WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 24, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BARCLAYS AT CENTRE OF LIBOR INQUIRY Barclays is emerging as a key focus of the US and UK regulatory probe into alleged rigging of benchmark interbank lending rates that are the reference point for $350,000bn in financial products, people familiar with the investigation said. Investigators are probing whether communications between the bank’s traders [...]
Retailers and mining stocks power rebound in the FTSE March 24, 2011 RETAILERS were among the top performers in a rally in Britain’s top share index yesterday that took the FTSE 100 back to levels last seen just before the earthquake in Japan. Results from Kingfisher and Next showed how some retailers can overcome tough trading conditions in the UK. Kingfisher, which hiked its dividend and reported [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 23, 2011 Mayer Brown The City law firm has boosted its asset finance team with the hire of former Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe European managing partner Stuart McAlpine. McAlpine focuses on cross-border asset and project finance transactions in the shipping, offshore and energy sectors. At Orrick, he spent time in the firm’s Singapore, London and Paris offices. [...]
Consumer confidence worrying for everyone March 22, 2011 WHAT do politicians, retailers, the media and market researchers have in common? They are all talking and worrying, about “consumer confidence”. ECONOMY IS BIGGEST ISSUE Over three quarters of the UK population think the economy is the most important issue facing the country and the Bloomberg/YouGov Household Economic Activity Tracker shows 55 per cent expecting [...]
Russian telecoms giant Euroset plans to raise £600m through London flotation March 22, 2011 RUSSIAN telecoms giant Euroset plans to raise up to $1bn (£600m) through a London initial public offering (IPO) later this year. The firm, which is part-owned by Russian telecoms group Vimpelcom, said billionaire Russian businessman Alexander Mamut will sell down his 50.1 per cent controlling stake, as well as offering ordinary shares in the form [...]
Russia’s Euroset to proceed with London float March 22, 2011 Russian mobile phone retailer Euroset said it will proceed with a London IPO that a source close to the potential offering said could seek to raise more than $1bn (£613m). The company, part-owned by Russian telecoms group Vimpelcom, said in a statement it would offer ordinary shares in the form of GDRs while businessman Alexander [...]
Arbuthnot profits are flat as it warns of tough year March 17, 2011 BOUTIQUE lender Arbuthnot Banking yesterday posted flat profits for last year and cautioned on difficult market conditions for the year ahead. The group, one of the oldest independent banks in London, posted pre-tax profits of £5.1m. Arbuthnot’s retail arm posted pre-tax profits of £8.5m, down from £10.2m a year earlier – although it saw underlying [...]
Luxury firms take a tumble March 14, 2011 THE DISASTER in Japan pummeled manufacturing and luxury goods stocks yesterday, alongside insurers and energy firms, as markets across the world ended lower. Burberry, which says it makes a significant portion of its profits from its Japanese licenses, fell 4.3 per cent in London trading yesterday. Hermes, which makes 19 per cent of its sales [...]
ROBERT THE LIONHEART SERENADES SELFRIDGES March 14, 2011 ROBERT Tchenguiz will henceforth be known as Robert the Lionheart, after the billionaire property developer was spotted singing The Lion Sleeps Tonight from the film The Lion King in Selfridges. The sighting took place at 5.30pm on the evening of the now infamous yacht party at MIPIM in Cannes last Thursday, when a social contemporary [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 13, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES GREEK BANK SCUPPERS HOPES OVER DEAL Alpha Bank, Greece’s third-largest lender, has killed hopes of a merger deal with larger rival National Bank of Greece, scotching the push by regulators and the government for the country’s troubled banking sector to strengthen itself through consolidation. RETAILERS RUN OUT OF IPAD 2 WITHIN HOURS Many [...]