FTSE rises but Eurozone still weighs on some bank stocks August 15, 2011 ARALLY by commodity issues on a brighter demand picture pulled Britain’s top share index higher yesterday, though weakness in banks dented some sentiment as investors looked cautiously ahead towards a key meeting today on the Eurozone debt crisis. French President Nicolas Sarkozy will meet German chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris to discuss further steps to [...]
Questioning FTSE price earnings ratio forecasts August 15, 2011 OVER the last few weeks, investor uncertainty has driven a mass sell-off in equities, as market volatility has pushed investors to seek safe havens until the waters calm a little. But with prices being driven so low, is it time to pile back into UK equities? Looking at price/earnings ratios seems to suggest that the [...]
Questioning FTSE price earnings ratio forecasts August 15, 2011 OVER the last few weeks, investor uncertainty has driven a mass sell-off in equities, as market volatility has pushed investors to seek safe havens until the waters calm a little. But with prices being driven so low, is it time to pile back into UK equities? Looking at price/earnings ratios seems to suggest that the [...]
Davies issues warning over female quotas February 24, 2011 LORD DAVIES of Abersoch’s report on getting more women into the boardroom stopped short of imposing immediate quotas yesterday, but some firms warned that demanding equality from the top will not improve businesses. Lord Davies’ study, commissioned by business secretary Vince Cable last August, called for FTSE 100 companies to “challenge themselves” to increase the [...]
Insurance companies all under one umbrella March 7, 2011 THOSE hoping for huge short term gains to be had from shorting companies with significant underwriting and re-insurance exposure to either the Middle East and north Africa (MENA), or to Christchurch may be disappointed. Listed companies are understandably cagey about just how much exposure they have to those areas, and syndicates with underwritten liability are [...]
Non-execs say regulation is their biggest challenge January 13, 2011 THE greatest challenge facing non-executive directors is regulation, according to a survey of more than a hundred board members from FTSE 350 firms. When polled on the most common tests they face, the majority of non-execs cited regulatory requirements as both their biggest challenge and the one that most hinders their role, with a greater [...]
FTSE extends gains as talk of takeovers boosts the market July 5, 2011 THE FTSE 100 rose for an eighth straight trading day yesterday, as earnings hopes lifted Tullow Oil and bid talk boosted Reckitt Benckiser. Tullow, up 3.8 per cent, said it expected to post record first-half revenues as it ramped up output in Ghana and also said it was a few weeks away from completing a [...]
European stocks slump and Italy’s banks suffer as Greek relief wanes August 1, 2011 EUROPE yesterday showed signs that confidence was unravelling after a tepid response to Greece’s latest bailout, as the tiny Eurozone island of Cyprus swung closer to a bailout. The Dax plummeted more than 2.8 per cent, dragging the Eurostoxx 50 down 2.9 per cent, although the FTSE fell just 0.7 per cent. Trading in shares [...]
European stocks slump and Italy’s banks suffer as Greek relief wanes August 1, 2011 EUROPE yesterday showed signs that confidence was unravelling after a tepid response to Greece’s latest bailout, as the tiny Eurozone island of Cyprus swung closer to a bailout. The Dax plummeted more than 2.8 per cent, dragging the Eurostoxx 50 down 2.9 per cent, although the FTSE fell just 0.7 per cent. Trading in shares [...]
Osmond in talks for APR June 12, 2011 HUGH Osmond, the co-founder of Pizza Express and Punch Taverns, is poised to buy a controlling stake in US power supply firm APR Energy. The City financier is in advanced talks with funds backed by George Soros, the US hedge fund billionaire, and Madeleine Albright, former US secretary of state, over a purchase. Osmond will [...]