FTSE slides lower as commodities and banks hit by economic worries August 20, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index fell yesterday, easing further from four-month highs hit last week, weighed by a slide in banks and commodity stocks as expectations for stimulus measures in China and Europe took a slight knock. The European Central Bank sought to quash speculation about the shape of its new bond-buying plans and the Bundesbank [...]
Market awaits public finance and GDP news August 19, 2012 HIGHLIGHTS for the economic week ahead will be tomorrow’s release of UK’s public finance data, followed by the revision of the second quarter’s GDP figures on Friday. While analysts fear there will only be a small surplus for the July finances figure – or possibly a loss – market watchers believe there will be some [...]
Trader Glencore strikes Bellzone iron ore deal August 9, 2012 Glencore has struck a deal to buy at least half of the output from Guinea’s Forecariah iron ore mine as part of the commodities trader’s drive to grab a bigger share of the lucrative market for the steelmaking ingredient. The world’s largest diversified commodities trader said today it had reached a deal with Bellzone Mining [...]
Mining gains prop up FTSE August 9, 2012 Gains in heavyweight miners kept Britain’s main share index flat this morning, as solid results from Randgold Resources and expectations of fresh stimulus measures from China propped up the equity markets. The FTSE 100 was down 0.08 per cent, as Randgold rose 3.1 per cent after reporting a 10 per cent rise in second-quarter profit. [...]
Xstrata puts cuts over Glencore August 7, 2012 MINER Xstrata is pushing on with plans to slash unit costs by $390m (£249m) this year despite the “distraction” of Glencore’s long-running attempts to merge, it said yesterday. The mining giant, which reported a 42 per cent drop in operating profit to $2.45bn, cut unit costs in real terms by $105m in the first half [...]
Xstrata H1 earnings drop, defers $1bn of spending August 7, 2012 Anglo-Swiss miner Xstrata, in the throes of a $26bn (£16.7bn) takeover bid, posted a smaller-than-expected drop in profit despite the impact of weaker prices and reduced copper production, and announced plans to cut spending for the year. Xstrata’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) for the first six months of 2012 totalled just [...]
LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR August 5, 2012 SINCE City A.M.’s last awards ceremony in 2011, the legal sector has undergone one of the biggest shake-ups in recent years with the introduction of the Legal Services Act. The introduction of Alternative Business Structures (ABS) on 3 January was a formal acknowledgment of the ripples of change that have been spreading across the legal [...]
Analysts mulling the prospect of Glencore-Xstrata deal failing August 2, 2012 THE MERGER between Glencore and Xstrata is increasingly likely to fall apart, according to analysts. Liberum Capital has lowered its view and given the deal a 56 per cent chance of succeeding, adding in a note that the markets have already broadly priced in fear of the merger failing. The deal was announced in February, [...]
INVESTMENT BANK OF THE YEAR August 2, 2012 2012 will go down as an immensely difficult year for investment banks. Profitability came down as most banks in most markets saw a fall-off in activity. Mergers & acquisition activity fell 16 per cent globally; equity capital markets business was down 31 per cent and many IPO markets were effectively closed. Facebook’s controversial IPO in [...]
DEALMAKER OF THE YEAR August 1, 2012 INVESTMENT bankers have had a difficult year, with London’s IPO market virtually closed, and M&A deals few and far between. Our fourth short-list for the third annual City A.M. awards, though, highlights some superb individual performances in such difficult markets. Jonathan Rowley, for example, was on at least three M&A deals in just one week [...]