THE WEEK AHEAD February 26, 2012 Today A diverse group of FTSE 100 reporters will kick off a busy week in the corporate calendar this morning, with banking giant HSBC likely to be top of many investors’ watch list. Analysts are expecting the bank’s geographical diversity to offset any potential weakness in it investment banking division, with profits expected to hit [...]
Capita lifted by its strong order book February 23, 2012 A STRING of contract wins and a buoyant sales market are making outsourcing giant Capita confident of better growth prospects this year, after a six per cent profits rise for 2011 underpinned by acquisitions. Capita, which runs contact centres and customer services for customers such as BBC TV licensing, The Pension Services and the Criminal [...]
FTSE inches upwards as US figures propel commodities February 23, 2012 BRITAIN’S top shares rose yesterday as investors welcomed robust corporate earnings newsflow, with Royal Bank of Scotland spearheading an advance in banking stocks after the lender unveiled in-line full-year results. The UK benchmark closed up 21.34 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 5,937.89. RBS, up 5.1 per cent, was the second-top blue-chip riser, recovering after [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS February 20, 2012 SCHRODERS Citi downgrades the asset manager from neutral to “sell” and increases its target price on the stock to £13.70 from £13.10, after a year-to-date rally of 18 per cent in the value of its shares. The broker says that Schroders – and fund managers in general – need to see near-term fund flow recovery [...]
Weir stock is most shorted on FTSE 100 February 15, 2012 ENGINEERING firm Weir has become the most shorted stock on the FTSE 100, as investors bet the company’s share price will be dented by weak demand for specialist mining equipment. Information provided by Data Explorers showed that 13.48 per cent of shares are out on loan – double the amount that were shorted only three [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 26, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES OUTSOURCER SERCO TO CUT 500 JOBS Serco, the FTSE 100 outsourcer, is to overhaul its management structure, axeing at least 500 jobs, as it adapts to tougher market conditions in the UK, according to people close to the company. The group, which runs services including London’s bicycle hire scheme and four prisons, is [...]
Miners fuel FTSE gains after China boost January 17, 2012 THE FTSE 100 was up this morning as better-than-expected economic data from China offset the damage caused to investor sentiment by S&P’s downgrade of the Eurozone’s rescue fund. China’s gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 8.9 per cent from 9.1 per cent in the previous quarter, beating expectations for a 8.7 per [...]
Private sector bidders line up to win MoD outsourcing contracts January 15, 2012 SUPPORT services firm Serco is in the running to win two key contracts at the Ministry of Defence. The group is believed to be battling IBM for the contract to manage back office services, such as human resources and finance, for the department. It is also thought to be up against Capita for the right [...]
Experian announces shock death of finance boss Brooks at his US home January 9, 2012 BRITISH credit information firm Experian yesterday announced the death of chief financial officer Paul Brooks (pictured right). “Paul died suddenly this weekend at his home in California. Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with Paul’s family at this time,” the company said in a statement. Brooks, 58, had been Experian’s finance chief since October 2001, [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 3, 2012 Avanti Communications Group Paul Walsh, chief executive of Diageo, has joined the board of satellite data company Avanti Communications as a non-executive director. He is also a non-executive director of FedEx Corporation and Unilever. Prior to joining Diageo, Walsh held financial and commercial positions with InterContinental Hotels and in the GrandMet food business, becoming CEO [...]