INSIDE THE ECB’S BOND STRATEGY August 8, 2011 Q.WHAT DOES THE ECB HOPE TO ACHIEVE? A.By purchasing Italian and Spanish bonds, the European Central Bank is aiming to stop further contagion across debt-burdened sections of the Eurozone. Q.HAVE ANY PURCHASES BEEN MADE SO FAR? A.While the ECB is thought to have entered the market yesterday, after an 18 week hiatus, details of its [...]
Evolution seals BNP Paribas deal August 8, 2011 EVOLUTION, the investment bank and wealth group, yesterday sealed the takeover of £1.8bn in private client assets from BNP Paribas’ wealth management arm. The new business will be absorbed into Evolution’s Williams de Broe wealth manager, taking its funds under management to £7.8bn, approaching its goal of building a £10bn-strong asset manager. The deal is [...]
Evolution seals deal for BNP Paribas arm August 8, 2011 Investment bank Evolution, which is the subject of a bid approach from South African financial group Investec, said it had sealed the takeover of BNP Paribas Private Investment Management. Evolution had said last month that it was in talks over buying the unit, as part of its plans to grow its wealth management arm. Evolution [...]
Investec eyes wealth assets of Evolution August 7, 2011 INVESTEC aims to significantly strengthen its assets under management through its bid for wealth manager and broker Evolution Group, it said yesterday. The South African banking group, which manages about £12bn of assets, made an early stage bid last week for Evolution, which holds £6bn through its Williams de Broe wealth management arm and has [...]
Focus on: small businesses under the microscope August 7, 2011 WHEN T-Mobile called and asked if we wanted to sit in on one of their small business focus groups, we couldn’t say no. This year has been huge for entrepreneurs. The Prime Minister David Cameron passed them the gauntlet, asking them to revive our economy. So important he felt this responsibility, he dedicated his keynote [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: ARE THE RESULTS AS BAD AS THEY SEEM? August 4, 2011 MORTEN SINGLETON | INVESTEC First half numbers are fine, but MSS outlook has been revised down for 2011 and five-year guidance is under review due to continued acceleration in the upgrade dilution effect. This is offset by a slight hike in the dividend and a new $250m share buyback. We recommend buying into any weakness. [...]
Investec bids for Evolution August 4, 2011 SOUTH African asset management group Investec confirmed it was the mystery bidder for City broker and wealth manager Evolution Group yesterday. Evolution sparked a flurry of speculation on Wednesday when it said it had received an early stage takeover approach, with banks such as Societe Generale and Royal Bank of Canada named as potential acquirers. [...]
RSA praised for its results August 4, 2011 ROYAL & Sun Alliance chief executive Andy Haste stood down on a high yesterday after the home and car insurer posted profits ahead of all market expectations. RSA made £467m operating profit in the first half of the year, up 22 per cent on the same period in 2010 and well over the highest analyst [...]
Investec confirms bid for Evolution August 4, 2011 South African investment bank and asset manager Investec said it was the bidder for Evolution Group a day after the British investment bank and broker said it had received a bid approach from an unnamed suitor. Investec, which is also listed in London, said it had made a preliminary approach regarding “a potential share offer” [...]
HOW DO YOU RATE STANCHART’S LATEST RESULTS? August 3, 2011 GARETH HUNT | INVESTEC While the first half has come in ahead of expectations, we do not expect full year consensus to move… While the headline cost performance was strong, it was flattered by one-offs, particularly in the “other Asia Pacific” reporting segment, which benefited from $86m of cost recoveries… As ever with Standard Chartered, [...]