Trade and status: China weakens yuan to gain advantage August 12, 2015 China plans to top the global hierarchy with its surprise move to devalue its currency China shocked the world yesterday when it devalued the yuan by nearly 2 per cent against the dollar. The surprise move brings its currency to a three-year low against the greenback and should help revive exports. The news [...]
S&P 500 pegged back by rising greenback: US stock index limping due to burgeoning power of dollar August 12, 2015 The strong dollar is hindering growth in US equities this year, analysts are warning. The US dollar has been persistently strong in the last year, and has risen around 18 per cent on a trade weighted basis against a basket of other currencies in 12 months. It has continued to strengthen throughout this year, and [...]
City Moves for 12 August 2015 | Who’s switching jobs August 11, 2015 BlackRock Jan Bratteberg has been appointed head of the investment management firm’s iShares business in the Nordics. He joins from BlackRock’s scientific active equity team, where he was co-head of strategy. Bratteberg has also held roles with Barclays Global Investors. Bank of Cyprus UK Nick Fahy has been appointed chief executive of the bank. He [...]
Gresham Computing prospers in wake of Clareti software boom August 10, 2015 GRESHAM Computing, which makes software for investment banks, yesterday said strong sales of flagship product Clareti Transaction Control (CTC) had propelled a jump in revenue. Total revenues were £7.1m for the half year, up from £6.4m last year, bolstered by group software sales rising 38 per cent. CTC sales rose 247 per cent alone, accounting [...]
Publicis boss Maurice Levy says Brexit would be a “bloody disaster” August 10, 2015 The boss of one of the world’s largest advertising firms has said that it would be a “bloody disaster” if the UK left the European Union. Maurice Levy, the chief exec and chairman of Publicis Group, accused Prime Minister David Cameron of opening Pandora’s box by seeking to renegotiate the terms of Britain’s relationship with [...]
Neil Woodford’s new fund surpasses Invesco Perpetual Income in fund size August 5, 2015 Just over a year after star fund manager Neil Woodford left Invesco to set up his new fund, Woodford Equity Income has overtaken the fund he previously managed in fund size. Launched in 2014, the fund is now worth £6.74bn in size to the end of July compared to Invesco Perpetual Income’s size of £6.45bn [...]
London Stock Exchange Group profit soars on integration of Russell Investments August 5, 2015 Shares rose 2.44 per cent after the group's first half earnings were boosted by its recently acquired global indexes business FTSE-Russell. The figures The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) said pre-tax profit in the six months ending 30 June rose 20 per cent to £205.2m, mainly due to strong growth in its global indexes business FTSE-Russell. [...]
Axa Real Estate raises €2.9bn for its ninth European debt fund August 3, 2015 AXA REAL Estate Investment Managers said yesterday it has raised €2.9bn (£2.04bn) for its ninth debt fund, making it one of the largest commercial real estate (CRE) senior loan funds in Europe. The asset manager said the senior debt fund CRE9 had exceeded its €2.5bn target at final close after receiving commitments from 18 institutional [...]
City Moves for 04 August 2015 | Who’s switching jobs August 3, 2015 Legal & General Investment Management Andrzej Pioch has been promoted to co-fund manager in the investment management company’s multi-index team. He joined Legal & General Investment Management in July 2014 as fund manager from Aviva Investors. Argo Group International Holdings The underwriter of specialty insurance and reinsurance products has appointed Steve McGill as global head [...]
After yesterday’s stock market bloodbath, is now a good time to invest in Greece? August 3, 2015 George Efstathopoulos, co-portfolio manager at Fidelity Solutions, says Yes As Greece’s equity market re-opened with a thud this week, it’s clear that the country continues to pose considerable risks to investors. While the likelihood of Grexit has subsided significantly, it remains a possibility, and markets are likely to see continued volatility over the coming months. [...]