Lord Browne shortlisted for the National Grid chair May 15, 2011 FORMER BP boss Lord Browne of Madingley is among the front-runners for the chairmanship of National Grid, a source said yesterday. Browne was approached by the company about taking the job a few months ago, and is now thought to be up against just one other candidate for the role. Browne, who left BP in [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD in association with GFT May 15, 2011 COMPANY NEWS ● On Monday, Phoenix will release its first quarter trading update. The FTSE 250 insurance group specialises in the management and acquisition of closed life and pension funds. ● On Tuesday, Vodafone releases its final results. Analysts expect profits to be down on 2010 figures. ● There are plenty of AGMs throughout the [...]
Glencore to close book on £6bn float early May 13, 2011 Commodities trader Glencore will close the books for its planned $11bn (£6bn) initial public offering a day ahead of schedule, underscoring strong investor demand for its shares despite volatile commodity markets. According to details in a term sheet seen by Thomson Reuters IFR and confirmed by sources close to the deal, subscriptions to the IPO [...]
Commodity rout shakes Glencore May 12, 2011 A THIRD day of vicious turbulence in commodity trading saw investors sell out of energy and metals yesterday, causing market turmoil and even putting pressure on Glencore’s giant flotation plans. Signs that demand for raw materials is slowing in the world’s biggest industrial economies spooked investors, pushing Brent crude down three per cent to $112.33 [...]
New issues strive to win back trust May 10, 2011 What should we make of the London market for new issues, where private companies appeal for funds from equity investors such as BlackRock, Gartmore and the sovereign wealth houses? Currently we have the spectre of Glencore, the commodities trading group, almost effortlessly getting away an $11bn (£6.7bn) fund-raising, while smaller, less well known companies fail [...]
Bankers bow to Glasenberg in Glencore float May 9, 2011 There are an incredible 23 different investment banks providing advice to Glencore on its bumper London/Hong Kong flotation and yet, according to those close to the discussions, the proceedings are being led by only one man, Glencore’s 54 year-old chief executive Ivan Glasenberg. Maybe it’s precisely because there are so many banks that none in [...]
Glencore float helps Nat Rothschild climb the list May 8, 2011 CITY high flyers feature prominently in this year’s Sunday Times rich list, as the driver of Britain’s economy continues to grow the wealth of the finance sector’s super rich. There are now 180 financial multimillionaires in the list, up ten on last year. Banking dynasty heir Nat Rothschild has usurped the wealth of his father [...]
COMMODITIES HIT BY CRASH May 5, 2011 Commodity prices suffered a dramatic slump yesterday as oil fell below the psychologically important $100 a barrel mark in the US last night. The accelerating crash brought into sharp focus a commodity sell-off that has now spanned four days and has seen silver lose almost a quarter of its value. Investors scrabbled for other safe-haven [...]
Investors scrambling to snap up Glencore shares May 5, 2011 INVESTORS have snapped up the chance to buy a piece of Glencore, with the commodities giant reportedly seeing the book for its $60bn (£36.6bn) float fully covered on the first day yesterday. All $11bn worth of the trader’s shares on sale are said to be accounted for already, just a day after its 1,600-page prospectus [...]
Glencore five worth $23bn May 4, 2011 FIVE directors of Glencore, the world’s biggest commodities trader, will be turned into paper billionaires overnight when the firm floats on the London and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges in two weeks. Glencore’s hotly anticipated 1,600-page prospectus was unveiled yesterday, revealing for the first time the true extent of the fortunes amassed by its biggest players. [...]