Investec half year profits down November 17, 2011 Investec, the South African investment bank and asset manager, posted a two per cent decline in first-half earnings, hit by a loss at its private banking business and a sharp decline in investment banking. Investec, which is also listed in London, said operating profit before certain items totalled £223.63min the six months to end-September, compared [...]
Sir Mervyn opens door to more QE November 16, 2011 ANOTHER multi-billion pound cash injection could be on the cards, the Bank of England indicated yesterday, as it published a bearish outlook for the imperilled UK economy. In its latest Inflation Report, the Bank predicted sluggish growth of around one per cent for next year, with the slump lingering into 2013. “Following this confirmation about [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: HOW BAD ARE GAME’S RESULTS? November 16, 2011 DAVID JEARY | INVESTEC Software launches are going well, but tailing off faster than historically, and with no new hardware coming through and an obviously weak consumer market, we are placing our forecasts and recommendation under review, despite solid progress on the strategic initiatives. JON JACKSON | KILLIK & CO Major software titles are launching [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS November 16, 2011 CARLSBERG Goldman Sachs has downgraded the brewer to “neutral” following recent outperformance, and has a target price of 428 crowns. While the firm’s results last week were strong, the broker now sees better upside potential elsewhere in the drinks sector, given Carlsberg’s exposure to the competitive western European markets. Goldman expects Carlsberg’s Russian beer market [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 15, 2011 Deloitte Analytics Deloitte Analytics has strengthened its partner team in the UK with the appointment of consumer business specialist Jason Gordon, who will lead the division’s consumer business services team. In his new role, Gordon will advise retail, consumer products and travel, hospitality and leisure organisations on ways to gain improved insight and commercial value [...]
Liberum’s quest to borrow a big balance sheet November 14, 2011 THERE can be no doubting that the long-expected consolidation in the small to mid-cap broker market has well and truly begun. In the past few weeks there have been deals to buy Ambrian (RFC), Arbuthnot Securities (Westhouse), Evolution (Investec) and Merchant Securities (Sanlam). Such deals follow an earlier transaction in February of last year when [...]
More Evolution jobs to go after Investec’s takeover November 13, 2011 EVOLUTION is preparing to axe more staff once its takeover by South African investment group Investec is completed next month. The broker-turned-wealth manager has made around 60 staff redundant in the last 10 days and City A.M. understands more job cuts are planned, although no decision on numbers has been made so far. The £210m [...]
ENDGAME November 9, 2011 THE CLOCK is ticking for the European Central Bank (ECB) and international community to step in to save Italy, economists warned as the country’s borrowing costs shot through the roof yesterday. Stocks across the world fell as the crisis escalated, with the Dow plummeting 3.2 per cent, the DAX falling 2.21 per cent. and VIX, [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: ARE PROBLEMS LOOMING FOR INSURANCE GROUP ADMIRAL? November 9, 2011 JONATHAN JACKSON | KILLIK & CO The claims environment remains tough, with the frequency and expected cost of new large personal injury claims remaining above historical levels – consistent with the first half of 2011 KEVIN RYAN | INVESTEC It remains our view that significantly outperforming a commoditised market for sustained periods is impossible. It [...]
Two more Russians to enter FTSE November 8, 2011 TWO Russian miners are set to join the FTSE 100 next month, reigniting concerns over corporate governance and the composition of the index. Roman Abramovich’s steelmaking group Evraz and gold miner Polymetal will both join the index if the FTSE Group agrees at its next meeting. Evraz, with a £4.7bn market cap, and Polymetal, at [...]