London architect finds record height March 6, 2011 LONDON-based architect group Farrells has hit a new record-breaking high with the topping of the Kingkey Finance Tower in China. The 100-storey skyscraper stands at 441 metres (1,440ft) and is the tallest building designed by a British architect to date towering over any construction in the UK. The Kingkey tower is twice the height of [...]
John Lewis issues £50m retail bond March 6, 2011 THE John Lewis Partnership has issued a retail bond for its cardholders and Partners in a bid to raise £50m of funds by April. Customers who hold either the Partnership or Account cards, as well as current Partners in the employee-owned firm, can invest lump sums of between £1,000 and £10,000 into the John Lewis [...]
ACWHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 3, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES HEDGE FUNDS HEAD FOR MALTA TO ESCAPE REGULATION Some of London’s biggest hedge fund managers are shifting their operations to Malta in response to both the rising costs of business and the growing regulatory burden in the UK. The Mediterranean island is emerging alongside traditional rivals to London, such as Swiss towns Geneva [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 2, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES US OIL PRODUCTION REVIVES US oil production last year rose to its highest level in almost a decade, thanks to an increase in the use of “unconventional” extraction techniques. As a result, analysts believe the US was the largest contributor to the increase in global oil supplies last year over 2009, and is [...]
Don’t blindly follow the herds into the big cap funds March 2, 2011 DESPITE large-cap funds having underperformed against their small to mid-cap alternatives in recent years (see chart), figures would suggest that this year could see large-cap funds turn the tables. “We have certainly seen a lot more interest in equities, away from bonds and gilts,” said Andy Simpson at Schroders Asset Management, “though not as attractive [...]
Horta-Osorio speeds-up Lloyds sale plans on day one March 1, 2011 THE NEW chief executive of Lloyds is stepping up plans to sell more than 600 branches operated by the state-backed lender. António Horta-Osório, the former head of Spanish bank Santander’s UK operations, took his place at the helm yesterday. His tenure began with a bang, as the bank revealed it would push ahead with plans [...]
JLT sees soft rates ending March 1, 2011 INSURANCE broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) pushed into emerging Asian and Latin American markets to deliver double-digit profit growth in 2010, it said yesterday. JLT beat market expectations with underlying pre-tax profit growth of 24 per cent, to £130.1m from £104.8m in 2009. Underlying earnings per share rose 20 per cent to 40.5p from 33.8p [...]
What the other papers say this morning February 28, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES ITALIAN BANKS GO FOR GOLD IN MOVE TO TRANSFORM CORE CAPITAL RATIOS Italian banks think they may have struck gold as they seek to add lustre to balance sheets ahead of the summer stress tests. The lenders, which are shareholders in the central bank, are lobbying for their stakes to be marked to [...]
Catastrophes send Hiscox’s profit reeling February 28, 2011 LLOYD’S insurer Hiscox yesterday attributed a 34 per cent fall in its 2010 pre-tax profit to devastating earthquakes in Chile and New Zealand. Full-year profit slid to £211.4m from £320.6m in 2009 as disaster claims rose to £165m in the year. “Mother Nature has well and truly tested us this year,” chairman Robert Hiscox said. [...]
Banks pull FTSE 100 down while resources make gains February 28, 2011 THE FTSE 100 share index fell slightly yesterday as disappointing results from HSBC and Associated British Foods outweighed strength from miners on optimism about the global economy. The blue-chip index ended 7.19 points, or 0.1 per cent lower, at 5,994.01, after it closed 1.4 per cent higher on Friday at 6,001.20, bouncing back after five [...]