JD Sports sells Bank to Hilco November 25, 2014 SHARES in JD Sports surged 3.7 per cent yesterday after the group said it had sold its loss-making fashion business Bank to focus on its other sportswear brands. The retailer said restructuring specialist Hilco Capital had bought Bank for an undisclosed sum via one of its subsidiaries. The sale should help to recover a substantial [...]
Investec bank profits surge as legacy of financial crisis fades November 20, 2014 Anglo-South African bank Investec reported strong profits for the six months to September yesterday, overcoming a fall in the rand. Impairments fell by more than 20 per cent on the year, and are down to one-fifth of their £320m level seen three years ago, as the bank moves on from the financial crisis. Pre-tax operating profits [...]
From Gotham City to Fidelity and Canaccord: The unfortunate tale of Quindell’s share price November 18, 2014 You'd be forgiven for forgetting the full detail behind the story of Quindell – here, we wrap up the last seven months of headache-inducing stories that kept the insurance outsourcer in the headlines. April 23 – Mysterious short seller Gotham City Research publishes a 74-page dossier, claiming Quindell had “magical… paper profits” and raising [...]
Quindell share price falls as chairman Rob Terry steps down November 18, 2014 Chairman Rob Terry and non-executive director Steve Scott are leaving Quindell with immediate effect, while Laurence Moorse will remain at the company for 12 months after the 2015 annual meeting, the company confirmed this morning. Quindell investors appeared flummoxed by the news, with shares rising as much as 15 per cent on opening, but [...]
Rob Terry departs Quindell: How Gotham City got its man November 17, 2014 Quindell, the London stock-market listed group targeted for months by a short-selling research group Gotham City, was yesterday forced to part company with its chairman in an effort to restore investor confidence. The decision that Rob Terry should leave came hours after it was announced that broker Canaccord Genuity had quit on 21 October, ahead [...]
City Moves for 18 November 2014 | Who’s switching jobs November 17, 2014 Barclays Andrea Delay has been appointed head of professional services at the bank. She has held several senior positions at Barclays, including head of industry for the facilities management sector. Delay has also held corporate banking roles at Wachovia Bank and Commerzbank. Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management Munish Varma has been appointed head of structured [...]
Inflation likely to remain well below 2pc mark – London Week Ahead November 16, 2014 Inflation figures released today are likely to show that price rises, as measured by the consumer prices index (CPI), remained far below the Bank of England’s two per cent “target” in October. Most economists expect inflation to remain unchanged at 1.2 per cent, although September’s fall from 1.5 per cent in August means there is [...]
City Moves for 11 November 2014 | Who’s switching jobs November 10, 2014 RSA Ian Hood has been promoted to the newly-created role of group chief digital officer at the insurer. He was most recently digital and multi-channel director at RSA, and has also held senior positions at MORE TH>N, Swiftcover, and Direct Line. Deutsche Bank JP Rangaswami has been appointed chief data officer at the bank. Based [...]
Bottoms up: Fever-Tree share price fizzes in first day of trading November 7, 2014 Doubles all round at posh tonic water maker Fever-Tree: shares in the company started trading on Aim this morning, jumping as high at 172p within minutes of the market opening, before settling back to 168.5p. Shares were priced at 134p when it listed a 60 per cent stake under the ticker "FEVR", which raised £93.3m, [...]
Euro falls to two-year low on disappointing ECB speech November 6, 2014 The euro fell to its lowest level against the dollar in two years today after much-anticipated comments by European Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi disappointed markets. The currency dipped below $1.24 and fell to £1.27, before rallying slightly. Although European stocks spiked immediately after the speech, Germany's Dax closed down 0.92 per cent, while [...]