Reckitt beats forecasts due to new lines July 29, 2009 CLEANING products group Reckitt Benckiser yesterday raised its full-year targets after beating forecasts with a 29 per cent jump in second-quarter profit but investors were focused on the loss of its US licence for Suboxone, a drug used to treat opiate addiction. Reckitt shares had dipped on investor concerns that the British company will lose [...]
CITY MOVES Who’s switching jobs August 18, 2009 RBC Capital MarketsThe corporate and investment banking arm of the Royal Bank of Canada has hired Phil Halper as a director in its Scandinavian rates trading team, based in London. Halper joins the firm with 15 years of market experience, having most recently worked at the Royal Bank of Scotland, where he was a senior [...]
RICH TASTES June 14, 2009 GU, the upmarket chocolate dessert maker, is set to become even richer after receiving several approaches for the business. Founder James Averdieck founded the group in 2003 with just £100,000. The business is now valued at £50m. Private equity groups including Darwin are said to be interested, as well as trade giant Unilever.
Banks gear up to report on the first half of a tough year August 2, 2009 The market’s attention is likely to be dominated this week by the banks, which will be reporting their first-half results during the five days. But there will be plenty more for investors to sink their teeth into, with insurers, bookmakers and industrials all on the radar too. Barclays and HSBC kick the week off this [...]
Bank decision boosts market as the bankwagon rolls on August 6, 2009 THE LARGE-CAP index closed higher yesterday, driven by strength from banks after the Bank of England (BoE) surprised markets by expanding its quantitive easing plan to £175bn. The FTSE 100 closed 43.40 points higher, or 0.9 per cent, at 4,690.53, after hitting a fresh 2009 intraday high of 4,729.58 following the BoE announcement. The BoE [...]
City pair on Sainsbury’s shopping list June 21, 2009 THE race is on at J Sainsbury to choose a successor to replace Sir Philip Hampton as chairman before the retailer’s July annual meeting. The £5.6bn supermarket giant is understood to have shortlisted Burberry chairman John Peace and Thomson Reuters deputy chairman Niall FitzGerald. The search for the £396,000 a year post has been carried [...]
THE LONDON REPORT June 24, 2009 MINERS and banks were buoyed by better US durable goods data yesterday, offsetting weaker food retailers and producers and driving the FTSE 100 up by 1.2 per cent, or 49.96 points, to close at 4,279.98. The index has gained more than 23 per cent since hitting a six-year low in March, but is still down [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 19, 2009 GorkanaThe PR and journalist portal has hired former Unilever board director Ralph Kugler as chairman as it ramps up its growth plans. Kugler spent over 28 years with Unilever, including as regional president of the firm’s businesses in Europe and Latin America, and chief executive of its Thai and Malaysian units. He is also currently [...]
Henderson Global names new head of 150m property fund May 26, 2009 HENDERSON Global Investors has named Cameron Fraser as head of its £150m institutional UK property fund, replacing Ludo MacKenzie who is jumping ship to become a partner at rival property fund Melford Capital Partners. Fraser is joining from CBRE Investors, where he was manager of the Unilever account and oversaw the growth of its fund [...]
Sweet lift for Finsbury on takeover talk June 1, 2009 CAKE maker Finsbury Foods yesterday confirmed it had received a preliminary bid approach, stirring investors and its share price. But the firm said that talks were in the very early stages and said there was “considerable doubt that an offer will be forthcoming from this party”. The group, which owns the rights to Weight Watchers’ [...]