BEST of the BROKERS July 9, 2012 MONEYSUPERMARKET.COM Numis has downgraded the price comparison website from “reduce” to “sell” on the back of an “intensifying threat” from Google. The broker, which predicted in May that Google’s experiment with financial price comparison would divert traffic away from sites like Moneysupermarket, says the threat has been “stepped up a notch” and Moneysupermarket’s valuation is too [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 8, 2012 Capita Insurance Services The specialist provider of Lloyd’s services has appointed John Holm as commercial director. He joins after five years at National Australia Bank, where he was insurance sector head and director of corporate banking for its Clydesdale Bank business. Holm previously held a number of senior roles at RBS, notably as director of [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 5, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Metro losses widen in first full year Metro Bank, which launched in 2010 with the aim of providing a customer-friendly banking expeirence, increased its losses by 40 per cent to £33.1m for the last year. The bank has spent about £2m on each of its 12 branches – double the cost of a [...]
Rain results in misery for Murray July 2, 2012 BRITISH No1 Andy Murray will today resume his efforts to advance to the quarter-finals of Wimbledon after rainfall yesterday halted the momentum built throughout his fourth-round match against Marin Cilic. Intermittent drizzle transformed into consistent rainfall during a contest in which Murray had taken control, a promising turn after early exchanges had resulted in regular [...]
London still outperforms the rest of the country June 28, 2012 Q What is happening to London prices at the moment? A London property continues to outperform the rest of the UK market. The latest official data showed that average house prices across the capital are up 5.1 per cent year on year, compared to a one per cent fall across England and Wales. The average [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 27, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Hague presses for audit on EU law William Hague, the foreign secretary, wants to launch a comprehensive audit of the impact of European Union law on Britain this summer, an exercise that could fuel a Conservative drive to repatriate powers from Brussels. 4,000 firms under tax investigation More than 4,000 companies are under [...]
Citi’s analysts pour oil on BP’s troubled waters June 26, 2012 THE good folk at BP can be forgiven for being a bit miffed with the bankers at Citigroup Global Markets. Citi’s analysts Alastair Syme and Michael Alsford have issued a research note that questions BP’s hopes of realising between $25-30bn for its stake in its Russian subsidiary TNK-BP. The note, entitled “Russian value-release remains a [...]
BP to sell two stakes in North Sea for £179m June 26, 2012 BP said yesterday it had agreed to sell its minority stakes in two North Sea fields to Japanese trading company Mitsui for $280m (£179m), as part of a plan to focus its portfolio in the region on larger scale projects. The oil major announced that Mitsui would buy a 13.3 per cent stake in the [...]
Shock Wimbledon exit leaves Williams defiant as Djokovic and Federer lay down early markers June 25, 2012 FORMER Wimbledon champion Venus Williams insists she is not resigned to retiring, even though her shock first-round defeat to Elena Vesnina hinted at a greater acceleration in her decline. Williams lost 6-1, 6-3 to the Russian world No79 and only held her serve once throughout the opening set but regardless remained defiant about her future [...]
Commodity shares and banks pull FTSE below important 5,500 mark June 25, 2012 WEAKNESS in commodity stocks and banks pulled Britain’s top shares lower yesterday, extending last week’s drop as investor appetite for riskier assets was curbed by global growth and Eurozone debt worries ahead of a summit of European leaders. The FTSE 100 index was down 25.73 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 5,487.96, dropping back though [...]