BlackRock buys PwC offices in Uxbridge from Aviva for £59m August 25, 2015 FUND manager BlackRock said yesterday that it has bought an office building in west London for £55.9m from Aviva Investors. The Atrium in Uxbridge is a 138,000 square feet (sq ft) office block let to companies including American oil and gas firm Anadarko and accountants PwC. Blackrock said the deal offers a net initial yield [...]
Markets poised for crunch interest rate move from Bank of England August 4, 2016 Markets are standing by this morning for the Bank of England to take interest rates to a record low later today – and the nerves are showing. Sterling is falling ahead of the announcement and the FTSE 100 has also eased back as traders assess just how much fuel the Bank of England will throw onto the [...]
At the close: FTSE 100 climbs out of the Brexit bloodbath after major losses in recent sessions June 28, 2016 The FTSE 100 bounced back today, as investors bought back into a market that had been heavily sold off in previous sessions. Just nine stocks finished in negative territory, pushing the blue-chip index up by 2.6 per cent to 6,140.39 points. Falls of over five per cent in the last two sessions had wiped nearly £100bn in value of from company market capitalisations. Insurers [...]
Shareholder groups pile the pressure on Mike Ashley as new groups speak out against the retail tycoon August 26, 2016 Fresh voices are adding to calls for a shake up at Sports Direct, with investors demanding a review of corporate governance and some shareholders even urging the retailer's founder Mike Ashley to step down from the board. Ashley has faced a volley of criticism after admitting to the Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) select committee [...]
RSA hoping for better offer as bidders Zurich, Axa and Aviva circle August 2, 2015 Insurer RSA is hoping to attract a better offer than Zurich’s potential bid, revealed last week, with several other companies believed to be interested in entering the race for the troubled British firm. City analysts expect Zurich to make an offer of around 550p per share. That price would provide investors with a premium [...]
Asset managers close the gate on £15bn-£20bn funds July 7, 2016 Post-referendum reverberated through the City yesterday as several more property funds were forced to shut the gate on their investors, while the value of the pound languished below $1.30. Six companies’ funds, with an estimated value of £15bn to £20bn, have been frozen this week as fears over the consequences of the UK’s vote to leave [...]
How crowdfunding can give you an income boost in a low-rate wasteland August 4, 2016 With the Bank of England widely expected to cut interest rates this afternoon, savers are bracing themselves for a further drop in the already pitiful returns they are earning on deposit accounts. According to data from comparison site Moneyfacts, the average five-year fixed rate bond offered an interest rate of just 2 per cent in [...]
Are fears about the UK commercial property market overblown? September 14, 2016 As Columbia Threadneedle Investments prepares to join Aberdeen Asset Management and Canada Life in re-opening its £1.4bn property fund, doubts persist over the future of the UK’s commercial property market. The Brexit vote brought three years of double-digit returns from UK property investments to a juddering halt. By early July, panicked investors clamouring to withdraw their [...]
Oil slips below $50 per barrel as global economic storm clouds gather July 5, 2016 The oil price has dipped below $50 per barrel as investors fret over a potential slowdown in global economic growth. It's feared that a global slowdown could result in a slackening in demand and recent supply outages in Nigeria and other exporting nations have not been enough to offset fears. At pixel time Brent crude was [...]
As the monetary policies of the US, the UK and the Eurozone diverge, what should investors make of this fork in the road? September 13, 2016 Since the end of last week, speculation has been mounting that the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates again this year. The probability of a September rate raise looks slimmer after the Fed’s most dovish official, Lael Brainard, struck a cautionary tone in a speech yesterday. But there is a strong chance that the next [...]