NOMURA WALL CANDY IMPRESSES ART-LOVING FORMER LEHMANITES July 29, 2009 AND SO it emerges that Lehman Brothers is preparing to sell 650 of its prized modern and contemporary artworks at auction in the States this winter, hoping to raise a total of $1m for its creditors. (Not that the piddling amount will contribute much to levelling its $250bn debt pile, but every little helps, as [...]
US falls on gloomy stats and Best Buy June 16, 2009 US stocks slipped yesterday as mixed economic data and disappointing sales figures from giant electronics retailer Best Buy spurred worries about an anemic recovery. After a three-month run that lifted the S&P 500 as much as 40 per cent from 12-year lows, analysts said the economy needs to start showing real improvement to support optimism [...]
US falls on gloomy stats and Best Buy June 16, 2009 US stocks slipped yesterday as mixed economic data and disappointing sales figures from giant electronics retailer Best Buy spurred worries about an anemic recovery. After a three-month run that lifted the S&P 500 as much as 40 per cent from 12-year lows, analysts said the economy needs to start showing real improvement to support optimism [...]
IDENTITY CRISIS AT FUND VETERAN JOHN DUFFIELD’S NEW VENTURE July 9, 2009 JOHN Duffield really hasn’t been too lucky of late, has he? The veteran New Star Asset Management founder established a new venture called Hyde Park Asset Management back in April, as first revealed by yours truly, but soon had to ditch the moniker after hedge fund marketing firm Hyde Park Investment enlisted its legal heavies [...]
Vanguard eyes Barclays’ iShares May 31, 2009 Barclays has received a $5bn (£3.1bn) counter-bid for its iShares exchange-traded funds business from US fund manager Vanguard, potentially scuppering the existing $4.4bn deal with CVC Partners. The bank has received interest from several parties for iShares, as well as the Barclays Global Investors (BGI) unit that houses it. Both are up for sale as [...]
Vanguard eyes Barclays’ iShares May 31, 2009 Barclays has received a $5bn (£3.1bn) counter-bid for its iShares exchange-traded funds business from US fund manager Vanguard, potentially scuppering the existing $4.4bn deal with CVC Partners. The bank has received interest from several parties for iShares, as well as the Barclays Global Investors (BGI) unit that houses it. Both are up for sale as [...]
LLOYDS TO OFFLOAD CUMMINGS’ LEGACY May 25, 2009 Lloyds Banking Group has appointed UBS to advise on the potential sales of its stakes in a slew of household name companies, including David Lloyd Leisure and House of Fraser. Lloyds inherited the stakes from the Integrated Finance unit of HBOS, which was headed up by Peter Cummings (above). but their value has since plummeted.
RELOADING ON RISK DURING THE AUTUMN August 19, 2009 BRIAN DOLANCHIEF CURRENCY STRATEGIST, FOREX.COM OVER the course of this summer my colleague Jane Foley and I have been consistently cautious on the extraordinary rebound in risk appetite and the accompanying rally in virtually every risky asset class (stocks, commodities and carry trades in forex). We argued that markets were overly optimistic about the prospects [...]
CITY MOVES Who’s switching jobs July 7, 2009 Palamon Capital PartnersThe mid-market private equity firm has appointed Dr Richard Wolman to its now 13-strong board of advisers. Wolman is a consultant in human resource development with a particular focus on investment firms, trading houses and management consultancies. Since 2008, he has been working with Palamon on internal development strategies and assisting its investment [...]
CITY VIEWS: IS THE UK BEGINNING TO EMERGE FROM THE RECESSION? June 11, 2009 MARK WARBURTON 7FIFTYTWO SOLUTIONS“It’s a bit of a false dawn. We’re seeing an uplift but its just confidence coming from the first quarter of the year. There will still be uncertainty about jobs for instance. When the jobs market starts flowing again it will be a sign that things are improving.” ALLISTER AUGUSTIN ABN AMRO“When [...]