Three tech firms surge to $260bn on grey market March 24, 2014 THREE upcoming initial public offerings (IPOs) from tech firms King Digital Entertainment, Alibaba and Just Eat are all set to beat analyst expectations with a combined valuation of over $260bn (£158bn), according to IG’s IPO grey market. King, the British games giant and creator of Candy Crush Saga, has already hit a valuation of $8.7bn, [...]
City Moves for 24 March 2014 | Who’s switching jobs March 24, 2014 Herbert Smith Freehills The law firm has announced the appointment of Justin D’Agostino as global head of dispute resolution. He is currently a partner, and has spent his entire legal career at the firm. Legal & General Property James Lidgate has joined Legal & General property as head of residential. He has over 14 years’ [...]
Sunday trading laws are outdated: We must extend opening hours March 24, 2014 IT’S TIME to reform our outdated, restrictive Sunday trading laws. With online shopping gaining in popularity by the day, the health of the British high street relies on full flexibility to open on Sundays. Three quarters of the public already shop on a Sunday at least once a month. And a recent Comres poll for [...]
Inside Track: In Barclays we trust: Retail investors rely on bank for new issues March 20, 2014 @hellierd There’s a page on the Barclays website that directs customers to the joys of investing in new issues and flotations. It is headlined: “Access investments before they become available on the market.” The trouble is that unless Barclays itself is working on one of the current crop of share issues, it is highly likely [...]
City Moves for 21 March 2014 | Who’s switching jobs March 20, 2014 Baker & McKenzie The law firm has announced the appointment of Steven Francis as a partner in its financial services group. He specialises in Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) enforcement work, non-contentious FCA compliance advice, financial crime, and corporate compliance issues. Francis was most recently at RPC, where he was a partner and head of its financial services and [...]
Budget at a glance: Osborne’s plans for Britain’s economy March 19, 2014 As growth bounces back, the focus turns to reforming savings THE ECONOMY UK growth for this year is now expected to be 2.7 per cent, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said yesterday – up from its previous estimate, made in December, of 2.4 per cent GDP expansion. A year ago the OBR expected growth [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 20 March 2014 March 19, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Starbucks aims to double market cap Starbucks wants to almost double its market capitalisation to $100bn (£60.5bn), chief executive Howard Schultz said yesterday, even as the US coffee chain underscored the changing landscape facing retailers as more consumers shop online and by mobile phone. THE TIMES London hit by Deutsche Bank job cuts [...]
What you need to know before the open March 19, 2014 Europe is expected to open mixed this morning after Vladimir Putin said yesterday that he’ll respect the sovereignty of Ukraine, going no further than recognising Crimea as part of Russia. Foreign secretary William Hague’s accused Russia of a “land grab”, calling the situation the most serious test of European security this century. Of course, we’ve [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 19 March 2014 March 18, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Labour pledges power to Scotland The Labour party has pledged more powers for Scotland in an attempt to bolster pro-union support six months before September’s referendum on independence. The prospects for devolution have become a battleground between pro-union campaigners and nationalists who argue that only independence would let Scotland decide its economic destiny. [...]
Retail investors excluded from Polypipe float March 18, 2014 BRITISH plastic piping manufacturer Polypipe is the latest company to announce its plans to float on the London Stock Exchange, as it looks to take advantage of the UK construction market recovery. Around half of the company’s share capital will be up for grabs, but like online food takeaway business Just-Eat, which announced its plans [...]