Square Mile and me: Co-founder of Wildfarmed Edd Lees December 19, 2024 Each week we dig into the memory bank of the City’s great and good. Today, Edd Lees, takes us through his career which went from finance to farming What was your first job? Working on a stall in Leeds market. What was your first role in the city/business world? Junior in a derivatives trading firm immediately [...]
Mark Kleinman: Boots’ dealmaker tries to formulate new potion December 19, 2024 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and is the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his weekly City AM column. This week, he tackles buyouts at Boots, big bonuses at Natwest and Reeves’ China charm offensive Boots’ octogenarian dealmaker tries to formulate new potion If life begins at 80, then Stefano Pessina, the octogenarian pharmaceuticals [...]
Was 2024 the year of the stockpicker? Nope. December 18, 2024 Every year, asset managers claim that this year is the year of the stockpicker. At the start of 2024, Bank of America claimed that “active funds will have greater odds of selecting winners in 2024”. “We expect more idiosyncratic opportunities next year given elevated valuation dispersion and increased public market inefficiencies, which should create a [...]
Fifa president branded ‘a chancer’ over £1,750 Club World Cup tickets December 18, 2024 Fifa has been slammed by football fans after the first ticket prices for next year’s Club World Cup were published, with the cheapest seats available for the final costing £700 ($890). The prices, listed on Bayern Munich’s website, go up to £1,755 ($2,230) for lower-tier seats at the final, which will be played at the [...]
Water bills set for hefty hike as Ofwat judgement looms December 18, 2024 The water regulator Ofwat is set to allow bills to rise by at least 21 per cent in the next five years, as part of its long-awaited decision on the financial future of the scandal-hit industry on Thursday. Ofwat will reveal its final determination for how much water firms are allowed to hike their bills [...]
Honda and Nissan merger talks spark UK job fears December 18, 2024 Experts say the UK's unfavourable tax environment and declining automotive sector put it at greater risk as the industry consolidates.
Former NBA owner invests in $100m women’s football multi-club group December 18, 2024 The move will see World Cup and Olympic gold winning former US women’s international Lauren Holiday join the board of Mercury/13.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof review: Daisy Edgar-Jones in Tennessee Williams misfire December 18, 2024 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof review and star rating: ★★ Rebecca Frecknall is hoping for a third strike of luck with Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, her third Tennessee Williams production at the Almeida following the buzzy Streetcar Named Desire with hot-boy-of-the-moment Paul Mescal, and 2019’s Summer and Smoke. The Gladiator II actor [...]
US hedge fund launches activist offensive against UK investment trusts December 18, 2024 US hedge fund manager Saba Capital has launched a campaign to oust the boards of seven top UK investment trusts today after amassing stakes in the firms over the past year. In an open letter to the companies today, the activist investor said it was triggering shareholder votes to “elect new directors with a concrete [...]
Labour’s growth gamble will decide Britain’s future December 18, 2024 Labour’s plan to invest for growth is Keynesianism 101. Delivering on it will require discipline and competence — recent history gives us plenty of reasons to be sceptical, says Damian Pudner Britain’s economic fortunes have hit a moment of reckoning. Public debt has ballooned to an eye-watering £2.8 trillion, roughly 100 per cent of GDP. [...]