Consumer confidence will hit Dixons and Kesa June 19, 2011 ELECTRICALS giants Dixons and Kesa report their full year results this week against a grim backdrop of dwindling consumer confidence. The companies have seen households cut back on so-called “big ticket” items like washing machines and TVs, leaving them struggling to generate sales. Dixons, to report on Thursday, is in the throes of a £50m [...]
2011’s most colourful hero June 16, 2011 Film THE GREEN LANTERN Cert: 12A IN yet another comic book adaptation Ryan Reynolds stars as Hal Jordan, a vain, daredevil pilot who would be happy saving the world in only his pants. Having been chosen as the next “Green Lantern”, his mission is to stop the evil alien Parallax from taking over the universe [...]
City honoured in the Queen’s birthday list June 12, 2011 BANK of England governor Mervyn King has topped a list of City figures recognised for their services to British business, banking and finance in the Queen’s birthday honours list. This year’s honours list is weighted heavily towards recognising the contribution of the City. This is partly due to it being seen as politically unpalatable for [...]
United fans urge Glazers to favour London listing June 12, 2011 MANCHESTER UNITED supporters have welcomed suggestions the club could be floated by its owners the Glazer family – but want any listing to take place in London rather than Hong Kong. Bankers are said to have told the Glazers that the Premier League champions could be valued at as much as £1.7bn if listed in [...]
Rugby’s phoenix still on the rise June 9, 2011 ANYONE who had even whispered talk of a return to the Premiership when London Scottish were at rock bottom a decade ago would have been wheeled off by men in white coats, suspected of suffering one high tackle too many. Relegated nine divisions after an ownership disaster dragged them into administration just after the advent [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS June 8, 2011 Aberdeen Life Aberdeen Asset Management Life and Pensions, the subsidiary of Aberdeen Asset Management, has appointed Helen Webster as chief operating officer of the firm, which manages £1.9bn of assets for pension scheme and insurance clients. Webster joins from Aegon Asset Management, where she was responsible for product development and distribution, as well as a [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 5, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES PAULSON FUND FALLS 6PC IN MAY Paulson & Co, the world’s third- largest hedge fund, saw the value of its flagship fund drop close to 6 per cent in May, echoing losses across the industry. The loss tops negative returns in the first quarter at the $37bn (£22.5bn) New York-based money manager, famed [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 25, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BRANSON WANTS 600 BRANCHES OF LLOYDS Sir Richard Branson has set his sights on buying a network of branches from Lloyds Banking Group as he attempts to go head-to-head with some of the biggest banks on the UK high street. Sir Richard met António Horta-Osório, Lloyds chief executive, on Tuesday and plans [...]
One Finsbury Circus is sold May 24, 2011 The former City headquarters of BP has been sold to a real estate fund for £141.5m, the vendors said yesterday. One Finsbury Circus has been snapped up by Invesco Real Estate’s pan-European fund after months of bidding. Hermes Real Estate and LaSalle, which acted on behalf of the sellers, said the sale of the multi-let, [...]
TURTLES DITCH DAY JOB FOR HEDGE FUND BREAK May 18, 2011 SOME of the City’s brightest talents will hand in their notices this week to pursue potentially even more lucrative careers as hedge fund traders. Oxbridge graduate Will Jukes, 27, who trained at Ernst & Young before working at RBS and most recently as a freelance financial analyst, will be much missed by his well-known Westminster [...]