Hedge fund managers buy up financial holdings in a sign of industry recovery February 17, 2010 Prominent hedge fund managers voted with their wallets in the fourth quarter to declare the long financial crisis over, and made big bets on banks and other lenders to back that view. John Paulson, Edward Lampert and Carl Icahn were among those who raised their bets on financial stocks during the last three months of [...]
SELLING March 4, 2010 Russell Hunt MANAGING DIRECTOR OF PROPERTY HUNT Q.Dear Russell, we are cash buyers but we keep losing out on houses. I thought cash buyers were supposed to have a better chance. Any advice? A.Buying your home is one of the biggest decisions that you ever have to make and it is also one of the [...]
LIB DEMS SET TO RIDE CREST OF BEER WAVE April 15, 2010 A WELCOME pre-election boost for Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, from the most unusual of quarters – the traditionally right-leaning environs of the City. It’s just 20 days before polling day and Clegg’s policies haven’t exactly met with rapt enthusiasm from the Square Mile, what with proposals to slap a “mansion tax” on homes worth [...]
Restaurant Group serves up profit rise March 3, 2010 RESTAURANT Group – which owns the Garfunkel’s and Chiquitos chains – saw a slim rise in profit last year. Revenues were up five per cent to £436m while pre-tax profits rose two per cent to a higher-than-expected £50m, the company said yesterday. The company has weathered the recession without the massive discounting seen by some [...]
FTSE ends higher on oil and mining after upbeat US data April 6, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares closed 0.6 per cent higher yesterday, lifted by firmer commodities after upbeat US data raised demand expectations, while Vodafone fell as Verizon merger talk cooled. The FTSE 100 ended up 35.46 points at 5,780.35, having earlier hit a fresh 21-month intra-day peak of 5,790.40. The index climbed 1.2 per cent on Thursday [...]
Supergroup will go ahead with float February 28, 2010 SUPERGROUP insists its flotation later this month will go ahead despite the torrid times experienced by other firms planning IPOs this year. The owner of Superdry and Cult Clothing brands will only achieve the lower end of its initial valuation, according to analysts, however. The company hopes to raise £125m through the offering, valuing the [...]
Fed insists rates set to remain low February 24, 2010 FEDERAL Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke yesterday insisted that US interest rates would remain low for an “extended period”, quashing fears that the US central bank was moving towards tightening monetary policy. In his first appearance before Congress since he won a second term as chairman, Bernanke was downbeat on the economic recovery, warning the current [...]
Bellway urges caution over housebuilding February 5, 2010 HOUSEBUILDER Bellway today said it remains cautious over the prospects for the housing market despite a modest pick-up in sales in first-half trading. The Newcastle-based group sold 2,247 homes in the six months to the end of January, up 12 per cent on the previous year. Its order book stood at £390 million or 2,506 [...]
Lloyds seeks buyers for its €1bn Irish Halifax deposits February 17, 2010 LLOYDS Banking Group has put its Halifax retail banking assets in the Republic of Ireland up for sale as it gives up its attempt to break into the tough local market. Earlier this week the bank said it would close 44 branches and lay off 750 staff by July. Its Irish intermediary business, which sells [...]
Ailing Toyota subpoenaed by a US jury February 22, 2010 TOYOTA said yesterday it had received a federal grand jury subpoena for documents related to unintended acceleration and braking that led to the recall of millions of cars in the United States. Toyota and its subsidiaries received a subpoena from the attorney’s office for the southern district of New York on 8 February, the world’s [...]