A Conservative win is good for Canada’s dollar May 3, 2011 THE Canadian dollar climbed yesterday as Canada’s Conservative party won an outright majority in the general election. Since 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has led two minority Conservative governments, but yesterday’s victory brings him a majority mandate. Michael Gregory, senior economist for the Bank of Montreal, is buoyant about the result: “This is certainly a [...]
Heritage Oil in buyback worth $100m April 26, 2011 UK OIL explorer Heritage Oil is planning a share buyback worth $100m (£60m), following a difficult few months for the company, which has seen its share price plummet and rival Tullow Oil launch a £313m lawsuit. Explorers rarely engage in buybacks because their business model usually involves spending their cash on finding new fields. “The [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 20, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES CHINA TO ALTER TAXES IN ATTEMPT TO CUT WEALTH GAP China is to lift the exemption threshold for personal income tax payments in an effort to redistribute the spoils of rapid growth and reduce a widening wealth gap. The level at which Chinese citizens must pay income tax will be raised from Rmb2,000 [...]
AIG’s Chartis sells $3.5bn asbestos risk April 20, 2011 WARREN Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway struck a deal with US insurer American International Group (AIG) yesterday to take a package of high-risk asbestos insurance policies held by AIG subsidiary Chartis off its books. AIG has paid Berkshire-owned National Indemnity, the US’s largest reinsurer, $1.65bn (£1bn) for a retroactive insurance policy that will cover up to $3.5bn [...]
Tullow to sue Heritage in UK April 18, 2011 EXPLORER Tullow Oil is suing its former partner in Uganda, Heritage Oil, to recover $313m (£192.7m) that Tullow paid to cover tax on fields it bought from Heritage. Uganda said Heritage was liable for capital gains taxes on the sale, which the Jersey-based company, led by former mercenary boss Tony Buckingham, denies. Tullow paid the [...]
FTSE rallies after banks and retailers deliver good news April 13, 2011 THE UK’s top share index closed higher yesterday, boosted by retailers and banks after a sell-off on Tuesday described as “overblown”. At the close, the FTSE 100 was up 45.97 points, or 0.8 per cent at 6,010.44, recouping half of Tuesday’s 1.5 per cent drop and recapturing the 6,000 level. Banks gained after better-than-expected results [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS April 12, 2011 BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO Jefferies has started covering the tobacco group with a “buy” rating and a target price of £31.87. The broker sees strong cash generating capacity, given the firm has one of the highest exposures to emerging markets in the sector with 66 per cent of sales coming from new regions, plus the possibility [...]
Sun shines for the start of new tax year April 6, 2011 THE excitement of the end of tax year rush to fill up your tax free Individual Savings Account (Isa) may be over, but don’t fret. Yesterday’s sunshine and birdsong heralded the start of a new tax year and the chance to start investing in a new Isa. This tax-year also sees a rise in the [...]
Junior Isas to match adult savings funds April 6, 2011 IN LAST month’s budget, the chancellor announced the arrival of the Junior Isa scheme, which will become available in November of this year. The Junior Isa is a replacement for the Child Trust Fund (CTF), but will do away with the government contribution of the previous scheme (see the table below). The Junior Isa will [...]
Taking a punt on FTSE 250 companies April 3, 2011 THERE are tax, leverage and other advantages to using spread betting to get exposure to equities. For some investors, of course, these benefits may not offset the time and skill needed to negotiate the spread betting markets. However, some markets are easier than others to manage, with the FTSE 250 the best place to start. [...]