Glencore Xstrata strengthens its grip on Lonmin with board hires September 9, 2013 FTSE 250-listed platinum miner Lonmin yesterday said it has appointed two non-executive directors to join its board, who both come from its largest shareholder Glencore Xstrata. Gary Nagle, chief executive of newly-merged miner trader Glencore Xstrata’s alloys division and Paul Smith, head of strategy and communications at the FTSE 100-listed firm, will join Lonmin with immediate [...]
City Moves for 10 September 2013 | Who’s switching jobs September 9, 2013 Mercer The consultancy firm has announced the appointment of Deb Clarke as global head of investment research. Clarke joined Mercer in 2005 from Towers Watson, where she was a senior investment consultant. She was previously a fund manager for 20 years. Schroders Divyesh Hindocha has joined the asset management company as global head of product [...]
Analyst Views: Do Supergroup’s first quarter figures bode well for the rest of the year? September 5, 2013 ANDREW FITCHIEINVESTEC Retail like-for-likes of 8.5 per cent is strong, although is against relatively weak comparatives. Wholesale performance was equally encouraging…Given 2014 is a year of investment and we are still early in the year, we are making no changes to our forecasts at this stage, however we view the performance as an encouraging start. [...]
Unemployment in Ireland falls for the 14th consecutive month September 4, 2013 IRELAND’S rate of unemployment dropped for the 14th straight month in August, figures showed yesterday, yet the level remains elevated at 13.4 per cent. The country’s statistics office said that unemployment only slipped slightly in the month, from 13.5 per cent in July. However, it is down sharply from 14.6 per cent at the same [...]
Troubled G4S signs five-year deal with Shell September 4, 2013 G4S, the FTSE 100 security firm dogged by criticism over its handling of the London 2012 Olympics contract, yesterday said it has signed a five-year contract with oil giant Shell. Under the agreement, which has the option of a two-year extension, G4S will provide security solutions to the oil major in more than 30 countries. [...]
Analyst Views: What was your reaction to McBride’s full-year results? September 3, 2013 DAMIAN MCNEELA PANMURE GORDON Although the operating environment is unlikely to improve materially in the near term, this announcement of a re-focused senior management team should allow the business to accelerate the revenue momentum generated in the second half and improve operating margins. NICOLA MALLARD INVESTEC McBride has delivered full year 2013 results in line [...]
Pernod Ricard hit by slowdown in China August 29, 2013 WINES and spirits group Pernod Ricard yesterday fell short of forecasts by posting a four per cent rise in annual net sales to €8.58bn (£5.53bn). The French firm behind Absolut Vodka and Beefeater gin said organic profits rose six per cent to €2.2bn, as weakness in China was offset by other Asian markets. Analysts at [...]
Analyst Views: What did you make of Paddy Power’s results? August 28, 2013 RICHARD STUBER NOMURA INTERNATIONAL “We see full year downgrades as reflective of one-off events and currency and not indicative of the underlying long-term growth potential of Paddy Power’s online businesses. We reiterate our ‘buy’ recommendation based on… its targeted retail expansion plans and its attractive balance sheet. IVOR JONES NUMIS “Even after recent falls Paddy [...]
Any Other Business – 29/08 August 28, 2013 Wealth management firm Vestra hosted the unofficial Square Mile sports day last night, holding its second annual dodgeball tournament at the Honourable Artillery Company’s sports ground in Moorgate. Of course fancy dress was mandatory, with teams from Investec, Aberdeen Asset Management, Barclays and BNY Mellon all looking the part. More competitive than the dodgeball was the battle [...]
London Report: Syrian tension drags bank and mining stocks August 27, 2013 FINANCIALS and miners dragged Britain’s FTSE 100 lower yesterday as tensions in Syria and prospects of stimulus withdrawal by the US Federal Reserve crimped risk appetite. Reopening after a public holiday, London’s blue-chip shed 51.13 points, or 0.8 per cent to 6,440.97, costing the index all the previous session’s gains, albeit in low volumes. Crisis [...]