Canary Wharf gets mo-ed in time for Movember challenge October 12, 2014 It’s that time of year again. Polish off those razors and get ready to start afresh on Movember first – that most hirsute of months is nearly upon us. But don’t worry if you forget, the shaving force behind the charity month has mo-ed a reminder into the grass in Canary Wharf. Want to get [...]
King of spin Lord Tim Bell apologises for “aggravation” caused by Financial Times interview October 9, 2014 For one of the world’s best known PR men, Lord Bell really should have known better. After reading the interview he gave to the Financial Times yesterday, Bell was clearly inclined to agree. Apologising in a grovelling internal email to staff he concluded: “I am supposed to know how to deal with journalists, friendly or [...]
Analyst Views: What was your reaction to N Brown’s profit warning? October 9, 2014 JOHN STEVENSON | PEEL HUNT When I look at N Brown the strategy is right. But my concern is we are three weeks on from the second-quarter trading update when they were happy to commit to a 10 per cent profit rise and now we’re looking at a 15 per cent drop… The strategy day [...]
Interest rates: Bank of England keeps base rate at 0.5 per cent October 9, 2014 The pound has risen against the dollar today, after the Bank of England confirmed the base rate would stay at 0.5 per cent. The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street threw no surprises into the mix today, with the monetary policy committee (MPC) voting to keep the interest rate where it has been since March 2009. [...]
Business telecoms group Gamma valued at £165m ahead of float October 7, 2014 GAMMA Communications, a UK-based provider of business telecoms services, is due to float with a £165.2m market valuation on Friday after listing its shares with an opening price of 187p. The sale – which is understood to be priced towards the upper limit of what the company had hoped for – of around 44m shares [...]
Electra on hook for up to £3m to defeat Ed Bramson raid October 6, 2014 Electra will face a bill of up to £3m after facing down corporate raider Ed Bramson’s bid to wrest control of the fund yesterday. Roger Yates, Electra chairman, said the long running battle would cost the group between £2m and £3m in banking and legal fees. “I don’t think the way in which [...]
Balfour Beatty may shut Blackpool International Airport October 6, 2014 Balfour Beatty may be forced to shut Blackpool International Airport if it cannot find a buyer for the asset. The construction firm has been seeking a buyer for the airport since August, and the deadline for its decision is today. Andrew Gibbs, analyst at Investec, told City A.M.: “Blackpool has always been an issue, it’s always [...]
Retail investors are worth courting – Editor’s Letter October 5, 2014 London’s been having a pretty good time of things as far as raising money for newly listed companies is concerned. So far this year 99 floats on the London Stock Exchange and the junior Alternative Investment Market have raised a total of £10.4bn, up from £8.7bn last year and only £2.5bn in 2012 when the [...]
MPC to publish rate verdict but no change seen – London Report October 5, 2014 THE MONETARY Policy Committee (MPC) will announce its latest interest rate decision on Thursday, but Investec does not expect any change from the current 0.5 per cent and quantitative easing target at £375bn. September’s Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) monthly housing data will also be updated on Thursday, after house prices grew at their [...]
Best of the Brokers for 03 October 2014 October 2, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com SAINSBURY Nomura has maintained its “neutral” rating, but cut the target price to 270p from 305p. Nomura remains of the theory that Sainsbury is seeing some relative slowdown, and may now be an underperformer compared to sector rivals, as Asda strengthens and Morrison [...]