China bid for UB gives Cable a headache September 27, 2010 United Biscuits could be the next iconic British firm to be snapped up by a foreign buyer, posing a fresh problem for embattled business secretary Vince Cable. China’s Bright Food Group has its eye on a $3.2bn (£2bn) bid for the maker of Jaffa Cakes and McVities biscuits. Cable has campaigned for tougher regulation to [...]
EQUITY RALLY NOT MATCHED BY OIL PRICES September 27, 2010 CFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT THE rally in equities this September has wrong-footed those of us who felt that the August sell-off was the start of something more serious. Now we’re just a few days away from October, typically another worrisome month for markets. While the major US indices have broken above significant resistance levels, recent [...]
A tarnished outlook for base metals September 26, 2010 UBS SHOCKED short-term traders on Friday when it issued a report calling time on copper’s upside. Spread betters should take note of the conditions facing industrial metals and consider switching to precious ones. UBS’s research says that the global environment in the fourth quarter will not sustain the big mining companies’ Antofagasta and Kazakhmys’ current [...]
The City boys offering a cut above | City A.M. September 24, 2010 IF YOU can find it in the medieval maze between Lombard Street and Cornhill, tailoring shop Cad & the Dandy is a delightful place to get yourself togged up. It mixes old-fashioned charm – an antique mahogany cutting table, an old leather sofa for those waiting to be measured up, a Union Jack across one [...]
More than Voho, darling: Vauxhall is in for an overhaul September 23, 2010 SANDWICHED between the South Bank and the Battersea waterfront, it was never going to be long before Vauxhall took off. Until now Vauxhall has traded on two cards: “Voho” – Gayer Soho – and housing London’s politicos. However, this week’s launch of St George Wharf, more commonly known simply as The Tower, is a sign [...]
The City boys offering a cut above September 23, 2010 IF YOU can find it in the medieval maze between Lombard Street and Cornhill, tailoring shop Cad & the Dandy is a delightful place to get yourself togged up. It mixes old-fashioned charm – an antique mahogany cutting table, an old leather sofa for those waiting to be measured up, a Union Jack across one [...]
Sinochem hires banks as it eyes rival bid for Potash September 22, 2010 China’s Sinochem Corp has hired investment banks to look at toppling BHP Billiton’s $39bn (£24bn) bid for Potash Corp, sources said, as the miner warned it would not be caught in an expensive bidding war for the world’s largest fertiliser group. State-owned chemicals group Sinochem has hired Deutsche Bank and Citigroup to evaluate measures to [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 21, 2010 BARCLAYS Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) expects that negative operating trends will reverse and a ‘new world’ Barclays is set to deliver. The broker reiterates a “buy” rating for the bank with a 410p price target. Gradual profit and loss momentum, fluidity and execution of group strategy are key to a sustained re-rating, according to [...]
FUND MANAGEMENT NEWS September 21, 2010 NEW CHINESE ESG INDEX LAUNCHED Provider of sustainability ratings and indexing solutions ECP International has teamed up with China Securities Index to create the CSI ECPI China Environmental and Social Governance 40 Equity Index. The first of its kind, the index identifies the 40 highest ESG-rated companies amongst the Chinese SSE180 Corporate Governance Index and [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 20, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES BLACKSTONE QUITS LIVERPOOL TALKS The credit unit of Blackstone, which had been mooted as a possible leader of a £280m ($436m) refinancing of Liverpool Football Club, has pulled out of talks with its owners in a potential setback in their attempt to keep control of the company. People close to the situation said [...]