Miners and Eurozone politicians take the shine off the FTSE 100 August 22, 2012 MINERS left Britain’s top share index nursing sharp losses yesterday after BHP Billiton’s results offered a bleak outlook for the sector, while other cyclical stocks were weaker as Greek and European officials met on the Eurozone debt crisis. London’s blue chip index was down 83.32 points, or 1.4 per cent, at 5,774.20. Cyclical stocks such [...]
A tale of two high streets split by rents June 14, 2012 THE GAP between shop rents in the UK’s smartest and more modest locations is wider than ever and is likely to become more marked as leases come up for renewal, research exclusive to City A.M. shows. The number of shopping areas in London that have reached or exceeded rental levels seen at the height of [...]
UK banks are facing a battle with diminishing returns September 25, 2012 AS LONDON’S top bankers meet for their annual Merrill Lynch conference, upbeat public pronouncements can’t conceal the cloud hanging over the sector’s future. The news that Singapore investment fund Temasek is mulling offloading its £6bn stake in Standard Chartered is a typically gloomy indicator. Standard Chartered, after all, thanks to its exposure to Asian growth, [...]
UK banks are facing a battle with diminishing returns September 25, 2012 AS LONDON’S top bankers meet for their annual Merrill Lynch conference, upbeat public pronouncements can’t conceal the cloud hanging over the sector’s future. The news that Singapore investment fund Temasek is mulling offloading its £6bn stake in Standard Chartered is a typically gloomy indicator. Standard Chartered, after all, thanks to its exposure to Asian growth, [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 5, 2012 AXA Wealth Andrew Smith has been appointed chief operating officer of the wealth management firm’s Elevate investment platform. He joins from Nucleus, where he was responsible for its platform design and build. Smith has also held senior roles at Logica and Thomson Reuters. Mazars The advisory firm has appointed Phil Verity to the position of [...]
Global shares inch down as growth worries weigh August 13, 2012 Asian shares edged lower today as investors saw further evidence of slowing global growth, while the bleaker economic outlook kept hopes alive that authorities around the world will embark on more stimulus measures. European stocks were likely to inch higher, while a 0.3 per cent drop in US stock futures signalled a weak Wall Street [...]
Few disasters as Hiscox appoints new chairman July 30, 2012 INSURER Hiscox returned to profit in the first half of this year, assisted by the absence of major disasters, the firm announced yesterday. The Bermuda-based firm made a pre-tax profit of £125.8m against a loss of £85.6m for the same period last year. “The lack of catastrophes has helped but but there has been a [...]
To nest or invest is the crucial decision buyers must make September 9, 2012 FOR most, buying a property is likely to be the most expensive purchase that they will ever make. As such, one of the key decisions that buyers face is where to buy their property. The average price of a London property currently stands at £302,000, according to Nationwide. But the performance of house prices have [...]
FTSE loses 1.5pc with investors not holding breath over ECB’s summit September 4, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index fell yesterday reflecting investor uncertainty over whether this week’s key European Central Bank (ECB) meeting will deliver the goods on a hoped for bond-buying scheme designed to ease the euro debt crisis. The FTSE 100 closed down 86.40 points, or 1.5 per cent, at 5,672.01, ending back below the 5,700 level [...]
Former chancellor and a bishop to probe Libor-rigging scandal July 17, 2012 FORMER chancellor Nigel Lawson and the Bishop of Durham are among the five peers yesterday appointed to the parliamentary investigation into banks’ abuse of the London inter-bank offered rate (Libor). In recent years Lawson has become a leading proponent of the campaign to split bank’s retail operations from their investment banking arms. Other peers appointed to [...]