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 [...]
CITY FOLK FANCY THEIR CHANCES AT ASCOT June 15, 2009 HALF the City is due to decamp to Berkshire this week for Royal Ascot, which runs from today until Saturday. As usual, the raft of financiers meandering about the racecourse will be a mix of those enjoying a corporate jolly and those who’ve invested their wealth in horses – two of whom are tipped as [...]
IS IT SUNNY SIDE UP FOR HOME RETAIL? June 11, 2009 JOHN STEVENSON KBC PEEL HUNT“Home Retail Group’s first quarter trading update has seen a notable boost to seasonal lines as Homebase at last delivers like-for-like sales growth. Argos sales were also ahead of expectations, although margins remains under pressure. We note a strong performance in toys, no doubt benefiting from the demise of Woolworths, a [...]
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 [...]
Don’t expect miracles in housing market June 11, 2009 IT is beginning to look as if house prices won’t be falling much further. This won’t be of any use to the one in ten Brits that have already been plunged into negative equity, however; and even if the market reaches bottom this year, it will struggle in 2010. We must hope, for the sake [...]
Rock appeal gathers pace June 10, 2009 INVESTORS in nationalised lender Northern Rock yesterday launched a legal bid to overturn a High Court decision which they claim will leave them with “derisory” compensation. Institutional investors RAB Capital, SRM Global and a collective of private shareholders numbering more than 200,000, who are backed by the UK Shareholders Association, say the government’s compensation scheme [...]
BlackRock nears BGI takeover June 9, 2009 BLACKROCK looks set to seal the deal to buy Barclays Global Investors (BGI) as early as today, sources say. The deal would merge the two giant firms to create the world’s biggest money manager. The US bank is expected to pay Barclays up to $13bn (£8.1bn) in a mixture of cash and shares. It is [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 9, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES MALAYSIA’S GENTING BUYS 3.2 PER CENT STAKE IN MGM UNITGenting, the Malaysian gaming group, has paid $100m for a 3.2 per cent stake in MGM Mirage, firming a relationship that could help pave the way for future deals in Macao and the US. Genting matched the $100m that Kirk Kerkorian, MGM Mirage’s largest [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 9, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES MALAYSIA’S GENTING BUYS 3.2 PER CENT STAKE IN MGM UNITGenting, the Malaysian gaming group, has paid $100m for a 3.2 per cent stake in MGM Mirage, firming a relationship that could help pave the way for future deals in Macao and the US. Genting matched the $100m that Kirk Kerkorian, MGM Mirage’s largest [...]
Defensives beat a retreat as investors hedge their bets June 9, 2009 THE FTSE 100 ended flat yesterday, with commodity stocks tracking gains in raw material prices as the dollar eased but cigarette makers and pharmaceutical companies fell. The index closed down by 0.43 points at 4,404.79 in a choppy session, after losing 1.2 per cent on Monday. The weaker dollar boosted metal prices, which in turn [...]