CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS June 29, 2009 ExecutionMarcus Ashworth has joined the agency broker to help drive Asian equity sales in its London office. Ashworth joins from Mitsubishi UFJ Securities, where he was a director in the equity derivative and equity research sales team with responsibility for Asia. Prior to that, he held a number of positions at National Australia Bank, Bridport, [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS June 29, 2009 ADMIRALCredit Suisse said that Admiral is ideally positioned to take advantage of the improving price conditions in the UK personal car market and upgraded the stock from “neutral” to “outperform” with a target price of 1,097p. The broker said the firm offers a defensive alternative within the insurance sector. DSG INTERNATIONALJP Morgan upgraded its earnings [...]
Markit to be investigated in CDS probe July 14, 2009 THE US Justice Department (DoJ) has contacted London-based data provider Markit in connection with a probe into the credit default swap (CDS) market. A spokesman for Markit said the company, which is majority-owned by Wall Street banks, had “been informed of an investigation by the Department of Justice into the credit-derivatives and related markets”. “We [...]
Lear files for bankruptcy in downturn July 7, 2009 LEAR, the world’s second biggest maker of car seats, filed for Chapter 11 yesterday, a day after it set out plans to restructure its $3.6bn (£2.2bn) debt burden under a deal with creditors. US company Lear, which has been weighed down by heavy debts and a sharp decline in automobile demand, said the reorganisation had [...]
Lear files for bankruptcy in downturn July 7, 2009 LEAR, the world’s second biggest maker of car seats, filed for Chapter 11 yesterday, a day after it set out plans to restructure its $3.6bn (£2.2bn) debt burden under a deal with creditors. US company Lear, which has been weighed down by heavy debts and a sharp decline in automobile demand, said the reorganisation had [...]
Get ready to profit from an autumnal pullback in indices August 31, 2009 OPTIMISM has been returning to the markets recently, but it would be foolhardy to believe that the worst is over. Last week, David Buik at BGC Partners pointed out that after the initial crash in 1929, the markets staged a powerful rally that retraced 60 per cent of these losses. Since the 6 March 2009 [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 26, 2009 ExecutionThe agency broker has appointed Bruce Howitt, formerly a director of Merrill Lynch’s fixed income business, to head up its newly created agency credit division. Howitt, who will become head of European credit at Execution, previously spent six years with Merrill Lynch, where he managed the non-financials trading desk. He has also formerly held senior [...]
Segro to launch second cash call June 14, 2009 Property company Segro is considering launching a second rights issue this year to enable it to buy its debt-burdened rival Brixton. The industrial real estate group, which three weeks ago made a bid approach to Brixton, is thought to be weighing up a two-step bid, comprising a share-swap offer and a minimum £300m equity raising [...]
Huge change in the City’s roll of power July 19, 2009 A YEAR of financial turmoil has wiped all but a quarter of last year’s 100 most influential people in European financial markets off the current roll of power. This year’s Financial News FN100 listing, which has the highest rate of turnover in its five-year history, reflects the huge overhaul of top talent the credit crunch [...]
DARLING THREATENS LAW TO CURB CITY BONUSES August 16, 2009 CITY bankers are on a collision course with politicians over multi-million pound bonuses after chancellor Alistair Darling yesterday pledged to intervene to curb excessive pay and risk-taking in the Square Mile. The Treasury is ready to consider legal action on bonuses if they pose a “systemic risk” to the banking system, which Darling and many [...]