Back to work but challenges of a tough economy remain September 1, 2008 For most of us, today marks the official close of the holiday season. This summer has not been as angst-free as in previous years, because of ongoing concerns over jobs and pay – and, for those in managerial positions, how to steer a course through choppy waters over the next year. My choice of holiday [...]
JP Morgan retains top broker title September 1, 2008 Investment bank JP Morgan Cazenove has been named the top City broker for the third year running, according to the latest adviser rankings from Hemscott. JP Morgan has led the table for 12 consecutive quarters. It gained five new clients in the three months to 11 August taking its client base to a total of [...]
Woolies’ investor backs management September 1, 2008 Ardeshir Naghshineth, the largest shareholder in Woolworths, has backed the struggling retailer’s management team in rejecting a £50m takeover bid from Iceland founder Malcolm Walker. Iranian property investor Naghshineth, said to be worth an estimated £500m, has a 10.2 per cent stake in the firm and was yesterday reported to consider Walker’s bid as being [...]
Profits slide as investors exit New Star September 1, 2008 New Star Asset Management, the fund manager founded by City veteran John Duffield, endured a 70 per cent annual profit slide as investors left its UK equity funds in droves. The group saw last year’s £1.1bn inflows reversed, reporting net outflows of £307m as its total assets under management shrank £3.3bn to £19.8bn. Investors withdrew [...]
London’s gloomy firms September 1, 2008 London businesses are among the most pessimistic nationwide when considering their prospects for the coming year, reveals a survey published today by the Institute of Chartered Accounts in England and Wales (ICAEW). According to the latest UK business confidence monitor, London is the third most negative region with confidence standing at a “record low” of [...]
Latest house price fall piles on the misery September 1, 2008 House prices slumped by 0.9 per cent in August, falling for the 11th successive month and adding to the gloom currently surrounding the market. According to the latest national housing market survey from Hometrack, average prices are down by 5.3 per cent on a year-on-year basis, the lowest level since the survey began in 2001. [...]
City expects interest rates will be held September 1, 2008 Interest rates are expected to remain on hold this week in spite of a slew of bad economic news that has left the UK teetering on the edge of official recession. Consensus expectations suggest that once again rising inflation will trump dwindling growth for the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meaning interest rates will remain at [...]
Allianz sells Dresdner in £8bn deal September 1, 2008 German insurance giant Allianz last night agreed to sell its beleaguered banking arm Dresdner to rival Commerzbank in a deal worth €9.8bn (£7.9bn) – a tie up that will lead to at least 1,000 job losses in the City. In what will be the biggest German banking merger in nearly a decade, Commerzbank will buy [...]
Bodycote test unit sale sees bid talk start August 29, 2008 Engineer Bodycote’s decision to sell its testing business makes it vulnerable to a bid from a predator, analysts claimed yesterday. The Macclesfield-based company revealed that it had sold the division, which tests materials for the oil and gas, civil engineering, food and pharmaceutical sectors, to private equity group Clayton, Dubilier and Rice for £417m, a [...]
Computacenter falls after tough conditions in UK August 29, 2008 IT services firm Computacenter yesterday cited poor performance in the UK as the reason for a 14.2 per cent dip in profits, hammering its shares which plunged by almost 13 per cent in early trading. A lacklustre set of numbers across the channel in France also hurt the firm, it said, reporting profit before tax [...]