region’s debt crisis. As traders cited market talk of help from France with some form of capital injection to bolster French banks’ [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 22, 2011 Vipera The mobile financial services provider has appointed Luciano Martucci, the former chairman of IBM Italia, as a non-executive chairman. In addition, Petter Neby, chairman of Neby & Jahrmann, a cornerstone investor in Vipera, has been appointed as a non-executive director, and non-executive chairman John Defterios has resigned from the board. Sinclair IS The pharma [...]
Global markets hammered by US and China gloom September 22, 2011 The FTSE 100 plunged on opening today as a bleak view of the US economy from the Fed and fears over a slowdown in China – a key engine room in the global economy – took their toll. London tracked hefty falls on Wall Street and in Asia with the Hang Seng in Hong Kong [...]
DEALMAKER | OF THE YEAR September 21, 2011 SIMON ROBEY MORGAN STANLEY Simon Robey, the CEO and M&A co-chair with a “canny strategic mind”, helped the bank win slots as lead adviser on LSE’s C$3.bn takeover bid for Canadian rival TMX and BP’s efforts to tie up with Rosneft. SHORTLIST Jim Renwick, Barclays Capital Josh Critchley, RBC Rupert Hume-Kendall, BoA Merrill Lynch David [...]
INVESTMENT BANK | OF THE YEAR September 21, 2011 JP MORGAN CAZENOVE JP Morgan Cazenove has performed the most consistently of the shortlisted banks, said the judges, pointing to its strong year for M&A, pulling off deals such as AT&T’s $39bn acquisition of T-Mobile USA. SHORTLIST Evercore Bank of America Merrill Lynch Barclays Capital Goldman Sachs
MARKETING CAMPAIGN | OF THE YEAR September 21, 2011 NATWEST NatWest had the “most visible” campaign: a marketing drive that repaired its own – and the banking sector’s – image with its “Helpful Banking” ads by M&C Saatchi promising to serve its customers better. SHORTLIST American Express Barclays Stockbrokers LOCOG Microsoft
Lehman drops Barclays litigation September 21, 2011 Lehman Brothers Holdings said it will drop its appeal of a bankruptcy court’s ruling upholding Barclays’ purchase of its North American business in 2008. In a statement, Lehman said yesterday it will drop its challenge of Judge James Peck’s February ruling denying its attempt to overturn the sale, which was completed in the hectic days [...]