Bank of America bullish on Britain – Sees UK stocks up 30 per cent by end of 2015 September 12, 2013 A note published today shows Bank of America Merrill Lynch is bullish on the UK's prospects. Their comments below. John Bilton, European investment strategist: After 5y of slow growth the UK recovery is picking up paceThe UK economy shrank 7% peak to trough in 2008/9; and in the last 4y grew at just 1% per [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 2 October 2013 October 1, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Euro banks undervalued Europe’s banks are just as strong as US rivals and are being unjustly undervalued by investors, according to the vice-president of the European Central Bank (ECB) – the man in charge of setting up safety testing of the Eurozone’s banking system. Vitor Constancio’s comments come as the ECB prepares for [...]
London Report: Interest rate hike threat takes shine off FTSE’s bull run January 22, 2014 THE UK’S FTSE 100 eased off eight month highs yesterday after strong jobs data raised the spectre of interest rate hikes and analysts highlighted concerns about companies’ weak earnings and high valuations. Data showed the unemployment rate dropped to 7.1 per cent in the three months to November, below even the most optimistic analyst forecast [...]
Firms picking first-timers for non-exec roles July 22, 2013 THE POOL of recruits for non-executive directorships (NEDs) is getting wider, according to new stats. Around 47 per cent of first-time NED appointments to FTSE 350 companies last year were women, up from just 11 per cent five years ago. Korn Ferry Whitehead Mann, the recruitment firm that conducted the research, said female NEDs were [...]
London Report: Chinese factory data pushes up miners on FTSE August 22, 2013 BRITAIN’S main equity index rose yesterday to recover from stinging losses in the previous session, as robust Chinese economic data lifted major mining stocks to allay worries about tighter US monetary policy. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed up by 0.9 per cent, or 56.03 points, at 6,446.87 points, marking its biggest one-day rise in [...]
Boss of BDO says bigger is better for the accountant August 11, 2013 Simon Michaels, managing partner of the UK’s sixth largest professional services firm, thinks it is all to play for BY THE end of July, the builders had almost finished with BDO’s London headquarters. The glass-fronted Baker Street building, once the home of Marks & Spencer’s main office, has been revamped to make space for [...]
Balfour Beatty trading in line as it pulls out of Network Rail bid January 14, 2014 INFRASTRUCTURE group Balfour Beatty yesterday said it is trading in line with expectations, as the company confirmed that it is no longer bidding for Network Rail’s track renewal work. The FTSE 250-quoted firm’s existing contract with the operator of Britain’s rail tracks runs out at the end of the first quarter of 2014. Balfour Beatty [...]
Balfour Beatty named preferred bidder on Canada health project January 13, 2014 FTSE 250-listed construction group Balfour Beatty said yesterday that it has been named as preferred bidder to build a C$350m (£196m) children’s and women’s hospital project in Canada. The Provincial Health Services Authority in British Columbia has commissioned the project, which covers the design, construction, financing and facilities management of a new children’s and women’s [...]
Don’t underestimate proposed changes to the UK audit market July 22, 2013 THE COMPETITION Commission’s proposals represent a more potent solution than may first meet the eye. We are very supportive of those remedies that aid competition, increase transparency between auditor and shareholders and, most vitally, improve audit quality. We think that the moves to increase transparency between the regulator, auditors, audit committees and shareholders are positive [...]
Hester plots RSA rights issue to shore up capital February 23, 2014 RSA GROUP’S new chief executive Stephen Hester is set to launch a full blown rights issue this week, raising the stakes in his bid to strengthen the troubled insurer’s balance sheet. Hester, who took the reins of the FTSE 100 firm last month, is hoping to raise £1bn through a rights issue, the sale of [...]