Focus on wealth management pays off May 19, 2011 AT first glance, Investec has missed forecasts with full-year operating profit of £434m: analysts had been hoping for something nearer the £450m mark. But the South African bank and wealth manager still gained the most in two-months during trading yesterday. A candidate for demotion from the FTSE100, thanks to the entry of mining giant Glencore, [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF TALKTALK’S FIGURES? May 19, 2011 MORTEN SINGLETON | INVESTEC Full-year results were a bit of a mixed bag, but on balance perhaps slightly more positive than negative. Revenue and subscriber numbers continue to disappoint but cost and profit progression and dividend upgrades provide the counter balance. ‘Hold’ retained. MIKE JEREMY | DANIEL STEWART These figures are very close to outlook [...]
Energy shares drive FTSE May 19, 2011 ENERGY and banking stocks propelled Britain’s FTSE 100 higher yesterday as commodities trading giant Glencore made its London Stock Exchange debut. As the London market closed, Glencore’s shares on the grey market were trading around the widely expected launch price of 530p. Glencore will be added to the FTSE 100 index as from the start [...]
A horse fit for a Queen May 19, 2011 THE Investec Derby is just over two weeks away and the world’s greatest flat race, held at Epsom for over 200 years, may be about to have its most famous winner. Carlton House, bred by Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley Stud operation and the red-hot 7/4 favourite with William Hill to land the mile and a half [...]
FTSE buoyed by Glencore as IMF chief quits May 19, 2011 The FTSE 100 climbed this morning as commodities giant Glencore made its debut, helping to buoy European markets. But an announcement that IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was standing down over assault charges in the US was the talk of the markets as the hunt for a successor starts. The re-building of the eurozone’s finances was [...]
CITY BIRDS SWOOP ON GULLS’ EGGS LUNCHEON May 17, 2011 THE City’s summer season is officially underway, marked by yesterday’s Macmillan Gulls’ Eggs City Luncheon at the Merchant Taylors’ Hall. The quirky institution serves guests green speckled gulls’ eggs – which are only in season for four weeks of the year – as they get stuck into some serious networking. “It is like Linked In [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT STOOD OUT IN AVIVA’S RESULTS? May 17, 2011 KEVIN RYAN | INVESTEC The big attraction in a UK context is its composite business model. Cash from the non-life business essentially covers shareholders’ dividend and this places it in a very good position. The only note of caution is that it is winning significant new business in UK motor where premiums rose 60 per [...]
ECONOMIST VIEWS: DID INFLATION BOUNCE BACK IN APRIL? May 15, 2011 PHILIP SHAW | INVESTEC “We are forecasting a rise to 4.2 per cent in the consumer price index for April, up from four per cent in March. We still consider there to be a risk that inflation hits five per cent later this year, but this would be diminished were oil prices to remain below [...]
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 [...]