Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya… Is it time to intervene in Syria? February 8, 2012 YES MICHAEL WEISS THE question is not whether or not the West ought to intervene in Syria but when it will. For 11 months, President Assad’s regime has rejected all offers for substantive reform, while massacring upwards of 7,000 civilians, displacing tens of thousands more and running a network of arbitrary detention facilities rivalling Saddamist [...]
Foreign cash flows to City February 6, 2012 THE UK’S financial services sector is deeply attractive to foreign investors, a study by TheCityUK claimed yesterday. Over a quarter of the 50,000 firms in the sector are owned overseas, rising to 33 per cent for companies valued between £25m and £100m, and 45 per cent for businesses firms worth over £100m. Of that investment, [...]
Zynga soars but Facebook has yet to fly February 2, 2012 ZYNGA shares jumped 17 per cent yesterday following Facebook’s revelation that 12 per cent of its 2011 revenues came from the social gaming company. Facebook’s IPO filing on Wednesday also confirmed that Morgan Stanley will lead the troupe of underwriters, who could accept a fee of just one per cent in their keenness to land [...]
Former Goldman stars plot new investment fund January 31, 2012 THREE Goldman partners are eyeing the creation of a new investment fund after throwing in the towel on investment banking, City A.M. has learned. Ed Eisler, who quit recently as co-head of global securities, has teamed up with fellow ex-Goldman partners Sam Wisnia, who was a managing director in fixed income, and Chris Barter, former [...]
Russia in push for foreign cash January 30, 2012 Russia’s newest state fund made its first investment yesterday, buying a stake in Moscow’s MICEX-RTS bourse to boost its initial public offering hopes and compete with big international centres like London for Russian company listings. The $10bn Russian Direct Investment Fund, which is government funded but run by private equity specialist Kirill Dmitriev, is investing [...]
Russian opposition use Davos to tell Putin to reform or lose power January 29, 2012 KREMLIN clan in-fighting spilled into the open last week when government officials sympathetic with Russia’s fragmented opposition warned the country’s ultimate leader Vladimir Putin he may soon lose power if he doesn’t undertake sweeping reforms. Putin, Russia’s president from 2000 to 2008 and now prime minister, is expected to return to the presidency after March [...]
FSA consults on listing rules January 26, 2012 THE UK’s financial regulator yesterday announced a consultation exercise aimed at tightening up rules for premium listings, reverse takeovers and externally managed companies. The consultation exercise follows a similar move by the FTSE Group, which runs the blue-chip FTSE 100 index. The FTSE Group said it was tightening rules governing entry to its indices in [...]
GOING OUT January 26, 2012 The festive season witnessed the birth of a plethora of new bars and clubs in the capital, notable amongst them was The Rose on 23 Orchard Street in Marylebone, brought to you by clubland mainstays Nick House and Piers Adam (Whisky Mist, Punchbowl, Mahiki). Their newest project houses a 300 capacity, chic speakeasy-style nightclub with [...]
DAVOS DIARY January 25, 2012 IS Lord Mandelson missing the limelight? The dark prince was all over the forum like a rash yesterday, hot-footing it from one engagement to another. Before any sign of sun was showing through the thick snowclouds covering Davos yesterday, Mandy suited and booted for a breakfast hosted by WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell. Demonstrating [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 25, 2012 PHOSAGRO UBS has upgraded the London GDR listing of the Russian fertiliser group from “sell” to “neutral” after a sell-off over the past couple of months that has seen the stock lose nearly 30 per cent. The broker sees no reason to change its 2012 estimates or price target of $9, despite a weak market [...]