Dubai unveils $26bn debt restructuring March 25, 2010 Dubai has unveiled plans to restructure the crushing $26bn (£17bn) debt of its troubled property arms, four months after it was forced to beg for a repayment freeze. It says it will inject $9.5bn in new cash into state-run property firms Nakheel and Dubai World. Beleaguered Nakheel will receive the lion’s share at $8bn and [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 31, 2010 RBC Wealth Management The wealth manager, part of the Royal Bank of Canada, has appointed Sarah Macdonald as a director, focusing on UK entrepreneurial clients. Macdonald has worked for over a decade in the financial services industry at both Barclays Wealth and Morgan Stanley. She specialises in advising high net worth clients on asset management [...]
FTSE closes flat as miners and banks fall, while pharmaceuticals gather pace March 18, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares ended flat yesterday as banks and miners paused for breath after recent gains, offsetting a rally in drugmakers and energy stocks. The FTSE 100 finished almost unchanged at 5,642.62, having closed at a 21-month closing peak on Wednesday. Banks and miners slipped after recent strong gains, with Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland [...]
RBS push on with branch sale February 10, 2010 Part-nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland is pushing ahead with the sale of over 300 of its branches and is expected to provide a detailed prospectus for buyers this month. At least six private equity and banking suitors have examined the assets closely and at least three of those have expressed an interest in the branches. [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland to return to profit despite new writedowns August 6, 2009 ROYAL Bank of Scotland (RBS) is expected to return to profit today, as it reveals first half profit figures. The bank, which recorded a UK record loss of more than £24bn for 2008, is predicted to reveal first-half pre-tax earnings of £1.2bn, despite impairment charges expected to total £7.9bn. Chief executive Stephen Hester is also [...]
Investing in property in the UK Silicon Valley November 11, 2010 HAVE you ever looked at Canary Wharf’s riverside properties and wished you had bought one when Thatcher first hatched her plan to turn it into a business hub? Back when nobody realised how lucrative it would become? Well David Cameron’s call for a British Silicon Valley stretching from Shoreditch to the Olympic Park could be [...]
FTSE slips on caution over banking stocks and falling commodity prices March 15, 2010 FALLING commodity prices dented miners and energy stocks and banks fell, pushing Britain’s top share index 0.6 per cent lower yesterday, with investors cautious before central bank policy meetings later in the week. The FTSE 100 index ended 31.80 down points at 5,593.85, having risen 0.5 per cent last week. Miners, sensitive to shifts in [...]
Lloyds in £6.3bn loss February 26, 2010 PART-NATIONALISED Lloyds Banking Group has reported an operating loss of £6.3bn for 2009. The lender is still saddled with bad debts but the loss is less than the record £6.7bn reported in 2008 after the bank’s rescue of stricken HBOS. The bank is 41 per cent-owned by the state, down from 43 per cent after [...]
PETTIGREW CALLS ALL ABOARD FOR STEAM RIDE October 5, 2010 IT was all aboard at Tower Pier last night as City bigwig Jim Pettigrew added an unusual venture to his impressive CV, which includes stints at Marks and Spencer, CMC Markets, Icap and, in his current role, Aberdeen Investment Managers. Pettigrew played host as fellow City figures arrived to experience his latest venture: the relaunch [...]
Placing of shares makes G4S look less secure as markets enjoy a strong day March 17, 2010 SHARES in security services group G4S were the biggest fallers in the leading index for the second day running, even as the market closed near a 21 month high on renewed economic optimism and a spate of takeover news. Hot on the heels of a disappointing 2010 forecast, G4S was hit by news of the [...]