General Election 2015: How will it affect the City? While a Conservative government is welcomed the Brexit risk looms large May 8, 2015 Investors cheered as it was revealed Britain would be governed by a Tory government for the next five years. While this brings greater stability, as well as more business friendly policies a number of challenges lie ahead. Here's what the City had to say: The economists: Economists think a Tory government without a formal coalition [...]
Best of the Brokers for 11 September 2014 September 10, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND Investec has upgraded to “hold” from “sell”, and raised the target price to 355p from 340p. Investec expects a no vote in the Scottish referendum to ease recent share underperformance, and continues to expect a gradual recovery across RBS’s [...]
Christmas quiz 2015: How much do you remember of the year in business, politics and economics? December 23, 2015 Deloitte chief economist Ian Stewart asks some of the trickiest business, politics and economics questions of the year. Answers can be found below. 1 According to the OECD, Mexicans work the longest hours. In 2014, the average Mexican worker put in 2,228 hours, equivalent to a 43-hour working week with no holidays. Which country’s workers [...]
London Report: China data weighs on FTSE but Scottish No poll helps firms September 11, 2014 BRITAIN’S top shares dropped yesterday as concerns over demand from China took their toll on miners, while clothing retailer Next fell after its results underwhelmed the market. The FTSE 100 index closed down 30.49 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 6,799.62 points. Weak Chinese inflation data, which showed more signs of cooling growth in the [...]
Scottish independence: Former Sainsbury’s boss warns of higher prices if there’s a Yes vote September 12, 2014 In a fresh blow for the pro-independence campaign, the former CEO of Sainsbury's Justin King has warned Scots they will pay higher prices in the shops if they vote to abandon the union of 18 September. Speaking to the BBC's Robert Peston, King said: It is more expensive to do business in Scotland today. Business [...]
SPFL agrees £2m Ladbrokes sponsorship deal May 13, 2015 After three seasons without a main sponsor, the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) has finally found a backer: it's agreed a deal with bookmaker Ladbrokes. The SPFL said the deal, which comes into effect at the beginning of next season, was the "biggest ever of its kind in Scottish football" although it did not specify the [...]
GlaxoSmithKline to name Sir Philip Hampton chair September 24, 2014 SHARES in pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) rose slightly in late afternoon trading yesterday after it emerged that Sir Philip Hampton was likely to be named as its new chairman. GSK is likely to announce Hampton’s move in the next two days – and with such a large job he is expected to eventually give up [...]
FTSE gets a lift after St James’s reports results – London Report October 30, 2014 BRITAIN’S top equity index yesterday staged a late rally to recover from losses earlier in the day, with wealth management group St James’s Place outperforming after strong results. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index had been in negative territory for much of the day. The late recovery enabled the FTSE to close up by 0.2 per [...]
Labour deal with Nicola Sturgeon will result in higher taxes and risks interest rate rise, warns Deutsche Bank April 13, 2015 A Labour-SNP deal after the General Election risks moving Labour even further to left with heavy tax increases, less austerity and could result in rising interest, according to Deutsche Bank. The top investment bank made the warning in an updated briefing note on the possible outcomes following the General Election. Deutsche Bank adds that no [...]
Lord Smith’s SSE board departure brought forward March 18, 2015 SCOTTISH businessman Lord Robert Smith of Kelvin has brought forward his departure as chairman of energy giant SSE to become chairman of industrial group IMI. The announcement follows current IMI chairman Roberto Quarta’s decision to step down at the group’s annual general meeting in May. “We agreed unanimously that Robert, who in addition to his [...]