Banks and commodities make gains as Wall Street is closed for public holiday February 15, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading shares rose 0.5 per cent yesterday, led by firmer banks and commodity issues after falls in the previous session, while British Airways climbed on increased hopes for a global alliance. At the close, the FTSE 100 was 25.02 points higher at 5,167.47, well below the session peak of 5,194.29. Blue chips drifted off [...]
Possible solution to Eurozone debt woes boosts FTSE 100 February 10, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading shares added 0.4 per cent yesterday as financial issues drew strength from a possible solution to Eurozone debt worries, offsetting a retreat by heavyweight commodity shares. The FTSE 100 ended 20.15 points higher at 5,131.99, recovering from a session low of 5,105.30 in the afternoon but still well below the morning peak of [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 2, 2010 Jupiter The asset manager has appointed John Chatfeild-Roberts as chief investment officer. Chatfeild-Roberts joined the firm in 2001 as head of the Jupiter Merlin fund of funds team, a role in which he will continue. Since 2000, Edward Bonham Carter has combined the chief investment officer role with his position as chief executive of Jupiter. [...]
Good day for blue-chips sees FTSE flirt with the 5,300 level February 17, 2010 Britain’s top share index rose for the third consecutive day yesterday, led by financials and miners on bullish corporate results and economic data, and adding to growing optimism over the health of the global economy. The FTSE 100 ended up 32.58 points, or 0.6 per cent at 5,276.64, touching a two-week high during the session [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 23, 2010 Ernst & Young Dawn Aloof has joined EY from rival PricewaterhouseCoopers, to lead its Europe, Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA) financial services transaction integration practice. Aloof also previously spent 15 years at Barclays, where she was responsible for clients’ global operating strategy, planning and M&A operations. She is joined by four ex-PwC colleagues: Ari [...]
MPC in unanimous decision to pause QE programmes February 17, 2010 THE Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was united in its decision to pause its quantitative easing programme earlier this month, but minutes of the meeting indicated that for some members, the decision was a difficult one. The minutes showed that all nine members voted in favour of holding rates at 0.5 per cent and [...]
Shopping around is the future of law June 1, 2010 COMMENTATORS talk excitedly about “Tesco Law” and the ongoing liberalisation of legal services as though it were a latter day gold rush led by big name supermarkets and banks. But what is it that consumers want? New research suggests that there is little enthusiasm on the part of the public to associate legal services with [...]
Foreign firms boost cash to buy UK peers March 2, 2010 THE amount of money spent by overseas firms on acquiring UK companies surged in the fourth quarter of last year to £13.8bn from £4bn in the previous three months, official data showed yesterday. Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed however that the number of transactions had remained broadly unchanged, Significant acquisitions of UK?firms [...]
Barclays wins investors round over sale of BGI to BlackRock August 6, 2009 BARCLAYS chairman Marcus Agius yesterday defended the sale of Barclays Global Investors, as some shareholders accused the bank of “selling the family silver”. Agius said the sale, worth $14.2bn (£8.5bn), would “allow shareholders to participate in and enjoy a relationship with the global leader in the industry”. One shareholder asked why the bank was selling [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS February 9, 2010 ICAP Bank of America Merrill Lynch adds ICAP to its “Europe 1” buy list saying its current share price ignores the company’s strong portfolio of assets. Despite its revised earnings guidance for the third quarter, it believes its recent share price fall has been overdone. It notes half ICAP’s profits will come from electronic businesses [...]