CITY BIDS FAREWELL TO ANCIENT BROKER March 17, 2010 AFTER over 200 years providing services to the City of London, it was a sad farewell yesterday to the oldest stockbroking name in the Square Mile. The origins of Hichens Harrison can be traced back to at least 1803, when it was in business shortly following the formation of the Stock Exchange, though the exact [...]
Sky was right to buy ITV stake despite losses January 21, 2010 WHEN BSkyB bought a 17.9 per cent stake in ITV for £940m in 2006, Rupert Murdoch was hailed a genius. For it was Rupert – not son James – who masterminded the move, even if the latter took public credit for it. In one foul swoop, the mogul blocked the newly merged NTL / Telewest [...]
Angry Wenger hits back after Ballack jibe February 9, 2010 ARSENE WENGER has angrily hit out at the British media, accusing them of continually twisting his words. The Arsenal boss felt he was misquoted after his side’s 2-0 defeat to title rivals Chelsea on Sunday when he congratulated the Blues on their victory before adding: “we didn’t get a demonstration of football”. Chelsea midfielder Michael [...]
Aegis moves into China with Charm venture January 25, 2010 MARKETING group Aegis is to extend its presence in China by forming a joint venture with Charm, a leading agency which handles much of the advertising placed on the country’s largest national TV network. Aegis said in a statement yesterday it would acquire 17.7 per cent of Charm Communications and form a joint venture between [...]
Stars slam Woods as he prepares to come clean February 18, 2010 WORLD No1 Tiger Woods has come under fire from some of his most famous fellow players for choosing today to make a long-awaited public statement on his private life and a return to the game. Woods is due to break more than two months’ of silence by addressing a small hand-picked audience at Sawgrass Clubhouse [...]
Easing central banks’ inflation targets would be a mistake March 23, 2010 SOVEREIGN debt has replaced the bank crisis as the biggest worry for investors. The problems in Greece have served to focus attention on the budget deficits of the entire southern Eurozone. And last week the head of sovereign risk at Moody’s, talking about the situation in the US and UK, said: “We expect the situation [...]
Weak economy means Belgium could be next to join the Pigs February 10, 2010 GREEK public deficit worries have been widely reported in the mainstream media. The government’s problems with its budget led to severe pressure on Greek sovereign bond yields and credit default swap spreads, which at one point were over 400 basis points over equivalent German sovereign yields. On 3 February the European Union executive announced that [...]
John must go to take heat off team February 2, 2010 IT MAY be a wrench, but for his and England’s sake the best thing John Terry can do is relinquish the captaincy of the national team. Terry is in the full glare of the media spotlight following allegations he conducted an affair with the ex-girlfriend of his England team-mate Wayne Bridge. That attention is not [...]
Bankers must look hard at pay if they want to win back the public’s support April 14, 2010 JUDGING by public and media sentiment over the past couple of years, the fairground arcade staple of whack-a-mole will at some point be replaced by the sport of whack-a-banker. The credit crunch blame-game does not appear to be dissipating. A particular bone of contention between the banks, politicians and the public is the issue of [...]
Italian directories publisher Seat joins the long list of corporate bond issuers January 18, 2010 ITALIAN yellow-pages publisher Seat Pagine Gialle yesterday revealed that it will be issuing a €650m (£573m) bond to help it refinance its debts. The group, which publishes ThomsonLocal in the UK, issued a prospectus following a refinancing deal reached last week with its senior creditor banks in an agreement managed by the Royal Bank Of [...]