Banks gain on US economic optimism January 5, 2012 BANKS led Wall Street to gains yesterday even as Europe struggled again, a sign investors are betting a relatively strong US economy will help US stocks outperform other markets. Overall gains were small, but banks advanced for a third day, supported by better-than-expected economic data. US financial shares continued to delink from their European peers [...]
Banks gain on US economic optimism January 5, 2012 BANKS led Wall Street to gains yesterday even as Europe struggled again, a sign investors are betting a relatively strong US economy will help US stocks outperform other markets. Overall gains were small, but banks advanced for a third day, supported by better-than-expected economic data. US financial shares continued to delink from their European peers [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 12, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES Evraz raises prospect of Severstal merger Evraz has raised the possibility of a merger with Severstal in a deal that would unite Russia’s two biggest steelmakers to create the world’s eighth-largest producer by output, with a combined market capitalisation of £12bn. Alexander Abramov, Evraz’s chairman and founder, said in an interview with the [...]
Sage slapped with legal bid November 14, 2011 SAGE Group is embroiled in a legal row with an Australian private equity outfit over its decision to walk away from talks to buy MYOB. Archer Capital, which owned a stake in the Melbourne-based firm, has launched a lawsuit – thought to be worth in the region of £83m – arguing the eventual sale of [...]
Taylor Wimpey reports steady autumn November 7, 2011 Homebuilder Taylor Wimpey said trading in the busy Autumn selling period had been stable and it is on track to meet margin targets. The UK’s second-largest volume housebuilder by market value said its current order book for future completions stood at 6,265 homes, against 5,496 homes at the same point last year. The group is [...]
Carpetright issues a fresh profit alert October 25, 2011 CARPETRIGHT yesterday said full year profits would be at the lower end of forecasts as it announced another fall in sales. The group, which has issued a string of profit warnings in recent months, said underlying pre-tax earnings for its full financial year would be towards the lower end of a forecast range of £11.8-£16.9m. [...]
Resolution to set up new asset management unit November 9, 2011 Insurance takeover specialist Resolution announced plans to create a new asset management unit, and said cost savings from merging its acquisitions would be bigger than first thought thanks to a new outsourcing deal. Resolution, which aims to buy underperforming British life insurers and merge them into a more profitable whole, said a 15-year agreement to [...]
Broker owned by ex-Lehman pair thrives November 16, 2011 THE LONDON commodities broker run by two former Lehman Brothers executives has cashed in on months of global turmoil to increase sales and profit, the firm’s results show. Marex Spectron, which is controlled by JRG, a private equity house run by Jeremy Isaacs, the former head of Lehman in Europe and Asia, and Roger Nagioff, [...]
Give your finances a spring clean: A guide to tidying up all the mess April 1, 2012 SAVINGS Tom Stevenson, investment director, Fidelity WITH a new tax year approaching, the sun shining and a string of bank holidays ahead, spring is certainly in the air. Now is the perfect time for you to take control of your savings. The first step of any spring clean should be ensuring that your money is [...]
Judge blocks Citigroup-SEC settlement November 28, 2011 A US FEDERAL judge angrily blocked Citigroup’s proposed $285m (£184m) settlement over the sale of toxic mortgage debt, rebuking the top US market regulator over how it reaches corporate fraud settlements. District Judge Jed Rakoff said the US Securities and Exchange Commission appeared uninterested in actually learning what Citigroup did wrong, and erred by asking [...]