Hendry hedge fund soars as China slows December 12, 2011 HEDGE fund boss Hugh Hendry (pictured below) has bucked the gloom afflicting rivals and recorded stellar gains on his “China short” fund. The charismatic Glaswegian told City A.M. the fund had returned 52 per cent so far this year. The performance contrasts with a loss of 4.37 per cent for the average global hedge fund, [...]
FTSE tumbles as doubts over Eurozone deal take their toll December 12, 2011 Britain’s FTSE 100 fell in light volume yesterday, with investors selling riskier banking and mining assets as analysts concluded that the lack of detail in a European deal on fiscal union left question marks over its long-term plausibility. London’s blue-chips fell 101.35 points, or 1.8 per cent, to 5,427.86, erasing Friday’s 0.8 per cent rise, [...]
BNP hires finance chief from Fortis December 8, 2011 BNP PARIBAS yesterday named Lars Machenil, an executive with the bank’s Fortis unit, as its new finance chief and said he would take up the position in March. Machenil, an 11-year veteran of Fortis, will succeed Philippe Bordenave, who last week was named group chief operating officer. The appointment is the latest piece of an [...]
Electra mulls asset raid amid banking shake-up December 6, 2011 PRIVATE equity house Electra is considering a raid on bank assets as lenders deleverage amid the Eurozone crisis and tougher regulatory demands. Electra will look healthy businesses, as well as those with a “bad balance sheet”, chief investment officer Alex Fortescue told City A.M. The buyout group is not interested in full-scale turnaround deals, however. [...]
Shops, sun and spice: Marrakech is the perfect winter weekend getaway December 5, 2011 HAVING spent a bit of time in Morocco before, I was bracing myself. Six years ago, on a lone voyage on a rusty old ship from Algeciras in Spain to Tangier, I was accosted by three tipsy artifact sellers on board, before getting my camera pinched on arrival at the dusty old port. Further into [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 1, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES STRIKE GETS RETAIL TILLS RINGING This week’s strike proved a boon for Britain’s battered high streets, with official figures recording a 38 per cent increase in shopper numbers on Wednesday as public sector employees and parents of school-age children hit the stores. The fillip to trade was welcomed as the equivalent of “an [...]
UBS risk chief goes 11 weeks after scandal December 1, 2011 SERGIO Ermotti has swiftly made his mark as the new UBS chief executive by ousting the chief risk officer barely 11 months after she took up the post. Maureen Miskovic left the bank abruptly yesterday, 11 weeks after she was embarrassed by the discovery of $2bn (£1.27bn) of “rogue” trades. Ermotti, who was confirmed as [...]
FACT CHECKER | WITH TIM WALLACE November 30, 2011 “Public servants are being asked to accept a permanent deep cut in their living standards,” thundered TUC boss Brendan Barber. Meanwhile George Osborne described the public pay freeze up to 2015 and the one per cent cap on increases in the two years after that as “fair to those who work to pay the taxes [...]
Tesco launches second inflation linked bond November 30, 2011 TESCO Bank yesterday launched a follow-up to its sell-out retail bond, offering investors a return of retail price inflation (RPI) plus one per cent over the next eight years. The inflation-linked bond will pay interest twice a year, with the full amount repaid at maturity even if RPI has fallen. Tesco’s latest issue comes a [...]
Osborne misses a great opportunity November 30, 2011 AS ever, it was Lewis Carroll who put it best in Alice Through the Looking Glass: “The rule is, jam tomorrow and jam yesterday – but never jam today.” Even that could be too optimistic: reading between the lines of yesterday’s mini-Budget, it is clear that the UK is out of money to an even [...]