BEST OF THE BROKERS February 16, 2011 AMEC Morgan Stanley has downgraded the engineering consultancy to “underweight” with a target price of £10.80 due to risks from the firm’s excess cash pile of around $1bn. The broker believes that AMEC missed the opportunity to expand through acquisitions when valuations were low in 2009, and sees a risk of the firm acquiring rivals [...]
Hopes of revival for financial sector drives the FTSE higher February 16, 2011 BRITAIN’S leading share index rallied yesterday, powered by banks, on hopes for further upbeat earnings in the sector after Barclays and French peer Societe Generale set the standard. HSBC gained 2.8 per cent, Royal Bank of Scotland rose 4.3 per cent and Barclays, which reported results on Tuesday, was up 1.0 per cent. Societe Generale [...]
How business school helps with a job-hunt February 16, 2011 ASK people who are currently studying an MBA what their top priority is and they will almost all tell you that it’s finding a job after they graduate. Always true, perhaps, but more so at the moment when the economic future remains uncertain. We asked four recent MBA graduates how they used their time and [...]
Agius: 50p tax makes it harder to keep talent in London February 15, 2011 THE 50p top tax rate makes it harder to retain talent in London, Barclays chairman Marcus Agius told City A.M. yesterday. He also said the bank’s “regretted losses” – staff that it has lost despite efforts to prevent them leaving – have risen, adding: “Competition for talent is fierce.” UK banks face a particularly difficult struggle to [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 15, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES JERSEY AND ISLE OF MAN OFFER TAX SOP TO BRUSSELS Jersey and the Isle of Man have announced changes to their corporate tax regimes in an effort to neutralise criticism from Brussels. Both crown dependencies said they were withdrawing laws that aim to stop local shareholders from avoiding personal income tax by rolling [...]
Diamond: low returns will be banished February 15, 2011 BARCLAYS chief executive Bob Diamond promised rigorous action to bring up the bank’s returns at its full-year results presentation yesterday, saying that “there are no sacred cows” in his cost-cutting. Diamond was keen to address the bank’s “unacceptable” return on equity of 7.2 per cent in 2010, announcing a target of 13 per cent by [...]
Pressure on Bob to deliver a miracle February 15, 2011 CHIEF executive Bob Diamond’s grand promise of a six per cent rise in returns in three years was greeted with incredulity in some circles yesterday. Evolution Securities’ Arturo de Frias decried the promise, saying: “We find all this way too bullish, and very difficult to believe… We don’t believe in ‘miracles.’” The plans rely on [...]
Pay down at Barclays despite rise in earnings February 15, 2011 BARCLAYS’ results revealed yesterday that pay declined seven per cent in 2010, falling by more at its investment banking division Barclays Capital, by 12 per cent. Overall, however, the bank’s compensation ratio of pay to revenues was up to 43 per cent, with average pay rising nearly £30,000 to £229,000. Chief executive Bob Diamond blamed [...]
HOW DO YOU RATE BARCLAYS RESULTS? February 15, 2011 DAVID BUIK | BGC PARTNERS The profits were quite a bit better than expected. The pre-tax profit was £6.07bn against expectations of £5.7bn. The net for year was £3.56bn against £3.2bn. Tier one capital came in at a pleasing 10.8 per cent up from 10 per cent. RICHARD HUNTER | HARGREAVES LANSDOWN Barclays has opened [...]
IHG raises its dividend as hotels boom February 15, 2011 InterContinental Hotels, the world’s biggest hotelier, showed confidence in economic recovery by lifting its final dividend for the first time in three years and set a target for opening more hotels. The British group, home to the InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn brands, met forecasts with a 22 per cent rise in 2010 profit, [...]