Glencore pares back purchase ambitions for miner Kazzinc September 25, 2012 GLENCORE has trimmed its plans for an increased stake in zinc producer Kazzinc, as it said yesterday it would acquire an extra 18.91 per cent of the firm from Verny Capital. The commodities giant, which already owns 50.7 per cent of Kazakhstan-focused Kazzinc, was originally targeting an acquisition of up to 48.73 per cent from [...]
Quintain deputy chief executive steps down to start up new firm September 25, 2012 QUINTAIN announced yesterday that its deputy chief executive Becky Worthington is to step down after 14 years with the developer to set up her own firm. Worthington – Quintain’s finance director until her promotion in May – will leave the company on 31 October. Some of her duties will go to Richard Stearn, who was [...]
Xstrata wants reassurance on management September 25, 2012 THE BOARD of Xstrata is looking for reassurance from Glencore that the billed “merger of equals” does not become a takeover after Xstrata chief Mick Davis steps down, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. Discussions surrounding the merger are currently focused on management succession after Davis departs and the retention of key [...]
Knight Frank says best London property thriving despite dip September 23, 2012 PRIME property in central London hit a new record high in September, according to estate agent Knight Frank, as it continued its robust recovery from the post-financial crisis slump. Prices grew 10 per cent in the last 12 months, the firm said today, pushing the index to a point some 51 per cent higher than [...]
Mentors are vital for entrepreneurs September 23, 2012 AT THE recent Made entrepreneur festival in Sheffield, business and enterprise minister Michael Fallon announced that the Mentorsme online portal – which connects mentors and mentees – has over 22,000 accessible mentors. That’s an awful lot of knowledge on tap. Setting up a business involves serious trials and tribulations. So speaking with someone who has [...]
Jefferies earnings boosted by bank’s stake in Knight Capital September 20, 2012 JEFFERIES Group reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit yesterday, with the investment bank’s stake in Knight Capital Group boosting earnings and trading revenue. Jefferies acquired a 22.8 per cent stake in Knight Capital last month as part of a rescue plan after the market-making firm suffered a trading loss of $440m (£271.6m) due to a software glitch. [...]
US lawmakers review high frequency trading networks September 20, 2012 US SENATORS launched a probe into high frequency trading laws yesterday following the botched Facebook offering in May and the near collapse of US broker Knight Capital last month. Influential lawmaker senator Jack Reed, who leads the Senate Banking subcommittee on securities, said market problems related to HFT programmes needed to be reviewed. “These failures [...]
Best of the Brokers September 20, 2012 RANK GROUP Peel Hunt’s Nick Batram has reiterated his “Buy” recommendation on leisure firm Rank Group and upped his target price to 206p. He says the firm has “evolved from a disparate leisure conglomerate” to be “a focused, fully regulated, gaming group with a high quality management”. Batram believes there is a 50 per cent [...]
Dow Jones hits five-year high in light trading September 11, 2012 THE DOW Jones Industrial Average closed at the highest level in nearly five years yesterday in a lightly traded session before key decisions in Germany and the United States that could give markets a further boost. Energy, industrial and financial firms led the advance. Contributing to gains by the Dow, shares of IBM rose 1.15 [...]
Glencore confident its £34bn bid can win over Xstrata shareholders September 9, 2012 SENIOR figures at Glencore, the international trading house, were growing increasingly confident last night they could win the backing of a majority of Xstrata shareholders for their new £34bn takeover plans despite the opposition of a couple of vocal institutional holders. Detailed proposals for the takeover are expected to be revealed to the market as [...]