S&P’s US downgrade sparks stock sell-off April 18, 2011 Alarm over deteriorating public finances in the US, Greece and other peripheral eurozone nations hit markets today, pushing the FTSE down to its lowest close in four weeks. Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s cut its outlook on the US’ rating outlook to negative, from stable, citing a lack of decisive action to rein in [...]
£48bn: The value bullish brokers have given to Glencore April 17, 2011 GLENCORE could be worth up to a fifth more than previously thought, according to bullish estimates by analysts, pushing its market cap value up to $78bn (£47.8bn) if it floats successfully in May. Analysts at Barclays Capital and Credit Suisse – both of which are on the deal – have suggested that the commodities trader [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 17, 2011 Halifax Share Dealing The execution-only broker has confirmed Damian Stansfield as its new managing director. Stansfield moves from Lloyds Banking Group, where he held the position of risk director for direct channels and group marketing. In his new role, Stansfield will be responsible for the day-to-day management of Halifax Share Dealing and strategic development of [...]
MEET THE ADVISERS April 14, 2011 DAVID WORMSLEY CITIGROUP ADRIAN CARTWRIGHT CLIFFORD CHANCE BANKING rainmaker David Wormsley, widely known in the City as “The Worm”, is leading Citigroup as joint global co-ordinator and bookrunner on the Glencore listing. As chairman of UK investment banking at Citi he has been at the heart of several high-profile deals, including a key role in [...]
FTSE falls with investors still cautious ahead of US results April 14, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index fell yesterday, led by Reckitt Benckiser after the company said its chief executive was retiring, and with banks weaker on renewed worries about sovereign debt levels. The FTSE 100 fell 46.64 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 5,963.80, its lowest close since 31 March. The index is up 1.1 per cent [...]
FTSE at two-week low as banks and Reckitt fall April 14, 2011 The FTSE returned to a downward path today to close at a two-week low after household goods giant Reckitt Benckiser broke the news that its chief executive had unexpectedly stepped down. The FTSE 100 lost 46.6 points or 0.8 per cent to close at 5,963.80 as banks and miners also suffered, with fears over Asian [...]
Levene waits for Lloyds sale April 13, 2011 PLANS to sell off more Lloyds Bank branches than the 600 already agreed could cause unhelpful delays to the launch of new banks, Lord Levene told City A.M. yesterday. Levene, who chairs new high street bank NBNK, said it would be “very keen” to bid for a bigger package of Lloyds assets if they were [...]
Barclays warns that inflation could soar past five per cent April 13, 2011 INFLATION could still rise above five per cent this year, economists at Barclays claimed yesterday. The announcement surprised analysts after consumer price inflation sank to four per cent in March, from 4.4 per cent the previous month. However, strong upwards pressures in food and energy costs will drive inflation to a peak of 5.1 per [...]
FTSE rallies after banks and retailers deliver good news April 13, 2011 THE UK’s top share index closed higher yesterday, boosted by retailers and banks after a sell-off on Tuesday described as “overblown”. At the close, the FTSE 100 was up 45.97 points, or 0.8 per cent at 6,010.44, recouping half of Tuesday’s 1.5 per cent drop and recapturing the 6,000 level. Banks gained after better-than-expected results [...]
CRIME DOES PAY AS TV DETECTIVE TURNS £100K HEDGE FUND TRADER April 13, 2011 WHAT do a professional poker player, a former SAS soldier and actor Christopher Fox, otherwise known as DS Max Carter in The Bill, have in common? They are the stand-out contestants in a Trading Places-style experiment to find the hedge fund stars of the future, which has attracted 8,000 applications from every walk of life: [...]