Hopes of Conservative majority sees gilts surge as pound recovers May 6, 2010 GOVERNMENT bonds saw a small surge in the early hours of this morning on hopes of a Conservative majority that would take decisive action to reduce the deficit. IG Index’s David Jones said June gilts were trading 0.6 per cent higher, having traded as high as one percentage point up earlier, over fears of a [...]
FTSE falls for fourth day as fears over scale of Greek crisis continue to weigh May 6, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading shares fell for the fourth straight session yesterday, led by banks and miners weighed by uncertainty over euro zone debt concerns, as Britain’s electorate went to the polls. The FTSE 100 index closed down 80.94 points, or 1.5 per cent, at 5,260.99 just above a support level of 5,259 given by analysts. The [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 5, 2010 Advent International The private equity firm has hired Kevin Beeston, the outgoing chairman of Serco Group, as an operating partner. Beeston will be tasked with helping Advent identify investment opportunities in the business services sector, and will also continue in his role as chairman of Advent’s portfolio company Domestic & General. He has worked for [...]
The gold price continues its march higher as risk falls off May 5, 2010 THE LAST two years have been good for gold. It’s been one of the only assets to march higher during the financial crisis, and is now getting a boost from the sovereign debt problems in Europe. Since Europe’s crisis, investors’ reactions have been to ditch risky assets in favour of perceived safe havens – gold [...]
LISTED PRODUCT NEWS May 5, 2010 DB X-TRACKERS LAUNCHES S&P 500 ETF Deutsche Bank’s exchange-traded fund (ETF) arm db x-trackers announced on Monday the launch of its new S&P 500 Index ETF, which is UCITS III compliant. The fund will be listed on various European and Asian stock exchanges from the middle of this month but institutional investors can trade the [...]
THE TIPSTER May 5, 2010 IT MIGHT be worth buying a small tranche of UK banking stocks. For the first time in over a year they have all drifted lower, not because of bad debt issues or sub prime worries, as was the case during the credit crunch, but because of a retraction in global risk sentiment. Spreadex offers a [...]
FTSE 100 hit by falling banks as fears over Eurozone debt contagion continue May 5, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares index shed 1.3 per cent yesterday laid low by weaker banks, as Eurozone debt contagion concerns intensified and Moody’s warned that Portugal’s debt could be downgraded. The FTSE 100 ended down 69.18 points at 5,341.93, a fourth consecutive session of falls, closing at a level not seen since 25 February. The FTSE [...]
Australian mining tax and Greece’s EU bailout drag FTSE to a two-month low May 4, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index fell sharply yesterday to a two-month closing low as Eurozone debt contagion fears grew, hurting banks, and with miners hit by an Australian mining tax and concerns over tightening in China. The FTSE 100 closed down 142.18 points, or 2.6 per cent, at 5,411.11, its lowest close since early March. The [...]
Spanish banks hold promise of strong profits this year May 3, 2010 SPANISH stocks had a torrid time last week. After Spain’s government debt was downgraded a notch from AA+ to AA, the Ibex 35, the Spanish stock market index, fell 4 per cent. But while domestic woes are far from resolved – unemployment is now more than 20 per cent – Spain’s biggest bank looks like [...]
Sir Nigel Rudd resigns as chair of Pendragon April 29, 2010 SERIAL non-executive Sir Nigel Rudd, the man who co-founded and built up Williams Holdings, is to step down as chairman of motor dealer Pendragon, which was spun out of the conglomerate two decades ago. Rudd said yesterday he had been considering retiring from Pendragon for some time but had been prevented from leaving until now [...]