ECONOMIC DIARY December 20, 2009 IN a quiet and short week, the big news on the agenda will be the revisions – if any – to third quarter GDP figures for the UK and the US on Tuesday. The UK third quarter data will be released on Tuesday at 9.30am. Despite an upward revision to -0.4 per cent from -0.6 [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 17, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES DISEASE SENDS SALMON PRICES LEAPING Salmon prices are jumping after the collapse of the Chilean industry through fish disease caused a sharp decline in global supply. Wholesale prices for Norwegian-produced Atlantic salmon have risen 20.6 per cent since the start of the year , says Statistics Norway. That has extended a year-long rally [...]
Travelex hires Lloyds man as CEO January 13, 2010 TRAVELEX, the world’s largest foreign exchange provider, has lured Peter Jackson from Lloyds Banking Group to become its new chief executive. The 34-year-old will take the helm at Travelex early in the spring when he leaves Lloyds, where he heads up the consumer banking division. Jackson’s appointment fuelled speculation that the company, which is 56 [...]
Blackstone to launch a bank January 20, 2010 A NEW retail bank to be backed by US private equity group Blackstone is set to go up against Virgin Money and analyst Sandy Chen’s Walton & Co bank later this year in the race to snap up the assets of Northern Rock, RBS and Lloyds Banking Group. Blackstone has applied to the Financial Services [...]
Ford cheers but low home sales concern January 5, 2010 THE S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose yesterday as better-than-expected factory orders and a surge in vehicle sales at Ford provided more evidence of an economic recovery. But a big decline in pending home sales, which fell in November for the first time in nine months, increased concerns about the housing market, capping the broad [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 8, 2010 FINANCE TIMES DE SHAW MOBILISES TEAM TO BUY DISTRESSED ASSETS OF FUND RIVALS DE Shaw, the third largest hedge fund, has established an in-house team to look at buying portfolios of distressed assets and is targeting the holdings of rival hedge funds. The DE Shaw Portfolio Acquisitions Unit, launched last year, aims to capitalise on [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS December 13, 2009 HMV Singer Capital Markets has maintained a “buy” recommendation on HMV despite the group posting reported interim results at the lower end of its expected performance. It said disappointment in Waterstones could be offset by growth of sales in other areas and cost savings at HMV. It set a target price of 174p. INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS [...]
Why the London Stock Exchange’s French boss is taking on the world February 14, 2010 L ONDON’s financial services community has a new champion: Xavier Rolet, the 50-year old French banker who took over as the London Stock Exchange’s CEO last year. Unlike many British commentators, who seem desperate to talk down one the UK’s most important industries, Rolet realises how important a prosperous City is to the UK and [...]
How the Queen of support services wants to turn UK companies green January 6, 2010 GOING GREEN may not be the most original of strategies but that doesn’t make it any less lucrative. So Mitie Ruby McGregor-Smith’s decision to bet the future of her support services giant on cashing in on the trend for all things environmental has gone down well with investors. The FTSE 250 company is still busy [...]
ECONOMIC DIARY December 14, 2009 MONDAY 14 DECEMBER UK Rightmove house prices (12am) Bank of England Bulletin (12am) Eurozone Third quarter employment (10am) October industrial production (10am) Japan October industrial production (4.30am) TUESDAY 15 DECEMBER UK November RICS house prices (12am) November CPI and RPI (9.30am) October DCLG house price balance Eurozone December ZEW survey (10am) November new car registrations [...]