ECONOMIST VIEWS: HOW SOON WILL THE BANK OF ENGLAND BE ABLE TO NORMALISE MONETARY POLICY? September 5, 2010 PETER DIXON | COMMERZBANK “The tightness of the fiscal stance planned for 2011 suggests the Bank cannot afford to ignore it when setting rates. Global conditions are likely to remain difficult, with consequences for the UK. We think the Bank will be forced to follow the trend by holding rates to the end of next [...]
Spice set to give thumbs-up to £247m offer from Cinven by end of September September 2, 2010 UTILITIES services company Spice is expected to recommend a £247m offer from buyout house Cinven by the end of the month after announcing advanced talks yesterday. Cinven has locked Spice into exclusive discussions with a hefty break fee, meaning the prospect of an expensive bidding war with a mystery third party has receded. Spice has [...]
Bank heads towards a rift on way ahead August 15, 2010 THE Bank of England is heading towards a rift over what to do about the slowing recovery and rising inflation, according to economists. Analysts at Investec Economics expect the release of this week’s minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) last meeting to reveal that some members now want to increase the stock of quantitative [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF GO-AHEAD’S RESULTS? September 2, 2010 JOHN LAWSON | INVESTEC What it has done in a challenging market is encouraging. Its focus on maintaining the dividend is a very important sign of its confidence and commitment. Right now nobody knows what the government is going to do in order to cut spending, but it seems for Go-Ahead it might not be [...]
Fleming set to pounce as law firms open up September 15, 2010 FLEMING Family & Partners, the private wealth manager, has joined the growing pool of firms interested in investing into the legal sector once the market opens up next autumn. The family arm, which manages personal wealth for high net-worth families, has recently been in discussion with a number of law firms in the City about [...]
CITY RUNNER | GARMIN #4MILER August 11, 2010 CAPITAL MARKETS, MARKETING ROBERT JOHNSON Best time: 29min 00secs Distance: 4.10m Average pace: 07.25 min/mi Best pace: 06.95 min/mi PEDESTRIANS, traffic, cobbled streets – there could be countless reasons for being forced change your route in the Garmin #4miler challenge. But Investec team champion Robert Johnson was presented with the most novel yet as he [...]
ECONOMIST VIEWS: WHAT WILL THE BREAKDOWN OF GDP GROWTH IN THE SECOND QUARTER TELL US? August 22, 2010 PETER DIXON | COMMERZBANK “We look for quarterly GDP growth to remain unchanged, although we do expect a strong positive contribution from consumer spending while fixed investment should give back some of its strong first quarter gains. We also expect a moderate positive contribution from net trade.” PHILIP SHAW | INVESTEC “The actual figure should [...]
Kirsh vows to oust Minerva management September 5, 2010 BILLIONAIRE investor and activist shareholder Natie Kirsh is gearing up to oust the bosses of property developer Minerva this week. The 78-year-old owner of investment firm KiFin forced Minerva to call an extraordinary shareholder meeting to be held this Wednesday, where he will ask investors to vote on whether to retain chief executive Salmaan Hasan [...]
Surge in food prices keeps inflation high September 14, 2010 HEADLINE annual inflation held steady at 3.1 per cent in August as sharp rises in the cost of air fares, clothing and food prices offset softer petrol prices, official figures revealed yesterday. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that inflation rose 0.5 per cent between July and August but that the annual rate remained [...]
It’s a weight off your mind September 1, 2010 Age: 33 Best time: 31min 25secs Distance: 4 miles Average pace: 7.4min/mile FOR Omar Elhag, running the Garmin #4miler started off as a bit of fun – but has now triggered a mass health drive and change in lifestyle. “It’s really paying off,” explains Omar, who works in asset management. “I’ve shaved nearly six minutes [...]