Russia prepares for giant sale of assets July 25, 2010 RUSSIA is understood to be planning its biggest sell-off of state assets since the early 1990s as it seeks to raise over $29bn (£18.8bn) to plug budget gaps over the next three years. According to finance ministry sources quoted by Reuters, the plan to sell minority stakes in 10 major companies in 2011-2013 had been [...]
King Contador claims third crown as Cav ends on high July 25, 2010 ALBERTO CONTADOR cruised to his third Tour de France title in four years after Britain’s Mark Cavendish clinched the final stage in Paris for the second year running. Contador ensured Spain held onto the yellow jersey for the fifth successive year after safely arriving at the Champs Elysees 39 seconds ahead of nearest rival Andy [...]
Imperial Tobacco suffers as cigarette volumes fall July 22, 2010 IMPERIAL Tobacco, the world’s fourth-biggest cigarette maker, said cigarette volumes fell 4.3 per cent in the nine months to June – a worsening from a 3.7 per cent decline in its first half. Imperial, with cigarette brands including Lambert & Butler, West and Gauloises, said declines in Russia, Spain, Ukraine and the United States were [...]
More to Russia than gas July 20, 2010 FOR years, investment in Russia has meant little more than investment in commodities and energy. And while those sectors still make up a huge proportion of the country’s wealth, those trying to target high-return emerging market growth in Russia should steer clear of the usual country wide benchmarks. Renaissance Capital’s Karol Chrystowski says: “Most of [...]
FROM CUSPS OF CHANGE TO BONDS July 20, 2010 MANAGING DIRECTOR, ARTEMIS CAUGHT between corporate news that is good and macroeconomic news that is bad (or, rather, not as good as it was), investors are understandably unsure. A “flight to safety” is still the default for investors – and that’s bad for equities. What, we wonder, should equity investors pay for £1 of future [...]
Philips offsets good results with warning sales will slow July 19, 2010 Dutch electronics group Philips forecast sales growth would slow in the second half of this year given sluggish US and European economies and as television sales drop off after the World Cup. The outlook offset higher-than-expected quarterly results and brisk trade in markets like China and Brazil, helping push its shares down as much as [...]
FAIRFAX CO-FOUNDER CRAWFORD ON THE HUNT FOR A NEW INVESTOR July 19, 2010 IS A changing of the guard in the offing down at boutique investment bank Fairfax? I hear that Rolly Crawford, who co-founded the firm back in 2006, is on the lookout for a new major investor to take Fairfax forward in its ambitions. A number of interested parties have already been sounded out about the [...]
West End falls behind rest of capital July 18, 2010 LONDON’S West End has seen an upsurge in high-end purchases, though shops in the area have bounced back at a slower rate than the rest of the capital. June sales in the West End shops rose 10 per cent on last year, compared to a 14.4 per cent rise in London and a 1.2 per [...]
Former LTCM trader surfaces at London-based hedge fund July 12, 2010 ONE of the survivors of Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM), the US hedge fund infamously bailed out by Wall Street in the late 1990s, has resurfaced at London-based Capula Investment Management. Ayman Hindy became a partner at Capula last week, according to a regulatory filing. He has been working at the government fixed income specialist for [...]
BUSINESS IS BOOMING FOR TABLE DANCE KING July 6, 2010 TABLE-dancing mogul Stephen Less may have made his fortune building up Secrets, London’s largest chain of lap dancing clubs, but he’s certainly no one-trick pony. I hear Less has been a rather busy man of late, broadening his horizons to include no less than four satellite business interests. The first – and most austere – [...]