Oil and mining shares drag FTSE lower as commodity price falls take their toll April 13, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading shares shed 0.3 per cent yesterday as oils and miners fell back on lower commodity prices, while banks moved lower on investor caution ahead of first-quarter results in the United States. At the close, the FTSE 100 was down 15.99 points at 5,761.66, having been stuck in a tight 37 point trading range [...]
SHAGGAN AND OTHER TALES OF INTEREST April 13, 2010 DICK TURPIN MANAGING DIRECTOR, ARTEMIS THE Arabic word “shaggan” has no equivalent in English. It means the power some singers, such as Edith Piaf, have to imbue the lyrics of a song with an inexpressible melancholy; a yearning for better times. The shaggan has worked, it seems. As I write, the UK market is well [...]
Position yourself now for a yuan revaluation April 13, 2010 CHINA’S premier Hu Jintao might have upheld his steely resistance to any pressure from the US to revalue the yuan yesterday, but there is little doubt that it is a question of when Beijing will revalue, not if. Although Chinese officials have always been very clear that any move would be gradual, an appreciation of [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS April 12, 2010 BARCLAYS Seymour Pierce has issued a “sell” recommendation on Barclays, noting that during the last seven years, the bank has grown income by 18 per cent, while avoiding many of the toxic assets and poorly timed acquisitions. Barclays Capital’s top line could be 33 times the revenue of the UK retail bank, which the broker [...]
Banks and energy companies push the FTSE slightly higher but miners struggle April 12, 2010 Gains from banks and energy stocks outweighed weaker miners to leave Britain’s top share index slightly higher by the close yesterday, as anxiety about debt-plagued Greece eased, supporting risk appetite. The FTSE 100 ended the day 6.67 points higher at 5,777.65, slipping back after hitting an intra-day peak since June 2008 of 5,803.71 early in [...]
BarCap hired to find buyer for Liverpool April 11, 2010 LIVERPOOL’S embattled owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett have hired Barclays Capital to find a buyer for the club. The co-owners, who were involved in a bitter spat over the Anfield club, are ready to cash in on their ill-fated reign. Likely buyers include Rhone Capital, the private equity vehicle that had a £116m bid [...]
BarCap eyes retail share offer venture April 11, 2010 BARCLAYS Capital, the investment banking arm of British financial services giant Barclays, yesterday said it had formed a joint venture with Solid Solutions Associates (SSA) to oversee retail share offerings in initial public offerings. The deal will see SSA advise and assist Barclays Capital on project management aspects of any retail tranche of initial public [...]
The first 100 days are key for managers April 11, 2010 RIGHT now, many people’s minds are focused on 6 May, and the general election. But those who are likely to be in power might do well to turn their minds towards the day after, when they actually walk into their departments and have to starting getting things done. And that means dealing with the Sir [...]
FTSE 100 declines on weaker metal prices and concerns over Greek debt April 8, 2010 Britain’s top share index posted its steepest one-day decline in six weeks yesterday, pressured by miners hit by weaker metals prices, and banks on revived concern over Greece’s debt. The FTSE 100 closed 49.36 points, or 0.9 per cent, lower at 5,712.70, its lowest close since March 31, after it shed 0.3 per cent on [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 7, 2010 Nomura The Japanese investment bank has appointed Mikael Dahl as co-head of its Nordic investment banking team, based in London. Dahl was previously a partner at EQT Partners and brings with him over 20 years of investment banking experience. He previously worked at Citigroup/Salomon Brothers from 1994 to 2008, latterly as European co-head of the [...]