FTSE drained by Spain and greece woes May 18, 2012 THE FTSE 100 tracked losses across Europe this morning as fast moving events in Greece and Spain drained investor confidence. Moody’s downgraded Spanish banks overnight and Fitch cut its debt rating for Greece as the Eurozone crisis deepened. Spain has lurched into recession and its borrowing costs jumped at an auction yesterday while its banks [...]
Bargain hunters help lift FTSE May 25, 2012 The FTSE 100 nosed up this morning as bargain hunters snapped up stocks which have been hit in recent sessions. On Monday the blue chip index was at a six-month low but has clawed back ground since then. Gains in Asia and on Wall Street overnight also served to lift sentiment. Insurer Aviva was the [...]
PROFILE: ALEX WILMOT-SITWELL April 25, 2012 Alex Wilmot-Sitwell is a household name in the City of London. He was born in 1961, the son of Peter, a former SG Warburg chairman. SG Warburg may have disappeared as a brand after the firm’s acquisition by Swiss bank UBS, but through Alex’s efforts the Wilmot-Sitwell name has been more enduring in the world of [...]
WHO WILL GET YOUR VOTE? INTERVIEWS BY CLARE HILL April 23, 2012 GORDON BOTTEN RELIANCE I’ll be voting Boris – I just think he’s got a lot more to offer than Ken. He’s spent a lot of money, but I think that we can see an improvement on public transport. JERRY PRINGLE MILES SMITH Boris’s sense of humour is just the best, and that’s what we are, [...]
Inflation falls at last – but the damage has already been done June 20, 2012 AT last, Britain’s inflation problem is abating. Prices are still increasing too quickly – inflation remains at 3.1 per cent on the retail price index and 2.8 per cent on the consumer price index, painful as wages are growing far less quickly. But the direction of travel is reassuring. The Bank of England – by [...]
Inflation falls at last – but the damage has already been done June 19, 2012 AT last, Britain’s inflation problem is abating. Prices are still increasing too quickly – inflation remains at 3.1 per cent on the retail price index and 2.8 per cent on the consumer price index, painful as wages are growing far less quickly. But the direction of travel is reassuring. The Bank of England – by [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 14, 2012 Grant Thornton The professional services firm has appointed Andy Morgan as a partner in its London corporate finance team. Morgan is a technology expert and has over 17 years’ experience in mid-market mergers and acquisitions. He joins from PwC, where he led its UK technology, media and communications sector team. Mazars John McMahon has been [...]
Canopius eyes Omega takeover April 4, 2012 LLOYD’S of London insurer Omega yesterday announced that is has received a potential offer for the firm – from a rival that made a far more generous bid at the end of last year. Fellow Lloyd’s firm Canopius has made an offer of 65p per share in cash for the company, well below the 83p per [...]
WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 15, 2012 Bank of Ireland Adrian Olsen has been appointed as Bank of Ireland’s new head of business banking in the UK. He has been with the bank for 12 years as a managing director and head of global project finance for its UK corporate banking division. Olsen has also previously held senior positions at Dresdner Kleinwort [...]
LONDON REPORT May 13, 2012 THIS week will see a string of stormy annual meetings, which will be closely watched for signs that the “shareholder spring” is taking hold. The market is also due to digest some key earnings reports on Thursday and Facebook’s long-awaited US float on Friday. However, today looks set to be relatively quiet on the corporate [...]