Investec edges up its earnings July 28, 2011 SOUTH African investment bank and asset manager Investec said first-quarter profit was marginally higher, as it battled tougher-than-expected economic conditions and weak debt and equity markets. Investec, which has been boosting its asset management business to diversify beyond lending, said yesterday that its principal banking activities have been under pressure. But the bank said that [...]
ENTREPRENEURS NEWS | IN BRIEF July 24, 2011 MAJORITY THINK GETTING FUNDING IS EASY A sizable 39 per cent of Britain’s entrepreneurs expect conditions for accessing external sources of capital to be “normal” or “easy” in the next 12 months. This compares to 25 per cent who said this six months ago, according to research from May 2011 by Investec Specialist Private Bank. [...]
Stress tests denounced by analysts as backward-looking and inconsistent July 18, 2011 THE EU’s second round of stress tests precipitated a sharp fall in European bank shares yesterday after being slammed as “frustrating” and full of “widespread anomalies”. Analysts were scathing about the European Banking Authority’s (EBA) first ever tests, keeping price recommendations unchanged and saying that the exercise was effectively useless as a tool for distinguishing [...]
POACHERS TURNED GAMEKEEPERS SNARE GOLDMAN WITH BEST BREW July 18, 2011 SHARP-suited, discerning of taste and with a generous disposable income they can easily take elsewhere. Yes, the Goldman crew are a tough crowd – but even the investment bank’s most hard-nosed deal-makers are being won over by the new Italian opposite the Goldman Sachs fortress on Fleet Street, which is gaining a reputation for the [...]
FTSE dragged down by Eurozone and US debt worries July 18, 2011 Banking shares led the FTSE 100 down this morning as the eurozone crisis drained confidence from investors while fears over the US credit rating also cast a shadow. The Greek debt crisis deepened as Eurozone leaders continued to thrash out options to save the country’s economy. Officials proposed a range of schemes for Europe’s bailout [...]
Stress tests criticised after they fail to examine sovereign default July 17, 2011 EUROPE’S stress tests were too lenient and are sending analysts down a series of “blind alleys” rather than providing the clarity needed to calm the region’s fraught markets, experts have warned. The results of the tests, released on Friday, saw just eight out of 90 banks fail to maintain sufficient capital in an “adverse” scenario [...]
Melrose ups Charter offer July 14, 2011 ENGINEERING turnaround firm Melrose has increased its offer for Charter International to 840p per share, valuing the welding equipment supplier at about £1.4bn. The improved offer comes after Charter rebuffed a 780p per share approach from Melrose late last month, the board stating that the bid undervalued the company. The struggling firm, which saw the [...]
Asos gets boost from overseas sales July 14, 2011 ONLINE fashion retailer Asos saw sales soar in the first quarter, but boss Nick Robertson dismissed speculation that the company was being seriously eyed as a takeover target. Asos, which targets young trendy customers, said its retail sales increased 69 per cent to £104.2m in the three months to 30 June. International sales soared 160 [...]
EU dithering could bring on Armageddon July 13, 2011 GREECE is running out of time, its Prime Minister warned yesterday, even as Germany batted off suggestions that it should attend an emergency summit on Friday and instead put off the meeting until next week. The markets were unimpressed by this latest bout of dithering over the timing of the Eurozone’s next crisis talks, with [...]
Greencore to buy rival Uniq in £113m deal July 12, 2011 GREENCORE has made a £113m offer for rival food company Uniq as it paves the way for a delisting in Ireland ahead of joining the London market. The Dublin-based company, which is one of Britain’s biggest providers of ready meals, said its 96p per share offer has received the backing of Uniq’s board, which put [...]