Hats off to them! Ladies’ Day is here May 15, 2011 FOR some, the races may be about horses and finishing lines, but to many – namely the ladies – it’s all about fashion. The Investec Derby Festival, for which City A.M. is the official newspaper, is just a month away and one of the most eagerly anticipated is the Ladies Day, not least because it [...]
Queen’s horse becomes Derby favourite May 12, 2011 HORSE RACING: The Queen’s Carlton House is the new favourite for next month’s Investec Derby after winning trial race the Dante Stakes at York yesterday. Jockey Ryan Moore brought Sir Michael Stoute’s colt home a length-and-a-half ahead of favourite Seville. Carlton House, who was last night quoted at 5-2 by bookmakers William Hill, is set [...]
Great cost cutting – but show me the growth May 12, 2011 IAN Livingston is incredibly good at cost cutting, which is just as well. The no-nonsense Scot has removed some £2.8bn of costs in the last two years alone. That is exactly what the firm needed after former chief executive Ben Verwaayen, who won a huge amount of business at the expense of margins and profits. [...]
Dick Turpin can make fitness edge count May 12, 2011 RICHARD Hannon had a remarkable season in 2010 and the two main highlights were surely Canford Cliffs and DICK TURPIN. The stablemates locked horns in the Greenham, the 2,000 Guineas and the St James’s Palace and the score currently stands at 2-1 to Dick Turpin. It may seem strange then that Paddy Power have Dick [...]
Resolution life sales jump by 52 per cent May 10, 2011 RESOLUTION, the buyer and consolidator of UK life insurance assets, sold £270m of fresh life policies in the first three months of the year, it said yesterday. New sales through its newly-renamed Friends Life business rose 52 per cent or £92m on the same period in 2010, with £66m of the increase attributed to its [...]
Strong miners propel FTSE to a one-week closing high May 10, 2011 THE FTSE 100 share index hit a one-week closing high yesterday after bumper Chinese trade data boosted miners, although analysts said sentiment could be soured if Beijing opts to tighten its monetary policy. China’s April consumer price inflation index, due today, is expected to have dipped from March’s 32-month high of 5.4 per cent to [...]
BG Group profit hit by North Sea tax May 10, 2011 Civil unrest in North Africa and floods in Australia conspired to hit British gas and oil producer BG Group’s profit in the first quarter and forced it to cut its output growth forecast for this year. Underlying pre-tax profit fell eight per cent, the company said in an update that missed forecasts and knocked 3.4 [...]
Hills agree Investec Derby deal May 9, 2011 HORSE RACING: Epsom Downs racecourse has signed up William Hill as official bookmaker of next month’s Investec Derby Festival. The five-year partnership will create a dedicated microsite, www.theroadtothederby.co.uk, where punters can read news and watch footage of the Derby and its trial races.
Weak banks and fears over Eurozone debt drag on FTSE May 9, 2011 BANKING stocks weighed on Britain’s leading share index yesterday, with the sector hit by their capitulation in a fight over loan insurance mis-selling, and by Eurozone debt concerns after S&P cut Greece’s credit rating. The British Banking Association said members would not appeal a ruling that they compensate customers wrongly sold payment protection insurance (PPI). [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS May 8, 2011 BG GROUP Deutsche Bank rates the oil explorer a “buy” with a target price of £17.25. The broker expects BG’s first quarter results tomorrow to show a 14 per cent rise in operating profit as the uptick in commodities prices outweighs slightly lower production levels. Deutsche has raised its earnings per share forecasts based on [...]