We’re being too gloomy on outlook for retail March 28, 2010 SO the clocks have changed, there’s now more daylight than darkness and spring is here. It’s time for some optimism, unless you happen to be a retailer. In the last week some of the biggest names in the high street have been queuing up to tell us how fearful they are about the consumer. Of [...]
Whatever you fancy in the long-term, there’s an ISA for it March 23, 2010 With tax hikes on the horizon as the general election looms, sheltering more cash in an ISA is a sensible move. The investment choices you make will depend on how long you wish to invest and how much risk you are prepared to take. But every new year there brings a new fad investment and [...]
Regus profits fall but bright outlook ahead March 22, 2010 SERVICED office provider Regus yesterday said full-year pre-tax profits fell 42 per cent as the recession took its toll on small business, and warned its outlook remained unclear. Regus said the UK workspace picture remains hazy as it posted a fall in turnover from £1.077bn to £1.055bn with pre-tax profits of £86.9m compared with £149.2m [...]
Bad debt tide begins to ebb for Investec March 18, 2010 SOUTH African bank Investec said yesterday it expects to post a slight increase in profits for the current financial year due to a strong performance from its UK, European and Australian arms, adding that the pace of rising defaults has started to slow. In a pre-close briefing ahead of its year-end at the end of [...]
Investec launches music team March 15, 2010 Investec private bank has launched a specialist music and entertainment team to handle the affairs of wealthy people in those industries, such as artists, managers and agents. The move comes after Investec found many music and entertainment workers were struggling to manage their affairs to the extent that some could not even secure a mortgage [...]
ECONOMIST VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU EXPECT THE MPC MINUTES TO REVEAL? March 14, 2010 HOWARD ARCHER | IHS GLOBAL INSIGHT A unanimous vote. All nine members voted for unchanged interest rates and QE in February and there seems little reason to expect anyone to have changed their mind at the March meeting. The MPC is likely to remain in “wait and see” mode until the distortions to activity work [...]
Triple witching can cause toil and trouble in the markets March 14, 2010 LONDON might no longer hold the prestigious title of the world’s leading financial centre – it only managed to tie with New York in a report by the City of London Corporation that was released on Friday – but Britain’s FTSE 100 is leading the markets’ march higher. Traders might have been cheering Wall Street’s [...]
Investec kicks Resolution out of FTSE 100 March 10, 2010 SOUTH African based investment bank Investec is set to replace insurance focused takeover vehicle Resolution in the FTSE 100 index after the latest quarterly index review yesterday. Resolution was the only blue chip stock below 111th position in a ranking based on market capitalisation, according to index compiler FTSE, setting it up for relegation from [...]
Investors line up ahead of law firm IPOs March 10, 2010 INVESTORS are queuing up to buy stakes in City law firms ahead of a series of planned flotations in the sector next year. Lyceum Capital and Investec are among a handful of businesses already interested in the legal sector once the government’s Legal Services Act comes into operation. City A.M. understands that Lloyds Development Capital [...]
THE NAME GAME IS ON FOR MANCHESTER UNITED’S RED KNIGHTS March 4, 2010 IS A setback in the offing for the self-styled “Red Knights”, the group of City businessmen plotting to seize control of Manchester United from current owners, the Glazer family? The Capitalist only asks having chanced upon another, very different, group bearing the same name while trawling the Internet yesterday. Actually, the moniker belongs to a [...]