BRIGHT STARS GATHER AT CITY’S ANNUAL OSCARS June 15, 2010 THOMSON Reuters rolled out the (imaginary) red carpet yesterday for the annual Extel awards, commonly known as the “Oscars” of the City. This year’s affair, hosted by perky Today presenter John Humphrys, was decidedly more upbeat than in 2009, when “credit crunch” presenter Axel Threlfall of Thomson Reuters’ multimedia platform Project Insider quipped that he [...]
ECONOMIC DIARY May 3, 2010 WHILE the general election will be the primary concern, there are plenty of other economic data releases that traders should be watching out for over this short trading week. This morning, we will find out how well the UK manufacturing sector thinks it is doing from the April purchasing managers’ index (PMI) at 9.30am. We will [...]
Heron chief warns of talent drain April 13, 2010 GERALD Ronson, the property tycoon responsible for building Heron Tower, the tallest skyscraper in the City, yesterday warned that politicians risk hounding entrepreneurs away from the UK with punishing tax hikes for the wealthy. “My advice, to whoever wins the next election, is to be careful not to put too much pressure on the people [...]
Midas Touch the golden Derby bet for O’Brien June 3, 2010 Who do I think is the most likely winner of the Investec Derby? It has to be Jan Vermeer. Who do I think is the best betting proposition? It has to be MIDAS TOUCH. Aidan O’Brien hasn’t won English racing’s premier Classic since 2002, but that looks set to change tomorrow and his supposed second [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 5, 2010 Advent International The private equity firm has hired Kevin Beeston, the outgoing chairman of Serco Group, as an operating partner. Beeston will be tasked with helping Advent identify investment opportunities in the business services sector, and will also continue in his role as chairman of Advent’s portfolio company Domestic & General. He has worked for [...]
Disappointing retail sales to hit GDP data April 22, 2010 RETAIL sales volumes only managed to grow 0.4 per cent last month, disappointing the market which had expected monthly growth of 0.6 per cent and dampening hopes of a strong first quarter GDP?growth figure today. In spite of an upward revision to February’s figure, retail sales volumes contracted by 1.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the [...]
Bridgepoint snaps up health and social care firm Care UK for £281m in cash March 3, 2010 PRIVATE equity group Bridgepoint Capital yesterday unveiled a recommended cash bid for elderly and health care provider Care UK, valuing the company at £281m. Bridgepoint, which launched the bid through newly-created vehicle Warwick Bidco, is offering 450p for each Care UK share, a 9.2 per cent premium to the share price at the close of [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 31, 2010 ERICSSON Evolution Securities advises investors to “sell” Ericsson because the mobile company’s pricing power is limited by operators. Evolution points out that consolidation has not stemmed industry price pressure and the knock-on effects limit revenue leaving Ericsson trading on what it considers an unjustified premium. ABCAM Investec ups Abcam’s target to 1,350p from 1,051p and [...]
Halfords buys car company February 18, 2010 CAR and bike accessories retailer Halfords said yesterday it was expanding into the car servicing market after buying Nationwide Autocentres for £73.2m. The company said the “Halfords Autocentre” business would be a major source of growth for the firm. In addition to Nationwide’s existing 224 sites, it is expected that Halfords will open 200 new [...]
EX-CITI BANKER CLAIMS UNFAIR DISMISSAL – FOR BEING GORGEOUS June 2, 2010 WE’VE all heard of lawsuits being fired back and forth due to foxy females being sexually harassed at work, but bringing a legal complaint because managers insist a lady is too attractive to wear her normal office attire? That’s got to be a new one. Latino bombshell Debrahlee Lorenzana has filed a lawsuit in New [...]