Barclays hopes its new CoCo will prove a hit with investors November 15, 2010 BARCLAYS is experimenting with a new contingent convertible (CoCo) in a bid to prepare itself for new European capital rules. It has devised a new CoCo that would not only convert to equity if the bank’s capital ratio declined, but convert back again if things improved again. The debt instruments will count towards capital buffers [...]
BHP moves on from Potash takeover bid November 15, 2010 MINING giant BHP Billiton’s shares rose yesterday following its decision to abandon its hostile takeover of Potash Corp and begin a $4.2bn (£2.6bn) share buyback, as analysts pored over the world’s largest mining group’s next move. BHP’s London-listed shares closed 1.8 per cent up at £24.06, outperforming a 0.4 per cent gain in the FTSE [...]
RUBENS AND CHARLES I WATCH LUXURY GONGS November 15, 2010 THE great and good of the British luxury brands industry gathered for one of the biggest events of the year last night, as its lobbying group, Walpole, held its annual awards. In Whitehall’s Banqueting Hall, under the glow of a delicately lit ceiling of Rubens masterpieces and near the site where King Charles I was [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 15, 2010 Barclays Barclays has appointed Paul McNamara (pictured) as MD of insurance and investments to strengthen the bank’s ability to make protection insurance more accessible. McNamara comes from Standard Life, where he was MD for group strategy and corporate finance, before which he was a director of marketing and distribution at HBOS financial services. In another [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS November 15, 2010 MARKS & SPENCER Deutsche Bank rates the high street giant a “hold” with a target price of 430p. The broker believes the benefits of new boss Marc Bolland’s overhaul of the stores will not be seen until 2012/13. However, DB says the retailer’s recent results pointed to strong sales momentum in the short term, with [...]
The man who is set to bring more luxury to London’s five-star hotels November 14, 2010 LONDON’S five-star hotel market is set to take off over the next six months and a septuagenarian Maltese businessman called Alfred Pisani will be at the heart of the glamorous action. His £300m luxury Corinthia Hotel London, on Whitehall Place, is being completed and will take its first paying guests in April 2011. It is [...]
Barclays funds student scheme November 14, 2010 Barclays Real Estate has closed and funded a £66m senior debt facility for the Unite Group, the student accommodation provider and manager. The facility, which includes £50m for the development phase, enabled Unite to buy a sit at Great Suffolk Street on the Southbank for purpose-built student accommodation, which will be one of the largest [...]
CITY SETS OFF HALF A TONNE OF FIREWORKS November 14, 2010 LONDONERS were treated to one of the capital’s biggest public fireworks displays of the year on Saturday, as the Lord Mayor’s grand finale boasted nearly half a tonne of fireworks. The show’s 800-year old parade was three miles long this time – twice as long as the route it followed from Temple to Bank – [...]
How to avoid the dog funds November 11, 2010 AN ASTONISHING £13bn is languishing in so-called dog funds, which persistently fail to deliver returns for investors, according to BestInvest’s biannual Spot the Dog report published earlier this week. Spot the Dog branded Jupiter as the worst performing investment house in terms of the value of assets in dog funds. Also among the main culprits [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS November 11, 2010 FLEXIBLE DRAWDOWN SUITABLE FOR MOST Over 90 per cent of financial advisers think that flexible drawdown would be a suitable retirement solution for their clients, according to research conducted by pension product provider Suffolk Life. Suffolk Life’s John Moret said: “Industry statistics suggest that the number of new drawdown cases in 2010 is likely to [...]