BEST OF THE BROKERS August 8, 2010 LOGICA Logica continues to trade at a material discount to its IT services peers, according to Standard & Poor’s. The analysts believe investors have overreacted to the threat of cuts in the UK public sector, and that the gap will close. S&P has trimmed its sales estimates by three per cent, but reiterates its “buy” [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 30, 2010 Clifford Chance The law firm has elected Michael Bates and Robert Lee as the new joint practice area leaders for its London finance practice, effective for a four-year period starting tomorrow. Bates, pictured, has been a partner since 2001 and specialises in acquisition and leveraged financings in the infrastructure sector. Lee, a partner since 1997, [...]
Facebook couldn’t have been British October 18, 2010 IT is simply untrue that Britain doesn’t produce any wealth and job creating entrepreneurs any more. Take some of the stories in today’s City A.M.; they demonstrate that Britain retains a vibrant start-up and growth culture. Hugh Willis, 50, and Mark Poole, 49, who founded BlueBay in 2001, are today each £82m richer after they [...]
Moody’s threatens UK bank rating downgrades March 9, 2010 RATINGS agency Moody’s warned yesterday that the forthcoming withdrawal of government support to the UK banking sector could trigger a series of downgrades for City banks. Moody’s said the increased likelihood of systemic support from the state or the Bank of England in the case of a further crash had helped buoy its ratings on [...]
Miners and Vodafone help FTSE 100 book gains as Carphone goes it alone March 29, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index ended 0.1 per cent higher yesterday as gains in miners on the back of firmer metals prices and a stronger Vodafone outpaced falls in banking stocks. The FTSE 100 closed 7.64 points higher at 5,710.66 after falling 0.4 per cent on Friday. The index has gained more than 12 per cent [...]
Bradford & Bingley back in the black July 30, 2010 Bradford & Bingley, the mortgage lender which was nationalised after running into problems during the credit crisis, said on Friday it had swung to a first-half profit after making a loss a year earlier. The bank reported a pretax profit of £896m for the six months ending June 30, having made a loss of £160m [...]
Poison pill still a headache for BHP’s bid August 18, 2010 BHP BILLITON’s $40bn (£25.6bn) bid for PotashCorp could yet hit a hurdle because of the Canadian fertiliser giant’s “poison pill” defence, it emerged yesterday. BHP is waiting on the details of the shareholder rights plan implemented by PotashCorp on Tuesday, but the global miner could have to go to court to overturn the measure if [...]
Demand for bank shares lifts FTSE 100 to a 22-month high April 15, 2010 THE FTSE 100 share index hit a 22-month high for the second day yesterday, as US data and earnings reports fanned hopes that a recovery in the world’s largest economy was gathering pace, with banks also buoyed by bullish broker comment. The FTSE 100 closed 28.76 points higher at 5,825.01 – its highest close since [...]
Business lending in January slumps at fastest annual rate since records begin March 18, 2010 LENDING to businesses fell at its fastest annual rate in January since records began more than a decade ago, figures from the Bank of England (BoE) showed yesterday. The flow of net lending fell £6.5bn in January, nearly twice as fast as in December, the BoE said in its Trends in Lending report. That pushed [...]
EasyJet boss McCall to see pay doubled March 24, 2010 CAROLYN McCall, former Guardian Media Group boss, will see her pay almost double once she takes over as chief executive of low cost airline easyJet. It is understood that McCall, who in 2009 earned a salary of £498,000 at the Guardian, will step into a similar pay package as former easyJet chief Andy Harrison, whose [...]