BEST of the BROKERS May 13, 2012 DAILY MAIL & GENERAL TRUST Peel Hunt has upgraded the media group from “sell” to “hold” and has raised its target price slightly, from 409p to 412p. The broker thinks DMGT could raise cash by selling or floating its Risk Management Solutions business, which it values at between £518m and £605m. While Peel Hunt still [...]
FTSE slides on banking shares and scepticism over EU leaders’ summit June 26, 2012 BRITAIN’S top shares dipped into negative territory in a lacklustre session yesterday, hampered by banking stocks, with market movements likely to remain muted ahead of a summit of European leaders later in the week. While a two-day summit in Brussels on 28-29 June was very much the market focus, traders pointed to an element of [...]
RBS to repay £163bn of loans to government May 3, 2012 ROYAL Bank of Scotland (RBS) is set to announce today that it will finish repaying £163bn in emergency loans it owes to the UK and US governments. RBS, which is 82 per cent owned by the British government, will unveil the plan when it publishes its first quarter results today – which are expected to show a slight [...]
RBS to repay £163bn of loans to government May 3, 2012 ROYAL Bank of Scotland (RBS) is set to announce today that it will finish repaying £163bn in emergency loans it owes to the UK and US governments. RBS, which is 82 per cent owned by the British government, will unveil the plan when it publishes its first quarter results today – which are expected to show a slight [...]
RBS picks a second Australian banking boss for its retail arm May 7, 2012 ROYAL BANK of Scotland has once again turned to the Australian banking sector to recruit a boss to lead its UK retail banking arm. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) said yesterday its group executive of retail banking, Ross McEwan, has resigned and will join RBS to replace Brian Hartzer, who was hired from another Australian [...]
FTSE up after week-long dip May 21, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index halted a week-long slide yesterday, as investors stumped up the courage to buy in on the dips of badly beaten equities, although the murky outlook for global growth kept gains to a minimum. London’s blue chip index closed 36.86 points higher, or up 0.7 per cent at 5,304.48, having fallen 5.5 [...]
Four Seasons closes in on a new debt deal with lenders April 25, 2012 THE FUTURE of Four Seasons Health Care, Britain’s largest care homes operator, is set to be decided in the coming days following talks with possible bidders. Guy Hands’ Terra Firma is believed to be in talks with Four Seasons, as well as a consortium of Patron Capital and Formation Capital. Four Seasons is trading profitably [...]
RBS mulls share split in bid to cut volatility April 24, 2012 ROYAL Bank of Scotland wants to slash the number of shares it has in issue to reduce price volatility and enable a more consistent valuation of the bank. RBS, which is 82 per cent taxpayer-owned after being rescued in 2008, plans to give shareholders one new ordinary share for every 10 shares they currently hold. “The [...]
Agius bows out after losing support July 1, 2012 CITY GRANDEE Marcus Agius, 65, who is poised to resign as group chairman of Barclays, was seen as a welcome but unexpected addition to the banking giant’s board when he first joined from the smaller Lazard in 2006. At that time, Agius was at the height of a lengthy 34-year career at the blue-blooded advisory [...]
Palamon gets set for payout with debt deal April 30, 2012 PRIVATE equity firm Palamon has completed the refinancing of its English language school group Cambridge Education, the first time in more than a year that a private equity house has effectively tapped British banks to pay itself a dividend on an investment. Palamon Capital Partners’ deal with Royal Bank of Scotland for a new £23m [...]