Why Britain must reject a Tobin tax March 8, 2011 IT is amazing how many intelligent people believe in free lunches. The latest instance of this bizarre intellectual affliction can be found in yesterday’s vote by MEPs in Brussels to slap a Tobin tax on financial transactions in the EU. The vote fortunately has no legal power, but European parliamentarians believe their scheme would raise [...]
GCP sees sucessful IPO on new fund July 19, 2010 GCP Infrastructure Investments raised £40m through its initial public offering (IPO) yesterday. Parent company Gravis Capital Partners said it plans to float the fund on the London Stock Exchange on Thursday, the first infrastructure fund to be listed in the UK. The fund will invest in the debt of private finance initiative projects, such as [...]
Unilateral rule making will harm City September 20, 2010 PERCHED at a regulatory crossroads, the government is on the verge of decisions that will shape the UK economy’s competitiveness for generations to come. That much was clear from the opening day of the City Week financial services forum yesterday, where financial services doyens united in a call to policymakers to think long and hard [...]
Not so Jubilant as oil group postpones London flotation August 5, 2010 JUBILANT Energy, an Indian-based oil and gas exploration company, is putting back its planned flotation on the London Stock Exchange, according to City sources. City stockbroker Evolution Securities, assisted by Renaissance Capital, has been testing out the appetite for a money-raising in London and has decided to come back to the market at a later [...]
Chi-X Europe and BATS in exclusive talks December 22, 2010 TWO of Europe’s biggest alternative equity trading venues are in exclusive talks, it was announced yesterday, in a sign that the sector is starting to consolidate. BATS Global Markets, which operates the third-largest US stock exchange and Europe’s second-biggest alternative trading platform, is in talks to buy Chi-X Europe, Europe’s second-largest stock exchange. The two [...]
DAUGHTERS JOIN DADS FOR GALA FUNDRAISER September 6, 2010 IF THE remaining doubters needed proof that the City has opened its arms wide to the talents and potential of the fairer sex, look no further. The Mansion House yesterday evening played host to hundreds of guests for the latest gala fundraiser for Lord Mayor Nick Anstee’s charity Appeal: a dinner specifically for the fathers [...]
Williams: I’m not quitting, despite float February 9, 2011 WILLIAMS principal Sir Frank Williams insists he has no plans to step down, despite paving the way for his eventual retirement by offering his shares for sale in the team’s forthcoming stock market flotation. The iconic English outfit is selling up to 27 per cent of its shareholding to private investors on the Frankfurt Stock [...]
Sportingbet scores a World Cup boost August 12, 2010 INTERNET gambling firm Sportingbet said yesterday it had performed strongly during the World Cup with margins boosted by a number of results going against the favourites during the competition. The company took more than £50m worth of bets during the tournament, of which 65 per cent were made during matches using the company’s “In Play” [...]
Tap into Asian growth with Far East ETFs September 29, 2010 WHETHER you subscribe to the belief that the 21st century belongs to China or not, there is no doubt that it certainly belongs to emerging markets and particularly to those in the Far East. The story is a familiar one: these countries have transformed themselves from rural backwaters to the new hub of the global [...]
BARCAP VICE-CHAIR TO BACK CITY WOMEN IN PLURAL DIRECTOR ROLE October 12, 2010 BARCLAYS Capital vice-chairman Gay Huey Evans has long been a trailblazer for women in the Square Mile, but she’ll be even more influential in her advocacy for greater female participation at the top echelons of the City in her new role as a “plural” board director. Huey Evans left BarCap yesterday after a long and [...]