Osborne fights Balls on blame for downgrade February 25, 2013 GEORGE Osborne launched a staunch defence of his economic policy yesterday after Labour’s Ed Balls attacked him for losing the UK’s triple-A credit rating from agency Moody’s. The chancellor had previously staked his reputation on the top credit rating, arguing that his deficit reduction plan would safeguard the seal of approval from the agency. But [...]
Carney calls for focus on values and capitalism to rebuild banks February 25, 2013 BANKS need an infusion of capitalism as well as a focus on core values to rebuild their image in the eyes of society, Mark Carney said yesterday evening. The perception banks were too big to fail – or seen as too big to fail by regulators and governments – has dealt a “fatal blow to [...]
Weidmann calls for central bank restraint February 25, 2013 THE EUROPEAN Central Bank (ECB) should move back toward traditional monetary policy and away from its current path which is too close to fiscal policy, ECB governing council member Jens Weidmann said yesterday. Weidmann also said that France, where he was speaking, must meet budget deficit targets it has signed up for, and that it is [...]
Fees for hedge funds not hit by client bartering February 25, 2013 HEDGE fund fees are failing to fall past traditional levels despite increased negotiations and pressure from investors to cut them, a major study out yesterday reveals. Figures show a 40 per cent surge in the number of investors who tried to negotiate better fees with hedge funds last year, with 71 per cent of investors [...]
The institutional hunt for returns brings green shoots February 25, 2013 BOTTOM LINE HEDGE funds didn’t always have an easy time of it in 2012 – witness the world’s biggest listed hedge fund Man Group, which parted company with its finance chief Kevin Hayes last June and announced in December its chief executive would step down in February 2013 following a year in which its plunging [...]
Deutsche Börse slaps down CME merger talks February 25, 2013 EXCHANGE rivals CME Group and Deutsche Börse saw a spike in trading yesterday after it emerged the two sides had met for talks about a possible merger. German exchange operator Deutsche Börse last night issued a statement denying it was in merger talks, shooting down rumours a deal could be on the cards after the [...]
Lazards is set to join Royal Mail advisers February 25, 2013 THE GOVERNMENT is in the process of appointing the independent investment bank Lazards to help advise it on the possible flotation or trade sale of the Royal Mail. Yesterday a spokesman for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said that Lazard was about to be appointed alongside UBS to give advice. Although the Royal [...]
Sinopec snaps up a stake in Chesapeake February 25, 2013 CHINA Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) is set to buy half of Chesapeake Energy’s Mississippi Lime oil and gas properties in Oklahoma for $1.02bn (£672m) to increase its presence in the booming North American shale gas industry. Output from shale fields in the United States and Canada has jumped over the last three years due [...]
Nedbank uplift on retail gains February 25, 2013 SOUTH African bank Nedbank Group, part of London listed Old Mutual, yesterday said it boosted profits by nearly a fifth last year after strong revenue growth from its retail business. An additional 655,000 new retail customer helped increase the business’s diluted headline earnings per share, a key measure of profitability in South Africa, to jump [...]
Advisers Royalty Pharma February 25, 2013 HENRY GOSEBRUCH JP MORGAN CAZENOVE MANAGING DIRECTOR JP Morgan Cazenove is advising Royalty Pharma on its proposed purchase of Elan, led by Henry Gosebruch, who is a managing director in the firm’s mergers and acquisition group. Gosebruch’s focus is on the pharmaceutical and industrial sectors and he has worked on M&A transactions worth over $100bn [...]
