With a global fund, the world is your oyster April 20, 2010 TRADITIONALLY, British institutional investors have been interested mostly in regional funds, leveraging local knowledge to bring returns. But there are signs that global funds – which cover all sectors and regions – are growing in popularity. Data from Lipper, the fund management research firm, shows that 16 and 20 global equity funds available to UK [...]
Heron chief warns of talent drain April 13, 2010 GERALD Ronson, the property tycoon responsible for building Heron Tower, the tallest skyscraper in the City, yesterday warned that politicians risk hounding entrepreneurs away from the UK with punishing tax hikes for the wealthy. “My advice, to whoever wins the next election, is to be careful not to put too much pressure on the people [...]
PROPERTY BARONS PAY TRIBUTE TO THEIR SAGE April 13, 2010 IT WAS a hop, a skip and a jump over to the Dorchester yesterday lunchtime for the slap-up annual lunch hosted by Gerald Ronson, the seasoned chief of property group Heron International. Ronson’s list of invitees reads like a who’s who of the upper echelons of property and high finance, including ex-Lloyds chair Sir Victor [...]
Kensington handed £1.2m fine April 12, 2010 MORTGAGE lender Kensington, part of South African bank Investec, was yesterday fined £1.2m for treating its customers unfairly, City watchdog the Financial Services Authority (FSA) said. Kensington, bought by FTSE 100-listed Investec in 2007, is paying back a further £1m in fees and charges it levied on borrowers, the regulator said in a statement. The [...]
BAILOUT CHIEFS FACE HOLLYWOOD PARADE April 8, 2010 HERE’S betting that the key players in the downfall and rescue of the US banking system never believed they’d have it so good. After countless sleepless nights and stress-soaked days, it’s probably fair to say that policymakers and bank bosses weren’t looking their best when they emerged, battered and bruised, on the other side of [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 6, 2010 FinnCap The broker and corporate adviser has appointed retail analyst David Stoddart (pictured) and corporate financier Sarah Wharry to its team. Stoddart is one of the best-known retail analysts in the City, having covered the sector for over 20 years. He joins from Altium Securities and has also worked at Landsbanki, Henderson Crosthwaite Securities and [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 31, 2010 ERICSSON Evolution Securities advises investors to “sell” Ericsson because the mobile company’s pricing power is limited by operators. Evolution points out that consolidation has not stemmed industry price pressure and the knock-on effects limit revenue leaving Ericsson trading on what it considers an unjustified premium. ABCAM Investec ups Abcam’s target to 1,350p from 1,051p and [...]
Investec buys up remainder of Rensburg March 30, 2010 SOUTH African bank Investec yesterday said it will stump up a hefty premium to acquire the remainder of Rensburg Sheppards, the fund manager in which it already holds a 47 per cent stake. Investec, which merged its private-client stockbroking business Carr Sheppards Crosthwaite with Rensburg in 2005, will pay 1.63 new shares of its own [...]
Mouchel hit by Middle East strife March 30, 2010 BUSINESS services group Mouchel posted a 28 per cent fall in first-half profit yesterday, hit by the downturn in the Middle East and uncertainty on public sector contract awards ahead of the general election. Mouchel, which maintains highways, monitors the cleanliness of the drinking water and manages local government IT systems, yesterday reported a pre-tax [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 29, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES BIG INVESTMENTS BOOST UK’S GREEN SECTOR The prospect of thousands of new “green” jobs in the UK as part of a drive for a low carbon economy came a step closer with two big investments in the environmental sector. Siemens, the German industrial giant, became the fourth wind turbine manufacturer to announce that [...]