Commodities dent FTSE 100 despite strong banking stocks February 15, 2011 BRITAIN’S s top share index closed lower yesterday as strength in banking stocks, inspired by forecast-busting results from Barclays, was outweighed by a broad retreat in the mining sector on commodity price wobbles. The FTSE 100 index closed down 23.01 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 6,037.08. The FTSE 250, FTSE 350 and AIM 100 [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 15, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BARCLAYS FORCED TO ADAPT COCOS BONUS PLAN Barclays has been forced to adapt its plans to pay bonuses for staff with a new financial instrument that has been hailed by regulators as a key tool for rebuilding the capital strength of banks. Bob Diamond, the UK bank’s new chief executive, had hoped to [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS February 14, 2011 HARGREAVES LANSDOWN Morgan Stanley rates the financial services firm “overweight” with an increased target price of 703p. The broker thinks that the firm still has potential for positive earnings surprises and has raised its target by 15 per cent following the firm’s half-year results. It also expects further margin expansion driven by operating leverage and [...]
FTSE drops as mining rally fails to counter bank jitters February 14, 2011 BRITAIN’S leading share index closed marginally lower yesterday as weaker financials prevailed over a mining rally inspired by upbeat economic data from China. Chip designer ARM Holdings was the top riser, up 6.6 per cent, with traders citing favourable broker comment as the mobile world met in Barcelona. Goldman Sachs said ARM’s management underscored its [...]
US sees small gains on slow trading day February 14, 2011 ENERGY and commodity shares lifted Wall Street to modest gains yesterday, but the lowest volume so far this year indicated the equity rally may be near a top. The Dow Jones industrial average dipped 5.07 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 12,268.19. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 3.17 points, or 0.24 per cent, [...]
China trade surplus drops February 14, 2011 China’s trade surplus fell to its lowest in nine months in January after imports surged, supporting the government’s case ahead of a G20 meeting that it is doing enough to spur domestic demand without speeding up currency appreciation. The trade surplus shrank to $6.5bn (£4.05bn) from $13.1bn in December, well short of forecasts for a [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 13, 2011 Barclays Wealth Solomon Soquar (pictured) has joined the asset manager as head of the strategic solutions group, which is a core part of its ultra-high net worth operation. He will report to Stefanie Drews. Soquar joins the firm from Citi Private Bank, where he was in capital markets. Previously, he has worked at Merrill Lynch [...]
Chelsea’s superluxe new development February 10, 2011 LIKE bees to a hive, wealth comes to London property. Certain prime areas of the capital are magnets for international superstars in finance and business – Belgravia, Knightsbridge and Mayfair. But if you’re truly discerning, do you aim to be Harrods’ neighbour? Perhaps not, according to the people behind Henry Moore Court, a super-luxe development [...]
The Malthusian bull market carries on February 10, 2011 IN 1980, two academics, Julian Simon and Paul Ehrlich, agreed a now famous wager. Ehrlich chose five commodity metals and bet that over the next 10 years, they would get more expensive. Ultimately, Simon won, and all five metals – copper, chromium, nickel, tin and tungsten – got progressively less expensive all the way up [...]
What the other papers say this morning February 9, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES TPG LOSES ANOTHER SENIOR ASIA EXECUTIVE Mary Ma, a Chinese executive at TPG Capital, is leaving to start a fund, joining other mainland executives from western buy-out firms who will start out on their own. Ma, former chief financial officer of Lenovo, joined TPG’s Asia team as managing director and a partner in [...]