THE FAMOUS FIVE – ENGLAND’S FOES February 2, 2011 Italy NICK MALLETT’S Italy remain a work in progress, and will have their work cut out again to not collect the wooden spoon, as they have done for the past three years. But there are some positives, and the Azzurri are becoming more competitive, thanks in part to domestic powerhouses Benetton Treviso and Aironi Rugby’s [...]
City revolts over bill for bust firms February 2, 2011 LEADING City investment management and stockbroking groups were yesterday in open revolt about plans for them to pay £233m to a controversial compensation fund after the collapse of the financial products seller Keydata. There was a growing feeling last night that prudent firms – from tiny blue-blooded Mayfair fund managers to giants such as BlackRock [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 2, 2011 Betfair The bookies have appointed a new non-executive director to its board: Baroness Denise Kingsmill. She will also sit on the company’s audit committee in this role. Kingsmill has experience serving on the competition commission, of which she was deputy chairman 1996-2003, and she has also chaired three reviews and taskforces for various government departments. [...]
Strong squad keeps injury-hit England in pole position February 2, 2011 RUGBY TRADER DAVID WILD, CITY AM’S RUGBY TRADER, LOOKS AHEAD TO THE RBS SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP RATHER than those winning rucks, scoring tries and kicking goals, absent players could come to decide where the RBS 6 Nations Champion-ship trophy resides in six weeks’ time. A sizeable collective injury list has dominated the build-up to the [...]
Dragons will struggle against the Red Rose with weak front row February 2, 2011 ENGLAND vs WALES TOMORROW – 7.45PM BBC1 THE FIXTURE list committee have got it spot on this year. What better way to start the 2011 RBS 6 Nations than by sending England to Cardiff on a Friday night? Seventy-odd-thousand well-oiled Welshmen are capable of producing quite an atmosphere under the closed roof of the magnificent [...]
Pressure rises on F&C ahead of vote January 30, 2011 WITH just three days to go before F&C Asset Management’s boardroom showdown with activist shareholder Sherborne Investors on Thursday, mood in the City has swayed toward the F&C board. Early enthusiasm for Sherborne’s proposed board takeover, replacing chairman Nick MacAndrew with its founder Edward Bramson, has been replaced with caution as investors weigh their options. [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT IS THE LIKELY OUTCOME FOR F&C? January 30, 2011 HAYLEY TAM | CITI “Whatever happens, it is likely to cause continued disruption to ongoing operations. If Sherborne loses the vote it will create a share overhang of about 17 per cent, which will need to be disposed of – but it will allow existing management to continue to run the company with minimum disruption. [...]
THERE IS CHANGE IN THE AIR: IT’S TIME FOR GROWTH January 30, 2011 GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE, AVIVA Q. What has the mood been like at Davos this year? A. There was an interesting change in the air compared with the last couple of years. While no-one is getting over-confident about our future economic prospects, there was some sense that it is time to think about growth again. However, [...]
Mecom confirms chairman’s resignation January 28, 2011 European publisher Mecom has confirmed that its executive chairman Alasdair Locke has resigned and is to be replaced by director Stephen Davidson. The announcement follows City A.M.’s exclusive report revealing Mecom’s decision to oust Locke this morning. “The Board has agreed that Stephen Davidson, currently the senior independent director, will, pending the appointment of a [...]
Vodafone drags on the FTSE despite strong insurer gains January 27, 2011 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 share index closed slightly lower yesterday, after a dip in index heavyweight Vodafone, dented by weak results from AT&T, offset a surge in insurers following positive broker comment. The FTSE 100 closed down 4.13 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 5,965.08, having added 0.9 per cent the previous session. Vodafone, the company [...]