Advisers Nokia’s bond issue October 23, 2012 YACINE AMOR BANK OF AMERICA MERRILL LYNCH YACINE Amor led the team on Nokia’s bond issue at Bank of America Merill Lynch (BofAML), guiding Europe’s second largest convertible bond deal of this year. Amor has 14 years of investment banking experience and is currently head of equity-linked origination for the EMEA region. Prior to joining BofAML [...]
Psychology is lurking beneath every disappointing corporate merger November 13, 2012 INTERNATIONAL Airlines Group (IAG), formed in January 2011 through a merger between British Airways and Iberia, is in difficulty. Operating losses at IAG in the first nine months of 2012 were €169M (£135m). Shareholders have a right to feel disgruntled. They might question IAG’s revenue forecasting methods, and how realistic their projections have been. Or [...]
There is room for two on the US’s east coast November 18, 2012 Hopping over a grate steaming with hot air from the metro system below, I stroll past the gleaming plate glass wrapped around the ground floor of the towering skyscrapers of downtown. As I swing open the door of the city’s chicest fashion boutique, the rooftop bar next door breaks through the traffic noise with an [...]
What the other papers say this morning November 8, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Panmure hires team from Matrix Panmure Gordon has returned to the investment fund business by hiring a team from Matrix Corporate Capital, as the broker seeks to build on its return to profitability without inflating its cost base. Most of Matrix’s existing investment funds team, which includes market makers, specialist analysts and sales [...]
City Moves | Who’s switching Jobs October 10, 2012 Heartwood Kevin Rait has been appointed as intermediary client director at Heartwood Investment Management, the investment management services group. Rait has 12 years’ experience in working with financial intermediaries, and will help Heartwood to develop its distribution strategy to serve financial advisors. He arrives from Arbuthnot & Co, where he launched its discretionary fund management proposition [...]
Steady climb to the top for British Airways January 3, 2012 BRITISH Airways had a difficult time in 2010 with strikes, snow and the Icelandic ash cloud all causing flight delays and cancellations – and the first two of these impacted heavily on consumer perceptions on YouGov’s BrandIndex. The brand’s Index score (a composite of six key measures of perception: general impression, quality, value, corporate reputation, [...]
Virgin Atlantic eyes airline alliance October 26, 2012 Virgin Atlantic is close to joining an alliance with other airlines, marking a turning point after 30 years of fierce independence, according to founder Sir Richard Branson. The tycoon told reporters in India that “we may finally give up and become part of a bigger alliance”, with further details expected in the next three to [...]
IAG mulls stake in American to safeguard Oneworld alliance August 5, 2012 BRITISH AIRWAYS owner IAG is considering taking a stake in beleaguered US carrier American Airlines, according to the firm’s chief executive Willie Walsh. Taking a small holding in the firm in order to protect the Oneworld ticketing alliance is “something we are going to look at”, Walsh told the Financial Times. “If we can make [...]
How to manage your risk by using a pairs strategy November 19, 2012 MARKETS are fraught with uncertainty: the fiscal cliff, conflict in the Middle East, the Eurozone crisis, and slowing growth in China are just some of the problems that could potentially derail equity markets. Therefore, traders must use risk management techniques to mitigate their risk exposure. But if investors suddenly sought safety by moving their money [...]
Popularity of defensive stocks sees FTSE rise but Spanish fears remain October 3, 2012 BRITAIN’S benchmark share index rose yesterday, driven by gains in “defensive” stocks seen as the most resilient to an economic downturn, although traders said concerns over Spain’s debt crisis could limit gains. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed up 0.3 per cent, or 16.36 points higher, at 5,825.81 points. Increases in heavyweight “defensive” stocks such [...]