ALL BETS ARE OFF FOR DEL BONO’S CASINO PLOT December 6, 2011 IT WAS like the Marie Celeste when Luca Del Bono first looked round 50 St James’s: the tables in the restaurant were still laid for dinner and the staff uniforms were still hanging on their hooks in the hall. That’s what happens when you abandon ship so abruptly – as the site’s previous owner, the [...]
Russia miners to add weight to bluechips December 4, 2011 RUSSIA’s presence on the UK’s top share index will go up this Wednesday if two of its newly London-listed metals and mining groups are admitted in the quarterly changeover of its constituents. Evraz, the steelmaking group part-owned by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovitch, and Polymetal, Russia’s biggest silver producer, have each swapped their global depositary receipt [...]
Short sellers eye Weir Group and retailers in the FTSE 100 December 4, 2011 HEDGE funds substantially increased their short positions on engineering company Weir Group in November after the company disappointed investors with its trading update mid-month, new data from Data Explorers shows. Short interest in Weir Group, measured by the percentage of its shares borrowed by investors, has doubled in the past two months to 7.14 per [...]
DO KINGFISHER’S RESULTS SIGNAL GOOD NEWS FOR THE FULL YEAR? December 1, 2011 RICHARD HUNTER| HARGREAVES LANDSDOWN Kingfisher has significantly exceeded estimates and the share price rewarded accordingly with a strong early hike… Even prior to this strong update, the shares had had a good run over the last three months. Today’s numbers seem unlikely to dampen this optimism, with the general market view of the shares as [...]
Dire markets hit Panmure November 30, 2011 TIM Linacre yesterday announced he would be standing down as chief executive of Panmure Gordon, one of the City’s oldest stockbrokers, following a profits warning. Linacre’s decision follows a period of 18 months during which he has been discussing succession planning with the company’s board and its 44 per cent Qatari shareholder. The broker said [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT WILL YOU TAKE FROM THE SAGE RESULTS? November 30, 2011 JULIAN YATES | INVESTEC Underlying (ex healthcare disposal) profits were a touch ahead of our estimates, but the outlook suggests profit growth will slow… The company is continuing to invest in bringing new technologies to market which means margins are likely to flat-line in FY12 … we see no reason to turn move positive at [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS November 29, 2011 RANDGOLD RESOURCES Investec has upgraded the miner from “hold” to “buy” with a reduced target price of £73.32, down from £73.89. The broker has trimmed its forecasts after Randgold lowered its own outlook, but believes the recent share price fall presents a buying opportunity. Investec also thinks the recent problems at its mills are manageable [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS November 27, 2011 CABLE AND WIRELESS Investec rates the telecommunications firm “buy”, with a target of 53p, down from 59p. The broker says that despite a lack of interest from buyers after its poor first half results there is growing interest from other UK telecommunications companies. The company’s woes stem from poor management, the broker says, and the [...]
ECB sign £50m Investec deal November 24, 2011 THE COFFERS of the England and Wales Cricket board will be boosted to the tune of £50m over the course of the next 10 years after they agreed a record breaking sponsorship deal with Investec. The blue chip bank ended their 12-year association with the Rugby Football Union in June and have turned their attentions [...]
LORD MAYOR STEPS UP SECURITY FOR AMBASSADORS’ RECEPTIONS November 24, 2011 IT HAD to be the Queen. “No-one else has that level of police presence,” said one City observer when he noted a convoy of four police motorbikes and two impressive cars making its way towards the Walbrook Building in stately fashion. But no – it was Lord Mayor David Wootton, who had stepped up his [...]