Life is returning to the Docklands property market May 28, 2009 Nowhere gratifies the spirit of the property doom-mongerers like Docklands – loaded as it is with architectural emblems of the boom years; a development graveyard of flats left empty as banks fell and buyers took fright. In other words, a homebuyers’ nightmare. This, however, is proving an unfairly dim view to take. Charlie Fisher, sales [...]
Brewin still upbeat after profit dive May 28, 2009 STOCKBROKER and investment manager Brewin Dolphin yesterday struck a positive chord for the sector as it declared markets were over the worst of the economic turbulence, despite posting a 38 per cent fall in interim pre-tax profits. Brewin Dolphin said pre-tax profit for the six months to the end of March fell to £13.6m after [...]
Apple jumps as Dow Jones rallies May 26, 2009 US stocks climbed more than 2 per cent yesterday as data showing the biggest monthly jump in consumer confidence in six years lifted hopes of an economic rebound, and a brokerage upgrade of Apple drove sharp gains on the Nasdaq. Apple’s shares closed nearly 7 per cent higher after Morgan Stanley said the iPhone will [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 21, 2009 AltiumThe investment banking group has appointed a number of new hires to its London team. Steve Medlicott, pictured, a top-rated capital goods analyst, joins from Singer Capital Markets, while Andrew Burdis joins the institutional sales team from Numis. Ian Williams joins the economics and strategy team from Blue Oar Securities, Clare Banham joins the equity [...]
Sport on TV May 19, 2009 Cricket: Friends Provident Trophy, Warwickshire v Kent, Sky Sports 1, 10.30am. Tennis: Guinot Mary Cohr Masters, Andy Murray v Paul-Henri Mathieu, British Eurosport 2, from 12.30pm. Racing: Lingfield, Kelso At The Races, 2pm; Sedgfield & Worcester, 5.30pm. Football: Uefa Cup final, Werder Bremen v Shakhtar Donesk, ITV4, 7pm (ko 7.45pm). Speedway: British Final 2009, Sky [...]
West Brom denies it is in loans crisis May 17, 2009 WEST Bromwich Building Society yesterday denied that it is on the brink of failure after reports emerged that the Financial Services Authority (FSA) was seeking a “white-knight” bidder in a last-ditch effort to save the 160-year-old mutual. The regulator was said yesterday to have been so alarmed after seeing an early version of the lender’s [...]
MPS: CITY STILL DOESN’T GET IT May 14, 2009 THE CITY launched a counter-offensive against MPs yesterday, after the Treasury select committee criticised Lord Adair Turner’s review of regulatory reform and cast doubt on Sir David Walker’s suitability to lead a review of corporate governance in the banking sector. The influential group of MPs concluded in its report on the role of remuneration in the [...]
A Barclays sell-off would be a mistake May 14, 2009 IF Barclays does end up selling its Barclays Global Investors division to a rival such as BlackRock, it will be faced with two major problems. The first would be one of credibility: how can Barclays continue to operate as a universal bank if it lacks an asset manager? Selling iShares makes some sense; the business was [...]
Ratings firms slated in MPs’ crunch report May 14, 2009 CREDIT ratings agencies (CRAs) should bear some of the responsibility for financial instability, the Treasury committee said yesterday, as it revealed its report on corporate governance and remuneration at financial services firms in the wake of the credit crunch. The committee, led by Labour attack dog John McFall, said it was “deeply concerned by the [...]
CITY GIVES ITS VERDICT ON MPS’ FINDINGS May 14, 2009 CREDIT RATING AGENCIES“We remain deeply concerned by the conflict of interests faced by credit rating agencies and have seen little evidence of the industry tackling this problem with any sense of urgency. It is worrying that markets appear to have used credit rating agencies for more than they were designed to do.” AUDITORS“We note that [...]