Weir stock is most shorted on FTSE 100 February 15, 2012 ENGINEERING firm Weir has become the most shorted stock on the FTSE 100, as investors bet the company’s share price will be dented by weak demand for specialist mining equipment. Information provided by Data Explorers showed that 13.48 per cent of shares are out on loan – double the amount that were shorted only three [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: CAN FIDESSA CONTINUE TO GROW AT ITS CURRENT RATE? February 13, 2012 DAVID TOMS | NUMIS Fidessa’s results are modestly ahead of our expectations. Management’s increasing confidence in the multi-asset opportunity and the potential for a new engine of growth from hosted platforms for larger customers continue to support our positive stance. JULIAN YATES | INVESTEC Unsurprisingly the company is seeing continued weakness in its SME customer [...]
Why Barclays Capital is set to go marching on February 13, 2012 WHENEVER I speak to a director at Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley about BarCap, Barclays Bank’s investment banking arm, I am reminded by them that it takes a very long time to build up a sustainable leading position in the equity markets. As Barclays geared up for publication of its financial results last Friday, questions [...]
Ronson petrol purchase nears OK February 13, 2012 Gerald Ronson’s deal to acquire petrol stations from Total and sell some to Shell is close to clearing its final competition hurdle. Ronson’s Snax 24 forecourt business, alongside Investec and Grovepoint Capital, made the deal for Total UK’s assets in June under the name Rontec. At the time, Rontec said it would end up operating [...]
Step-parents fail to update wills February 12, 2012 Parents with step children or adopted children are around twice as likely to put off the drawing up of a will, according to figures from Investec’s wealth and investment arm. The group says that 35 per cent of parents with step children have “avoided creating or amending a will because they are unable to decide [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 12, 2012 The Salamanca Group Jeremy Wrathall has been appointed as managing director of Salamanca Resources, the recently formed division of the group that will focus on the metals and mining sector. He joins Salamanca from Renaissance Capital, where he was head of investment banking for the firm’s London operation and had responsibility for metals and mining, [...]
Rolls positive on 2012 as its earnings soar February 9, 2012 ROLLS-ROYCE yesterday reported a 21 per cent rise in full-year profit, triggered by demand from airlines for more fuel-efficient planes, and said it expects further progress in 2012. The world’s second-largest maker of aircraft engines behind General Electric reported underlying 2011 pre-tax profits of £1.16bn compared with a forecast for £1.15bn. This prompted the firm [...]
Factory jump raises chance of a recovery February 9, 2012 UK MANUFACTURING output jumped higher than predicted in December, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed yesterday, leading some economists to suggest the economy may be back on the track to recovery. The production industries as a whole, which includes manufacturing, mining and energy, registered a small rise in output in the month [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: IS BP ON THE RECOVERY PATH AFTER THE GULF SPILL? February 7, 2012 MALCOLM GRAHAM-WOOD | VSA CAPITAL Despite the apparently positive mood I would have waited until after the settlement of the case before I increased the pay-out, and as I have said before BP were paying out too much in dividends before Macondo… They are being more optimistic about life than more solid industry peers. STUART [...]
Winning run for 888 as gamblers play at home February 7, 2012 GAMBLERS’ love of internet poker has helped gaming firm 888 Holdings to post record revenue. The company said full year revenue increased 26 per cent with the number of customers gambling on its websites growing. At 31 December, 888 had 10.6m casino, poker and sport real money registered customer accounts, up 22 per cent from [...]