A NIGHT TO CELEBRATE SUCCESS January 26, 2011 THERE’S little that cheers the soul better after a lingering recession than a roomful of entrepreneurs, and last night’s Quoted Company Awards were no exception, as banks and brokerages gathered to cheer on their new and growing clients. Companies in attendance ranged from a bevy of smart media startups, including nine-month-old Digital Theatre and acquisition-hungry [...]
Coalition rejecting its own medicine January 23, 2011 THIS week will be critical for the coalition’s economic policies, in terms of perceptions even if not in reality. Despite their tentative nature, Tuesday’s fourth-quarter GDP figures will take centre-stage in Westminster: if they come in as expected, the coalition will celebrate; if they are weak, Labour’s Ed Balls will have a field day trashing [...]
THE TIPSTER January 23, 2011 AN INTERIM management statement is due from Sage, the software service provider, on Wednesday. Renewed confidence in the economy should bode well for the company, which has seen shares creep back to the levels it achieved before the credit crunch. Admittedly, the stock remains a long way below the all time highs of the dot-com [...]
RBS surges on talk of asset protection exit January 21, 2011 Royal Bank of Scotland and the Treasury are in talks over RBS’s possible early exit from the government asset protection scheme that insures the bank’s riskiest assets, an industry source said. “Clearly there are talks going on, but it is very early days,” the source said on Friday. The Asset Protection Agency (APA) – which [...]
HMV in crisis talks as debt threatens bank limits January 19, 2011 TROUBLED music retailer HMV has called in KPMG for debt management advice to try to stop it breaching upcoming bank covenants. HMV, which experienced a torrid day yesterday after admitting that credit insurers had reduced their coverage of its sales amid fears of its creditworthiness, has hired the accountant to provide specialist debt advisory services, [...]
Aviva loses its European chief January 19, 2011 Insurer Aviva is replacing its head of Europe for the second time in 18 months, after Andrea Moneta left the firm. Britain’s second-biggest insurer by market value said Moneta, the former chief financial officer at Italy’s UniCredit Group and ECB employee, would leave the company at the end of February. Igal Mayer has been appointed [...]
Credit fears for HMV send shares lower January 19, 2011 SHARES in HMV Group plunged yesterday after the music and book retailer confirmed some of its suppliers have had levels of credit insurance cut. A shadow has been cast over HMV since it issued a profit warning earlier this month with store closures ordered in an attempt to cut costs. The share price sank by [...]
FTSE 100 falls back as bank, mining and retail stocks slide January 19, 2011 BANKING and mining stocks weighed on London’s top share index yesterday as concerns over the global economic recovery resurfaced, while sentiment among retailers was dented after some disappointing updates. The FTSE 100 closed down 79.73 points, or 1.3 per cent lower at 5,976.70, ebbing away from Tuesday’s fresh 31-month high. “The market moved a long [...]
AIG picks banks for share sale January 19, 2011 AMERICAN International Group (AIG) has chosen Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase to manage the sale of the government’s 92 per cent stake in the insurer, according to reports. AIG and the government held a “bake off” in New York last Thursday, hosting chief executives and bankers from 10 of the [...]
How to rob your bank January 19, 2011 SANTANDER has brought back its switching deal, giving new customers £100 when they move their main current account to its offering which pays 5 per cent interest for the first year. However, the bank has been voted worst for customer service in a string of surveys by organisations including Moneywise, MoneySavingExpert.com and consumer group Which? [...]