FTSE flat as investors await news of Fed’s monetary policy April 27, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index ended flat yesterday ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s news conference which could provide clues on the Fed’s future plans for its monetary policy. The blue-chip FTSE 100 was down 1.2 points or 0.02 per cent at 6,068.16, having hit a 9-week closing high on Tuesday. Volume was only 87.6 [...]
Troubled JJB to de-list from LSE April 26, 2011 JJB, the high street sportswear retailer, is to de-list from the London Stock Exchange’s main market and re-list on the smaller, cheaper AIM market. The struggling firm will issue 160m new shares to raise £65m, breaking listing rules relating to how much of the company is freely floated.
Russian heli firm’s London IPO takes off April 26, 2011 KREMLIN-backed firm Russian Helicopters has set the price range for its $500m (£304m) joint Moscow and London share offering. The helicopter manufacturer, dominant amongst Russian counterparts, priced its shares and global depository receipts (GDRs) at between $19 and $25 per unit. The deal values the company at between $1.8bn and $2.4bn. Russian Helicopters will sell [...]
FTSE buoyed by upbeat corporate results April 26, 2011 Strong corporate results and positive broker research buoyed the FTSE today, leading the market to its highest close in more than two months. The FTSE 100 closed 0.9 per cent higher at 6.069.36 in low volumes following the long Easter weekend and ahead of a second four-day weekend to celebrate the Royal wedding and Mayday. [...]
HSBC axes its Russian retail banking unit April 25, 2011 HSBC has become the latest international lender to pull the plug on its retail operations in Russia, as foreign banks struggle to crack the dominance of the country’s state-backed giants. The London-based bank’s exit follows that of Barclays, which quit its Russian retail banking operation last month. Barclay’s boss Bob Diamond said at the time [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 25, 2011 Gap The US retailer has announced that it will combine its international operations into one London-based division, to be led by Stephen Sunnucks, the new president, international of Gap Inc. Since joining the company five years ago, Sunnucks has guided the growth of Gap and Banana Republic in Europe. Gap has also appointed John Ermatinger, [...]
IT’S A GAS FOR CLARE AT BANKER BRIEFING April 20, 2011 HOW can money be the same as gas? It’s a good question, and one that bankers were giving serious thought yesterday at a lunchtime talk at Clifford Chance by Clare Spottiswoode, member of the Independent Commission on Banking. The former gas regulator had been briefed to update 34 high-powered bankers, including Antony Jenkins, group chief [...]
Bunzl on M&A trail after 12pc rise in revenues April 20, 2011 DISTRIBUTION group Bunzl has funding of more than £200m to spend on acquisitions to consolidate the markets in which it operates, chief executive Michael Roney said yesterday. The London-headquartered company has reported a strong start to 2011, with revenues up 12 per cent in the first quarter year-on-year. Bunzl, which provides retailers with not-for-sale goods [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 20, 2011 Barclays Corporate Barclays Corporate has appointed Tan Kah Chye as head of trade and working capital, joining from Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore, where he held the position of global head of trade finance for the past six years. At Barclays, Chye will use his experience in senior trade finance roles in Asia and Europe [...]
A string of strong earnings reports sends FTSE jumping April 20, 2011 COMMODITY stocks helped power the FTSE 100 index sharply higher yesterday, while earnings from Reckitt Benckiser and Home Retail, following US tech bellwether Intel, boosted risk appetite. The FTSE 100 closed up 125.39 points, or 2.1 per cent, at 6,022.26 following a 0.5 per cent gain on Tuesday. This wiped out Monday’s 2.1 per cent [...]