BEST OF THE BROKERS October 5, 2010 NATIONAL GRID JP Morgan Cazenove considers the Ofgem decision on the framework for the next transmission and gas distribution to be a friendly move for National Grid’s shareholders. The broker gives the energy giant a “neutral” rating and says the new finance director may offer a fresh look at the financing challenges facing National Grid [...]
RSA buys Canada’s GCAN to create fourth-largest insurer October 4, 2010 insurer RSA said it had agreed to buy Canada’s GCAN for 420m Canadian dollars (£259m), underscoring its takeover ambitions with a deal that creates Canada’s fourth-biggest general insurer. RSA, best known in Britain for its More Than home and motor insurance business, said the deal would boost earnings immediately, and would generate a mid-teens investment [...]
THE TIPSTER October 4, 2010 NON-FARM payroll data this Friday should provide the usual fireworks. Marking the start of the final quarter of 2010, this is a crucial figure. Markets have been jumpy amid continuing uncertainty about the global economy and this monthly release has moved stocks around dramatically in the past year. Its trajectory in the coming months could [...]
Big banks top High Court appearances October 3, 2010 THE UK’S largest four banks were repeatedly in court last year as the number of High Court cases involving FTSE 100 companies jumped by 16 per cent. Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and HSBC collectively made up 43 per cent of all High Court appearances by the UK’s largest companies, [...]
CITY VIEWS: WHICH DEVICE DO YOU THINK WILL WIN THE TABLET WARS? September 28, 2010 ALEX GADEMANN | FOREX.COM I already own an iPad. It was the first time I bought an apple and I bought it because of the novelty. If you put me in the same place with the two products I would definitely look at what Blackberry has to offer. SARAH RICKWOOD | AVIVA I have a [...]
Saints buck the trend as Premiership crowds fall September 22, 2010 NORTHAMPTON insist they can continue to buck the trend of poor early-season ticket sales in the Aviva Premiership – and take record attendances to a whole new level at Franklin’s Gardens. The unbeaten league leaders sold out their opening two home fixtures against Leicester and Bath despite the latter being played on a Friday night. [...]
Europe facing pensions crisis September 21, 2010 EUROPE faces a pensions time bomb with the estimated gap between what people are saving for retirement and what they will actually need to live comfortably when they retire estimated at €1.9 trillion (£1.6 trillion), a report claims today. Europe’s annual “pensions gap” is equivalent to 19 per cent of the European Union’s (EU) GDP [...]
FUND MANAGEMENT NEWS September 21, 2010 NEW CHINESE ESG INDEX LAUNCHED Provider of sustainability ratings and indexing solutions ECP International has teamed up with China Securities Index to create the CSI ECPI China Environmental and Social Governance 40 Equity Index. The first of its kind, the index identifies the 40 highest ESG-rated companies amongst the Chinese SSE180 Corporate Governance Index and [...]
Holmes firmly behind track legacy plans September 20, 2010 LONDON’S Olympic Stadium will retain an athletics track after the 2012 Games, regardless of who moves in – and more people will benefit as a result, says Dame Kelly Holmes. The future of the Stratford Olympic Park’s centrepiece is still shrouded in uncertainty with less than two years to go until the first starter’s pistol [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 19, 2010 DTZ The property advisory group has appointed Hugh Radford as head of UK retail – a division whose clients include the Crown Estate, Land Securities, Hermes, Aviva and Henderson. It is also currently leasing Westfield’s newest shopping centre development at Stratford. Radford has been a director at DTZ since 2007, when the firm acquired retail [...]