ANALYST VIEWS: WILL THESE DEALS BE GOOD FOR CENTRICA? November 21, 2011 KEITH MORRIS | EVOLUTION Centrica says the deal strengthens its energy hedge ie reduces a structural short. Centrica’s desire to improve its energy hedge would suggest it doesn’t see commodity prices going lower and therefore the implication is that the value of North Sea assets are the very least underpinned at these levels. JONATHAN JACKSON [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS November 20, 2011 HAMWORTHY Evolution Securities downgrades the marine, oil and gas services firm from add to “reduce” with a target price of 825p after it said it was in talks with Finnish marine engineering group Wartsila over a possible takeover offer. The target price was raised to match the potential offer price, but the broker cut its [...]
Evolution axes 60 investment banking jobs November 18, 2011 Evolution Group, the mid-sized investment bank that is being taken over by South African rival Investec, said it will cut 60 jobs as a result of tough market conditions. “Due to the current depressed levels of income within the business, management has taken action to reduce the cost base from quarter four onwards,” Evolution said [...]
Investec sees investment bank suffer November 17, 2011 INVESTEC could join the flurry of banks laying off staff if conditions worsen, managing director Bernard Kantor told City A.M. yesterday as the bank reported a small drop in profits. “As much as we don’t like to hire and fire, we have to live in the same world as everyone else,” he said. “It’s tough [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: HOW STRONG IS CENTRICA IN LIGHT OF LOWER PROFITS ? November 17, 2011 ANGELOS ANASTASIOU | INVESTEC Centrica’s statement indicates a slight downgrade in full year 2011 earnings per share, although growth is still expected in the full year. We continue to believe that the underlying story here remains sound. JONATHAN JACKSON | KILLIK & CO In the near term, we expect the group to benefit from a new [...]
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 [...]