London retail sales growth slows down February 14, 2010 RETAIL sales in London grew at their slowest rate for five years as the stronger pound made the capital less attractive for overseas shoppers. Sales were 3.5 per cent up on the previous January, according to a report from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). In January 2009 sales figures grew by 6.5 per cent compared [...]
Gold firms could increase valuation via a relisting January 31, 2010 ALMOST 30 London gold companies could significantly enhance their stock market valuation if they were to migrate to a different exchange or consider dual listing, Edison Investment Research analyst Charlie Gibson has suggested. Gibson said variations in the categorisation of gold resources in different countries – which change according to the reliability of estimated deposits [...]
Profits spike at Kingfisher September 8, 2009 KINGFISHER, Europe’s largest home improvement retail group, yesterday rushed out first-half profit figures following an administrative error, though the better-than-expected results cheered investors and sent its shares to a two-year high. The group, which owns B&Q in Britain and Castorama in France, said it expects to report an underlying pre-tax profit of between £285m and [...]
Profits spike at Kingfisher September 8, 2009 KINGFISHER, Europe’s largest home improvement retail group, yesterday rushed out first-half profit figures following an administrative error, though the better-than-expected results cheered investors and sent its shares to a two-year high. The group, which owns B&Q in Britain and Castorama in France, said it expects to report an underlying pre-tax profit of between £285m and [...]
There’s no need to be scared of US stocks October 12, 2009 GIVEN the global influence of American business, it would seem perhaps a little odd that we Brits feel we don’t know enough about the largest market in the world to invest in it. This was, essentially, the upshot of research published yesterday by the largest US discount broker Charles Schwab. Based on a survey of [...]
RHJ forks out for Kleinwort Benson deal October 15, 2009 GERMANY’S Commerzbank reached agreement to sell its UK private bank Kleinwort Benson to Belgian investment firm RHJ International for £225m in cash yesterday. The sale comes after Commerzbank was told by the European Commission to sell the division as a condition of approval for the €18.2bn (£16.7bn) it has received in state aid from Berlin. [...]
The tributes pour in as City A.M. gets to 1,000 October 22, 2009 GORDON BROWNPrime Minister“Congratulations to City A.M. on reaching a thousand editions. Your paper has kept both Westminster and the City informed at a time of great turbulence in the world economy.” SIR VICTOR BLANKFormer chairman, Lloyds Banking“City A.M. has developed into a quality newspaper which sparks boardroom debate with its insight and analysis. It is [...]
LSE cash calls boosted by rising market September 6, 2009 LEVELS of secondary fundraising on the London Stock Exchange have soared by 80 per cent over the year so far as companies scramble to take advantage of the upturn in market sentiment to raise cash. Cash calls on the LSE’s main market raised £56.2bn between January and August this year, a substantial increase on the [...]
Sandler joins Pearl as chair September 24, 2009 PEARL, the insurer founded by pubs-to-pizza entrepreneur Hugh Osmond, has confirmed Northern Rock head Ron Sandler is joining as chairman. The group has taken on Sandler ahead of its planned secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange in the fourth quarter. Sandler was put in charge of failed mortgage lender Northern Rock after it became [...]
Deripaska plans second IPO for 2010 February 15, 2010 OLEG Deripaska, chief executive officer of Rusal, is planning an initial public offering of his power company, Eurosibenergo. The IPO is expected to take place in Hong Kong, where the Russian billionaire listed Rusal, the aluminium producer, in January this year. Since the flotation shares have tumbled 20 per cent and many in the City [...]