BANKS BRACED FOR 1BN WINDFALL TAX December 6, 2009 CHANCELLOR Alistair Darling was this weekend mulling a £1bn windfall tax on the banks as part of a “class war” strategy to depict the Tories as a party for the “rich”. The windfall tax, versions of which were still being worked on by officials last night, is likely to be for a year only and [...]
Mining and oil stocks drive London to a 16-month high January 4, 2010 Strength in commodity stocks and banks drove Britain’s leading share index to a 16-month closing high yesterday, the first session of 2010, outweighing falls from real estate firms and life insurers. The FTSE 100 closed up 87.46 points, or 1.6 per cent, at 5,500.34, its highest close since Sept. 2, 2008 – the month when [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS December 13, 2009 RBC Wealth Management RBC Wealth Management has hired Shervin Mellegard, Samuel Palmer and Neil Jeffries as a managing director, director and wealth manager respectively in the UK domestic team. Mellegard, pictured, has over 20 years of experience in financial services, with his career having spanned commodities futures and securities trading at Merrill Lynch to private [...]
Investors ignore bubble concerns and flock to high-yielding bonds November 11, 2009 INVESTORS’ memories are notoriously short, so when Standard & Poor’s (S&P) recently warned that they were getting even shorter, it was something of a wake-up call. Despite one of the biggest financial meltdowns and dislocations of credit in history, European investors are once again being seduced by the high yields on offer with junk bonds. [...]
Gaming group Las Vegas Sands seeks up to 2bn in a Hong Kong share listing November 8, 2009 Gaming company Las Vegas Sands is set to raise up to HK$25.95bn (£2bn) through an initial public offering of shares in its Macau business, according to sources with direct knowledge of the IPO. The company is selling 1.87bn shares at HK$10.38 to HK$13.88 (80p -108p) per share, the sources said. The range gives an earnings [...]
HOW SERIOUS IS RYANAIR ABOUT SCALING BACK GROWTH PLANS? November 2, 2009 HENK POTTS BARCLAYS WEALTH“O’Leary is fantastic at using his results to communicate to passengers, as well as to business partners on how his company can benefit them. Yesterday’s numbers further demonstrate that no frills airlines are finding it easier than flag carriers to get through the downturn.” MANOJ LADWAR ETX CAPITAL“That was a very interesting [...]
HOW SERIOUS IS RYANAIR ABOUT SCALING BACK GROWTH PLANS? November 2, 2009 HENK POTTS BARCLAYS WEALTH“O’Leary is fantastic at using his results to communicate to passengers, as well as to business partners on how his company can benefit them. Yesterday’s numbers further demonstrate that no frills airlines are finding it easier than flag carriers to get through the downturn.” MANOJ LADWAR ETX CAPITAL“That was a very interesting [...]
Evolution ups private client ante November 15, 2009 EVOLUTION group chief executive Alex Snow is today set to confirm the hire of private banker Philip Howell to head up its wealth management business, Williams de Broë. Howell, who formerly ran Fortis private bank’s operations in the UK, Channel Islands, Italy, Spain, Gibraltar and Monaco, will become chief executive of the division. He takes [...]
Ad industry to fight back October 18, 2009 Advertising Association chief executive Tim Lefroy will this week urge members to retaliate against dwindling public trust in advertising, after a survey found that only 15 per cent of adults “generally” trust advertising. Lefroy blames lobbyists for the lack of trust. Advertisers such as Barclays, Unilever and Diageo are uniting to provide a fund into [...]
Ad industry to fight back October 18, 2009 Advertising Association chief executive Tim Lefroy will this week urge members to retaliate against dwindling public trust in advertising, after a survey found that only 15 per cent of adults “generally” trust advertising. Lefroy blames lobbyists for the lack of trust. Advertisers such as Barclays, Unilever and Diageo are uniting to provide a fund into [...]