Caution ahead of US results pulls FTSE 100 to a flat close April 11, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index closed flat yesterday, with caution from traders wary of turbulence during the US earnings season offset by strength in the banking sector following the ICB report on the future shape of UK banking. The FTSE 100 closed down 2.31 points, or 0.04 per cent, at 6,053.44 after trading in positive territory [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 10, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BIG MEDIA NAMES BACK BOUTIQUE BANK RAINE Eric Schmidt, Sean Parker, Peter Chernin and other big names from the media and technology sectors have invested in a merchant bank started by two ex-Wall Street dealmakers and Ari Emanuel, head of William Morris Endeavor talent agency. CAPITAL RULES DEAL A BLOW TO LIFE ASSURERS [...]
Chinese rate hikes will build pressure on its Pacific partners April 5, 2011 TODAY the interest rate hike announced by the Chinese central bank will kick in. This follows yesterday’s announcement by the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) that the benchmark one-year lending rate will increase to 6.31 per cent from 6.06 per cent. At the same time, the one-year deposit rate will rise to 3.25 per cent [...]
Trade with care, as copper’s future looks uncertain April 4, 2011 TRADERS going long on copper over the last few years would have made enormous profits, as it rebounded from its collapse following the financial crisis. But its momentum has been flagging since February’s peak. There are still many copper bulls, but it is looking less like a one-way bet. Adding to the complexity of the [...]
Wall St fuelling new dot.com bubble April 4, 2011 WITH the benefit of hindsight, bubbles are shockingly easy to spot. From Dutch merchants staking fortunes on the price of tulip bulbs to Chinese investors fighting for empty properties, the idiocy is always self-evident – eventually. At the time, however, it seems to make perfect sense to throw good money after bad. Somewhere deep in [...]
Chinese growth will benefit City of London too April 3, 2011 With the debate over how to stimulate UK economic growth still raging, one area we can ill afford to neglect is strengthening our trading relationships through commercial diplomacy. Emerging economies are expected to account for over 50 per cent of global growth over the next five years. Some people view this change in the economic [...]
CHILL OUT FOR PRINCE ON POLAR MISSION March 30, 2011 COLD comfort for Prince Harry, who has arrived at Base Camp at Svalbard in Norway to join the Walking for Wounded team before they set off for the North Pole tomorrow on April Fool’s Day. But Harry’s training regime under expedition leader Inge Solheim is no joke – on Wednesday he spent the day cross-country [...]
Peking over the top of China’s Great Currency Wall March 29, 2011 THOUGH there is constant talk of China’s rise, currency investors often find themselves frustrated by the apparent wall between them and the Chinese currency. However that doesn’t mean that those wishing to take a position on China’s currency, the renminbi (RMB) are without options. On first inspection, the Chinese currency seems as rigidly controlled as [...]
Heron Tower rent hunt hots up as McDermott moves in March 27, 2011 US LAW firm McDermott Will & Emery becomes the first tenant to move into the Heron Tower on Bishopsgate today, kicking off a new round of marketing to fill the remaining 37 floors. McDermott is moving into the eighth and ninth floors of the 46-storey skyscraper, taking 25,000 square feet of space for a rumoured [...]
THE TIPSTER March 27, 2011 LAST week’s budget certainly gave a fillip to the construction industry. The sector has hardly had an easy ride since the free-flow of credit dried up in 2008, but with some of the froth knocked out of the market, progress seems to have been emerging in recent months. Housebuilder Bellway will be releasing its interims [...]