The biggest economic stories of 2015 and 2016 – Investec Comment December 21, 2015 Seven years after cutting them to record lows, last week, the US Federal Reserve finally put speculation to rest about when it would begin the process of increasing interest rates, announcing a small 25 basis points rise. This was hardly a surprise: it was almost completely factored into markets, so the real question was over [...]
Sterling retreats from Theresa May’s Brexit speech-inspired highs, boosting the FTSE 100 January 18, 2017 Sterling has fallen back from its strongest one-day performance since 1993, helping to nudge the FTSE 100 back into profitable territory. The sterling spot exchange rate against the US dollar had fallen by more than 1.1 per cent at the time of publication to trade below $1.23. It had traded well above $1.24 after Prime [...]
Irish services PMI pushed down by Brexit October 5, 2016 Ireland's services sector grew at its slowest pace in over three years in September as companies reported less customer interest as a result of the UK's Brexit vote. Ireland is widely considered to be the most at risk from Britain's decision to leave the EU given its close trade ties. The Investec Purchasing Managers' Index [...]
Standard Chartered share price: Investec analysts downgrade bank stock after just two days following share price rally February 16, 2016 Investec has downgraded Standard Chartered to a “hold” rating just two days after upgrading the lender to a buy, after shares in the Asia-facing bank rallied by more than 17 per cent in just two working days. Standard Chartered has struggled since the start of the year, with shares tumbling by over 20 per cent. [...]
Top bankers from Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan touch down in Davos for Brexit showdown with Prime Minister Theresa May January 19, 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May has jetted out to Davos for crunch talks with top bankers following a landmark speech this week in which she set out her vision for Brexit. May will meet chief executives from banks such as Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan a day after two other bosses – HSBC’s Stuart Gulliver and UBS [...]
Investment banking fees plunged in 2016, but analysts predict 2017 pick-up January 4, 2017 Global investment banking fees fell seven per cent last year, with the UK’s plunging even further, thanks to a decline in flotations, equity raisings and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity. However, the decline was less marked in the second half of 2016, and analysts are predicting a recovery this year. Thomson Reuters found global investment banking [...]
City Moves for 5 October 2016 | Who’s switching jobs October 5, 2016 Investec Wealth & Investment Investec Wealth & Investment (“IW&I”) has appointed Louise Hall as head of the firm’s London office. She takes over from David Bulteel, who is becoming head of IW&I’s international division. Louise Hall joined IW&I as a graduate trainee in 1989 and has led the firm’s specialist charities and not-for-profit division since [...]
Large numbers of Britain’s care homes expect to go bust in the next three years November 14, 2016 Banks who have lent to care homes could fail to recoup their debts as large numbers are expected to go bust over the next three years. The double-whammy of local government budget cuts and the introduction of the national living wage has put the care home sector under significant pressure in recent years. Read more: Number of [...]
Cantor Fitzgerald, Investec, UBS: Best of the Brokers for 03 December 2015 December 3, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com Cantor Fitzgerald has remained a “seller” of Mothercare stock with a target price of 135p, despite the company more than doubling UK profits in the first half. It believes it will struggle to meet the lower end of management’s 2019 underlying pre-tax profit [...]
Will Marine Le Pen’s Front National provide Europe with its next big political shock? February 19, 2017 With Marine Le Pen’s hard-right Front National leading the polls just over two months away from France’s presidential election, some have already marked May in their calendars as the next political shock in Europe. Is the result a foregone conclusion and what does it all mean for the UK in any case? Polling Day France [...]