The money delusion: How I escaped the misery of my millions January 7, 2013 THE girl was absolutely gorgeous and I was thrilled to be chatting her up. It was about 2.30 in the morning and I sat with her in Jimmy’z in Monaco, a very expensive nightclub, drinking Cristal, a very expensive champagne. “What do you do?” she asked, music thumping in the background. I tried to adopt [...]
Close Bros does well but weak securities drag November 22, 2012 FINANCIAL services group Close Brothers said yesterday it has made a solid start to its new financial year, though its Winterflood Securities arm continues to suffer from low trading volumes. The FTSE 250-listed firm’s loan book has grown four per cent to £4.3bn, Close said in a trading update for the quarter to the end [...]
What the other papers say this morning November 21, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Man Group gains from prototype Man Group, the world’s second largest hedge fund manager, has shifted $1.5bn (£940m) of its flagship computerised fund AHL into an experimental new portfolio to boost ailing returns. The new vehicle, which Man has internally dubbed “evolution”, has made 18 per cent so far this year, and made [...]
What the other papers say this Morning November 1, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Israel veto ends PotashCorp merger Israel says it will block Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan’s attempt to buy rival fertiliser Israel Chemicals, derailing a $15bn (£9.3bn) deal to create the world’s largest potash producer. The veto is the latest example of growing resource nationalism, in which governments block foreign attempts to buy mining, oil, [...]
Peugeot gets state rescue as crisis deepens October 24, 2012 PSA PEUGEOT Citroen yesterday unveiled a government-backed refinancing deal for its lending arm as the struggling French automaker’s financial position deteriorated further, sending its stock to historic lows. Europe’s second-biggest automaker said it was close to an agreement with creditor banks on €11.5bn (£9.2bn) of refinancing and had won state guarantees on €7bn in further [...]
Loophole stops industry from going full speed October 4, 2012 FINALLY, some good news. Not only did car sales improve by more than expected in September, but the gains came mostly through consumer spending rather than corporate sales. But wait – a new car? That’s a pretty luxurious purchase in these straitened times, surely the squeezed middle can’t be cutting back on everything else and [...]
FTSE 100 down following losses in Asia and US September 26, 2012 The leading share index was firmly lower this morning, consolidating losses in the US and Asia as investors worried about global growth amid signs that Spain’s economy is worsening. Miners and insurers dragged the index down. CPP Group was a loser once again, shedding 7.14 per cent in early deals. Fellow insurer RSA Insurance lost [...]
AA owner gears up for mooted insurance sale September 23, 2012 ACROMAS, the private equity backed owner of AA and Saga, has taken the first step in a possible break up of its portfolio after appointing Ernst & Young to value its business – opening the door for a sale of the firms. The heavily indebted investment house has to liquidate or refinance its assets by [...]
RBS confirms Direct Line float September 14, 2012 RBS this morning confirmed plans to float its Direct Line insurance business on the London Stock Exchange in the largest share listing this year. RBS, which is 83 per cent-owned by the government, had to either sell or float the business by next year as a condition of its bailout in 2008. “We believe it [...]
As Manchester United nears its share listing, is the club likely to prosper by going public? August 8, 2012 YES Tom Cannon Manchester United’s listing raises issues at the heart of football finance. This listing values United almost 50 per cent greater than the £1.5bn it is quoted at elsewhere. But there are three ways it can be justified. First, the club has potential, especially if it can monetise its Asian fan base. Secondly, [...]