LSE’s Indian adventure gives hope for future July 28, 2010 Stock exchanges continue to be a hot topic for debate both in the City and the wider global markets. Global equity issuance may be at its lowest point since 2005, with just $309bn (£198.2bn) raised in the first half of 2010 as sovereign debt fears weighed heavy, but interest in market developments and competition remains [...]
Why I’m bearish about house prices August 5, 2010 ONE of the big lessons of the recession – and of several previous downturns, including Britain’s crisis in the early 1990s and the secondary banking crisis of the 1970s – is just how important property is to modern economies. Bubbles in housing or commercial property are invariably devastating; they almost always take the economy down [...]
Barrick Gold joins the FTSE 100 June 9, 2010 THE updated FTSE 100 list was announced last night, with African firm Barrick Gold and Indian oil and gas giant Essar Energy both muscling into the big time. The London Stock Exchange and embattled holiday group Thomas Cook both took the plunge into the FTSE 250. The additions to the list makes the FTSE 100 [...]
P&G increases its European market share June 24, 2010 PROCTER & Gamble, the maker of Gillette razors, said yesterday that new product ranges and cheaper versions of existing brands were boosting its market share in Europe in a particularly difficult economic climate for retailers. The world’s biggest consumer goods group has launched new automatic dishwasher and stain removal products over the last two years, [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 17, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES UGANDA TAX ROW DELAYS HERITAGE SALE OF OIL FIELD Uganda is insisting that Heritage Oil, the UK-listed oil explorer, must agree to pay $360m (£243m) in capital gains tax on the “super profits” it will make on a $1.35bn oilfields sale before it will sanction the deal. Uganda’s energy minister said the government [...]
International Power in GDF merger talks July 19, 2010 BRITISH energy firm International Power (IP) confirmed it had revived merger talks with GDF Energy yesterday, sending its share price soaring. The companies have restarted long-running talks over France’s GDF buying up new shares in IP. Previous talks collapsed in January after the firms failed to agree terms. GDF, already one of the world’s largest [...]
SuperGroup sales surge as youth spending stays strong May 11, 2010 YOUTH fashion retailer SuperGroup, which floated on the London Stock Exchange in March, saw sales soar by 83 per cent to £139m in the year to 2 May. The company, whose Superdry brand is sported by celebrities including David Beckham, said it expected to make a pre-tax profit of at least £25.7m. SuperGroup has 43 [...]
Ex-OFT expert brought in to probe banks June 16, 2010 SIR John Vickers, the former boss of the Office of Fair Trading, has been appointed to lead a wide-ranging review into the future shape of the banking industry. Announcing the appointment in the Commons, chancellor George Osborne said Vickers would be asked to investigate the best “size, scale and function” of banks in the future. [...]
CITY GOES RURAL IN A PASSION FOR SPEED July 4, 2010 CITY petrol-heads were out in force over the weekend, among 175,000 visitors to the Goodwood Festival of Speed at Goodwood House outside Chichester. Among the business visitors to the F1 racing event were Arnauld Bamberger of Cartier, Audi’s Peter Duffy, BlackRock’s James Charrington, and Alfa Romeo/Fiat Group’s Richard Gadeselli. They turned out to watch top [...]
CITY GOES RURAL IN A PASSION FOR SPEED July 4, 2010 CITY petrol-heads were out in force over the weekend, among 175,000 visitors to the Goodwood Festival of Speed at Goodwood House outside Chichester. Among the business visitors to the F1 racing event were Arnauld Bamberger of Cartier, Audi’s Peter Duffy, BlackRock’s James Charrington, and Alfa Romeo/Fiat Group’s Richard Gadeselli. They turned out to watch top [...]