Why all sides need to stop and relax June 7, 2011 IT is time for the City to get its act together: it is in danger of ceasing to function as a proper, efficient platform for raising money for firms seeking to go public, an untenable situation. As our special investigation on pages 1-4 of today’s newspaper demonstrates, the market for corporate floats has almost ground [...]
London IPO market is close to seizure June 7, 2011 GLENCORE recently pulled off a $11bn flotation, London’s largest ever, but the past few months have otherwise been pretty desultory in terms of new companies coming to market. Some blame last year’s flotation of Ocado, the online grocer, for starting the rot. Ocado’s share price has recovered well from its early post-IPO malaise but bankers [...]
Commodities lift FTSE and offset weak banks and travel June 6, 2011 STRENGTH in commodity stocks helped Britain’s leading share index edge higher yesterday, offsetting weakness in banks and travel stocks, as some of the recent gloom lifted in the absence of further glum data. The FTSE 100 closed up 8.15 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 5,863.16 points, adding to Friday’s 0.1 per cent gain after [...]
Stocks suffer on global growth fears June 6, 2011 Stocks have fallen this morning on a hangover from weak US employment data on Friday, and falls in Asian markets overnight. US non-farm payroll data showing just 54,000 new jobs were created in May shocked the markets, leaving the Nasdaq 1.5 per cent lower. In Asia, the Nikkei fell to an 11-week closing low today [...]
A man on a mission to the Moonpig.com June 5, 2011 MOONPIG was a nickname I had at school,” says Nick Jenkins. “I needed a two syllable domain name, something comic and unique on Google.” It took him four days of checking potential names on Network Solutions to stumble upon Moonpig. Now a household name, it is also one of the UK’s fastest growing and most [...]
EIB calls halt to Glencore finance May 31, 2011 THE European Investment Bank (EIB) has suspended new financing to Glencore over concerns about the mining giant’s alleged tax avoidance in Zambia. The bank, which is the European Union’s financing arm, had already agreed to lend $50m (£30 million) to Glencore to renovate a smelter and reduce sulphur dioxide emissions at its Mopani Copper Mines [...]
JP Morgan is City’s number one adviser May 30, 2011 JP MORGAN Cazenove has maintained its place at the top of the City’s broker advisory tables despite losing five clients since last quarter, according to the latest figures from financial data firm Hemscott. The company now has 239 clients – still a fair way off its peak of 251 in early 2010 but streets ahead [...]
Strong miners give FTSE a boost May 26, 2011 STRENGTH in heavyweight mining stocks helped Britain’s top share index edge higher yesterday, countering slippage by banks on Eurozone debt concerns. At the close, the FTSE 100 was up 10.9 points, or 0.2 per cent at 5,880.99, well below a morning spike above the psychologically important 5,900 level to 5,910.77. “The overall impression … is [...]
Banks lead the FTSE to small gains as traders eye Eurozone May 25, 2011 BRITAIN’S top shares edged higher yesterday, led by banks on bargain hunting, but the prevailing mood was cautious with some analysts and traders pessimistic about the long-term prospects for equities. The FTSE 100 ended up 11.73 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 5,870.14 helped by some sense of relief that there was no deterioration in [...]
FTSE dips on eurozone fears and slipping commodities May 25, 2011 The FTSE 100 dipped today as jittery investors lost confidence in commodities and remained nervous over the eurozone debt crisis. With raw material prices dropping amid concerns over a slowdown in China, riskier assets were being shunned. Shares in commodities giant Glencore fell as much as three per cent on their Hong Kong trading debut [...]