Turbo-charge your portfolio by investing in rising dividends November 5, 2013 But investors should also keep a close eye on valuations ONE OF the simplest ways of accelerating long-term capital growth is the old trick of reinvesting dividends. According to BlackRock, £100 invested in a FTSE All-Share index fund in 1987 would have been worth almost £900 at the end of 2012 with dividends reinvested, compared [...]
Winton Capital suffers rare slip as fund fees fall October 3, 2013 WINTON Capital Management, one of Europe’s biggest hedge funds, saw turnover and operating profits slide last year after it fell short on some of its performance targets. The company, established by hedge fund pioneer David Harding in 1997, posted £192.9m in turnover for the year ending 2012, down from £350.6m in 2011. This led to [...]
G4S turnaround strategy gains momentum with Dubai contract September 9, 2013 TROUBLED security firm G4S’s turnaround hopes were boosted yesterday by the announcement of a new three-year contract with Dubai Airports. The new deal, which could be extended by a further two years, will see G4S provide services including boarding pass checks and security screening at the UAE airport. The deal value was not disclosed. The [...]
Invensys backs Schneider bid July 31, 2013 INVENSYS has agreed to be taken over by French engineering group Schneider Electric in a £3.4bn cash and shares deal, laying to rest expectations of a bidding war. The FTSE 250-listed firm’s board has approved the offer. Schneider said the tie-up will generate €400m (£350m) in savings a year by 2018 thanks to a bigger [...]
Anti-trust body to rule on audit work this week February 18, 2013 THE Big Four accounting firms will learn this week whether the UK Competition Commission plans to shake up the industry to give smaller challengers a better shot at winning audit work. KPMG, PwC, Ernst & Young and Deloitte, which together audit all but a handful of Britain’s biggest firms, have told the commission that the [...]
Troubled G4S signs five-year deal with Shell September 4, 2013 G4S, the FTSE 100 security firm dogged by criticism over its handling of the London 2012 Olympics contract, yesterday said it has signed a five-year contract with oil giant Shell. Under the agreement, which has the option of a two-year extension, G4S will provide security solutions to the oil major in more than 30 countries. [...]
Best of the Brokers for 1 August 2013 July 31, 2013 AVIVA Broker Canaccord Genuity has maintained its “hold” rating on the insurance stock but upgraded the target price to 385p. It said Aviva, which reports results next week, would deliver better profits in 2014 and 2015 due to increased investment yields. WILLIAM HILL Analysts at Numis have an “add” rating on the stock with a [...]
Main market pension deficits explode despite bull markets February 6, 2013 THE deficits of FTSE 350 pension schemes expanded by £13bn more during January, despite soaring stock markets. Pension deficits totalled £75bn at the end of last month, according to data put out by Mercer yesterday, with assets adding up to only 88 per cent of liabilities. This was up from £62bn at the end of [...]
Fallon’s threat to expose FTSE late payments January 7, 2013 BUSINESS minister Michael Fallon is set to name and shame FTSE chief executives who fail to sign their firms up to a prompt payment code designed to help small businesses get paid on time. Fallon wrote to every company in the FTSE 350 in November telling them that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills [...]
G4S sells shares to push down £2bn debt pile August 28, 2013 SECURITY group G4S yesterday drew a line under the swashbuckling era of former chief executive Nick Buckles as it announced a series of drastic moves designed to avoid an embarrassing credit rating downgrade. G4S – whose reputation took a battering after it failed to supply enough guards for last year’s Olympic Games – yesterday raised £350m [...]