ANALYST VIEWS IS IMPERIAL TRADING POSITIVELY September 22, 2010 RICHARD HUNTER| HARGREAVES LANSDOWN The update has been cautiously well received, with pressure on sales being offset by a reasonable rise in revenues. Central Europe has tended to carry the flag in more recent updates, as other regions have fallen foul of tougher economic conditions and increased government taxes on tobacco. JONATHAN JACKSON| KILLIK & [...]
Expect to see a widening gulf in the Eurozone September 21, 2010 STERLING plunged against the euro yesterday as worse-than-expected UK deficit figures exacerbated what was already a strong rally from the single currency. Coupled with solid demand at Spanish, Greek and Irish government bond auctions, this was enough to send sterling-euro down to a three-month low, with the euro also gaining a cent against the dollar. [...]
UK deficit a record high for August September 21, 2010 Britain last month posted a record budget deficit for August as interest payments on index-linked gilts shot up because of higher inflation than a year ago, official data showed. The Office for Nationals Statistics (ONS) said public sector net borrowing came in at £15.302bn, well above analysts’ forecasts for a reading of £12.5bn and some [...]
Investec plans to launch £250m securitisation to test the market September 19, 2010 SOUTH African banking group Investec plans to test the market with a £250m securitisation of “non-standard” mortgages, including some subprime loans. If it is successful, the deal would mark the first time subprime mortgages have been securitised in Europe since the financial crisis. People familiar with Investec’s plans said they had lined up a selection [...]
Investec sees profit uptick over first half September 16, 2010 SOUTH African bank Investec said yesterday that first-half operating profit is expected to inch up marginally, as a strong performance from the asset management and private wealth businesses offset sluggish investment banking activity. Investec admitted that defaults on bad loans have continued to increase due to the slow pace of economic recovery. Impairments remain elevated [...]
Fleming set to pounce as law firms open up September 15, 2010 FLEMING Family & Partners, the private wealth manager, has joined the growing pool of firms interested in investing into the legal sector once the market opens up next autumn. The family arm, which manages personal wealth for high net-worth families, has recently been in discussion with a number of law firms in the City about [...]
Surge in food prices keeps inflation high September 14, 2010 HEADLINE annual inflation held steady at 3.1 per cent in August as sharp rises in the cost of air fares, clothing and food prices offset softer petrol prices, official figures revealed yesterday. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that inflation rose 0.5 per cent between July and August but that the annual rate remained [...]
DO YOU EXPECT CPI INFLATION TO FALL BELOW 3 PER CENT IN AUGUST? September 12, 2010 SIMON HAYES | BARCLAYS CAPITAL “Contrary to the consensus, which expects a fourth consecutive monthly fall in the headline rate, we expect it to rise to 3.2 per cent from 3.1 per cent in July, largely reflecting a second consecutive large monthly rise in food prices.” PHILIP SHAW | INVESTEC “Against expectations, petrol prices appear [...]
CITY RUNNER | GARMIN #4MILER September 9, 2010 THEY’VE taken their body to the absolute limit for the past four weeks, but the Investec team came up against some pretty formidable competition yesterday when their Garmin #4miler challenge ended on an ultimate high. Each member of the eight-strong team has seen race times reduced and fitness levels increase over the past month, but [...]
Kirsh vows to oust Minerva management September 5, 2010 BILLIONAIRE investor and activist shareholder Natie Kirsh is gearing up to oust the bosses of property developer Minerva this week. The 78-year-old owner of investment firm KiFin forced Minerva to call an extraordinary shareholder meeting to be held this Wednesday, where he will ask investors to vote on whether to retain chief executive Salmaan Hasan [...]