Introducing Yummy: The rise of HSBC’s metrosexual shopper March 21, 2014 It hasn’t been an easy ride recently for luxury brands operating in emerging markets. This week, Mulberry lost its chief executive, following a shock profit warning in January, and brands Hermes, Kering and LVMH have seen their stocks slide over ten per cent since the autumn. The continued worries about the slowdown in the Chinese [...]
Intu Properties raising £490m to fund swoop on Westfield centres March 20, 2014 REAL Estate fund Intu Properties yesterday launched a £488m rights issue to help fund the purchase of several shopping centres in the West Midlands. The business will use proceeds of rights issue and a new £423.8m loan to buy Derby shopping centre and Sprucefield retail park in Northern Ireland from owner Westfield. It will also [...]
England fans face early start as sevens hit land of the rising sun March 19, 2014 NERVE-SHREDDING rugby did not end last weekend with Brian O’Driscoll and Ireland’s Six Nations triumph, as the HSBC Sevens World Series fires back into life on Saturday in Japan. Now in its third year, the Tokyo Sevens paves the way for the main event of the calendar, the Hong Kong Sevens on 28 March, followed [...]
EU tries to stop banks swerving bonus cap rules March 18, 2014 THE EUROPEAN Union banking regulator is preparing to clamp down on a system of allowances, paid to bankers to get around tight new bonus rules. Michel Barnier, the EU financial services commissioner, said banks that pay employees monthly allowances in order to boost their take-home pay without directly contravening the bonus cap will be examined by [...]
Analyst Views: Is Sainsbury’s sales fall a sign of a more serious underlying trend? March 18, 2014 DAVID MCCARTHY | HSBCPart of the sector’s problems is its introverted definition of “peers”. Sainsbury is losing like-for-like sales to retailers that it appears not to define as “peers”. This sector is in structural decline, with no end in sight. We downgrade our rating, target price and forecasts to reflect our rising concerns. JAMES GRZINIC [...]
Piraeus becomes first bank in Greece to issue debt since 2009 March 18, 2014 A GREEK bank is returning to the debt markets for the first time since 2009, as Piraeus begins to take orders on a bond issue with the backing of several major international banks. Piraeus has appointed HSBC, Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank as the lead managers of the issue, which is [...]
City Moves for 19 March 2014 | Who’s switching jobs March 18, 2014 Lambert Smith Hampton The commercial property consultancy has made three appointments to its national valuation team. Matthew Lemin (right) joins as an associate director in its valuation division. He was most recently at GL Hearn, and has previously worked at Cushman & Wakefield. Riaan Fourie joins as an associate director from DTZ. Matthew Armstrong joins as a [...]
Barclays bosses’ bonuses slashed after revenues fall in tough 2013 March 17, 2014 BARCLAYS will today announce smaller share awards for top executives despite the bank increasing its overall bonus pool, as the bank’s profits fell in 2013. The bank’s adjusted profits fell by 32 per cent last year, but the bonus pool increased by 10 per cent to £2.4bn. Chief executive Antony Jenkins defended the move, arguing [...]
UK’s exporters forecast good times to come March 17, 2014 BRITISH exporters are expecting robust growth in the next two years, as economies on either side of the channel provide a better climate for trade, despite the UK’s poor investment in research and development. Exports from the UK are projected to increase by five per cent during each of the next two years, and confidence [...]
Capital & Counties seals £665m loan for Covent Garden portfolio March 17, 2014 CAPITAL & Counties (Capco) said yesterday that it has secured a new £665m loan to help expand its huge £1.2bn Covent Garden estate. The developer said the five-year unsecured debt facility will replace three existing secured loans and provide “improved operational and financial flexibility” to support its expansion. Capco has been sprucing up its Covent [...]