BEST OF THE BROKERS October 12, 2011 KESA ELECTRICALS Nomura rates the Comet-owner as “neutral” with a target price of 120p, saying the ongoing disposal of the Comet unit will remove uncertainty from the group and offer valuation upside. The broker sees the key benefits of disposal as the freeing up of around €70-80m of working capital, the removal of over €20m [...]
Cavendish Quick Step deal KO October 10, 2011 CYCLING: World champion Mark Cavendish has moved a step closer to joining Team Sky after Bessel Kok, part owner of the Quick Step team, denied there was a deal in place for the Brit to join them next season. “Cavendish will not ride for us,” said Kok. “There have been discussions about his future, but [...]
Weale grants backing to QE October 9, 2011 SENIOR official Martin Weale launched a valiant defence of the Bank of England’s latest dose of quantitative easing yesterday, arguing that the move would not push up inflation without helping growth. Yet the Bank’s former leading hawk, Andrew Sentance, attacked the move dubbed QE2, and said the institution’s credibility was at risk. “One of the [...]
3 OTHER COCKTAILS YOU SHOULD KNOW HOW TO DRINK October 9, 2011 PIMM’S CUP HBO’s lavish series Boardwalk Empire has returned to our screens again on Sky Atlantic. Set in the era of America’s Prohibition, the thrust of the story focuses on bootlegging, politics, women’s lib and, of course, copious drinking. Pimm’s may have been scarce in the 1920s, but you can see the characters arm themselves [...]
BANKING’S TOP TEAMS SEEK NEW PASTURES October 6, 2011 THE EXODUS of senior banking talent continues – and with it, some interesting tales emerge. Take Merrill Lynch’s broking star Simon Fraser, who has informed his clients Man, Meggitt and Capital One Shopping Centres he is leaving them at the end of the year for pastures new. Quite literally, in this case, as Fraser owns [...]
Banks hired as first stage in esure’s London listing October 5, 2011 THE INSURANCE tycoon Peter Wood has lined up bankers to prepare a bumper listing of esure, reports last night said. Wood, who also founded the car insurer Direct Line, is said to have hired Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan to help ready the company for a stock market flotation that is being earmarked for next [...]
Pub landlady hits winner in football case October 4, 2011 A PUB landlady from Portsmouth yesterday won her legal bid to screen cheap foreign coverage of football matches, in a giant-killing feat to rival Wimbledon’s 1988 FA Cup final win over Liverpool. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that Karen Murphy should be allowed to use a Greek decoder to screen football matches. Murphy [...]
DO YOU AGREE WITH THE ECJ RULING? October 4, 2011 ALAN GYERTSON | ALPHA BANK “I don’t think it is right, but I am hoping that this will shake a few things up and maybe get rid of Sky’s choke hold.” CHRIS WEBBER | FAEGRE & BENSON “Yes, it is brilliant. Sky has always been in control; it has opened a new market for people [...]
Traders need to insure against the downside October 2, 2011 EXCUSES, excuses followed by more excuses. When is the broader asset management industry going to put its hands up and say; “We were wrong,” or “I’m going to fall on my sword, sell my five houses on the Wentworth Estate and distribute the proceeds amongst those foolhardy enough to believe I could make them money?” [...]
Businesses can help transform our communities September 28, 2011 AS LONDON and the world gears up for London 2012, there has never been a greater opportunity for the business world to create a lasting social and economic legacy. As politicians search for answers to stimulate growth, enterprise comes up time and time again as a solution. Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy [...]