New directors on board at Pearl as it heads for UK float February 18, 2010 FUND management and insurance group Pearl yesterday said it was pressing ahead with a London stock market flotation despite its well-publicised wrangle with bondholders. The company, which is being renamed as Phoenix, is not raising any new capital at the time of its listing. Shareholders Liberty Acquisitions and Hugh Osmond, the group’s founder, do not [...]
CPP hopes to buck the trend of IPO failures in March listing February 18, 2010 INSURANCE firm CPP will brave choppy IPO waters with a March flotation. It has not announced how much it plans to raise but City A.M. has learned the firm hopes to issue up to £30m from new shares, valuing it at £450m. It is believed owner and founder Hamish Ogston will also sell a £150m [...]
London hits one-month high led by miners and oil stocks February 18, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index hit a one-month closing high yesterday, extending its advance into a fourth consecutive session, led by commodity stocks on firmer metals and oil prices, and with banks also in demand. The FTSE 100 index closed up 48.45 points, or 0.9 per cent, at 5,325.09, its highest close since Jan. 21, after [...]
MPC in unanimous decision to pause QE programmes February 17, 2010 THE Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was united in its decision to pause its quantitative easing programme earlier this month, but minutes of the meeting indicated that for some members, the decision was a difficult one. The minutes showed that all nine members voted in favour of holding rates at 0.5 per cent and [...]
Man Group rises on bid talk February 17, 2010 SHARES in Man Group jumped 5.2 per cent yesterday as rumours of a takeover bid from American money manager BlackRock swirled through the City. The British hedge fund’s paper gained 11.8p to close at 239.6p, although analysts were sceptical about the prospects of an offer. BlackRock has pulled off large deals in the past, merging [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS February 17, 2010 MORRISON Barclays says Morrison has continued to take market share, has seen profit growth accelerate and has sharply increased its dividend. Yet it was the worst-performing stock in the sector during 2009. To some extent Morrison is seen as a “consensus Buy”, a worthy story but one which lacks triggers which might lead to a [...]
British stocks hold their shine in spite of gloom February 17, 2010 UNEMPLOYMENT is high, the economy is barely out of recession and the UK’s fiscal deficit is cause for concern. Compared to emerging markets where growth is storming ahead, it seems like a no-brainer as to where to invest. Barclays Stockbrokers’ clients agree – half think emerging markets will deliver the greatest returns in 2010 while [...]
Good day for blue-chips sees FTSE flirt with the 5,300 level February 17, 2010 Britain’s top share index rose for the third consecutive day yesterday, led by financials and miners on bullish corporate results and economic data, and adding to growing optimism over the health of the global economy. The FTSE 100 ended up 32.58 points, or 0.6 per cent at 5,276.64, touching a two-week high during the session [...]
RBS opens talks for US Sempra February 16, 2010 ROYAL Bank of Scotland has begun discussions with potential buyers for the US parts of its Sempra Commodities business after JPMorgan paid $1.7bn (£1.1bn) for the European and Asian arms. JPMorgan yesterday signed a deal for RBS Sempra’s global oil and metal trading operations, plus its coal and gas capabilities on the continent and in [...]
Era of cheap money is gone forever February 16, 2010 THERE is one, overwhelming reason why interest rates are going up on products such as credit cards, even though the Bank of England’s base rate remains very low. It has nothing to do with greed, bonuses, rip-off Britain or conspiracy theories – and all to do with the costs associated with the massive amounts of [...]