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Tuesday 2 December 2008

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Gilt-edged returns for troubled times

Alex Brummer

28th October, 2008

Traditionalists choose gold, National Savings and gilts. But the best time to buy shares is often when other people are fleeing into cash, argues Alex Brummer

Ambitious growth plans set Nymex in CME’s sights

30th January, 2008

It should hardly have come as a surprise that CME Group, owner of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and Nymex Holdings, would be planning an $11bn (£5.5bn, E7.5bn) merger. Craig Donohue, chief executive officer of CME, gave the game away at the Goldman Sachs Financial Services CEO Conference in New York last December.

Why Vale must pay the price if it is to remain a predator

30th January, 2008

There they were, the chief executive of Vale – Brazil’s $120bn (£60.4bn, €81.2bn) miner – and the Brazilian president, enjoying a dinner together at the mining boss’s Rio de Janeiro apartment late last week.

SocGen’s independence still hangs in the balance

30th January, 2008

The traditional story of a rogue trader revolves around a star performer, who makes money from markets where everybody else struggles.

BSkyB mulls whether to challenge ITV ruling

30th January, 2008

PERHAPS Labour feels it has nothing left to lose. Already out of favour with voters, it seems the government is now determined to antagonise the world’s leading media mogul.

Black cloud hangs over Spanish banks

30th January, 2008

Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, need not look enviously at the Spanish banking sector.

S&N finally raises a glass and drinks to its European suitors

30th January, 2008

After four acrimonious months, filled with bitter wrangling and mud-slinging, Scottish & Newcastle (S&N), the FTSE 100 brewer, has finally agreed to be taken over by Carlsberg and Heineken, its European suitors. S&N said it would recommend the £7.8bn (E10.5bn, $15.5bn) or 800p-a-share offer; it represents a 25.7% premium to where the stock was before the consortium first unveiled its interest and is a significant hike on the 720p first mooted.

UK houses stabilise

23rd January, 2008

Do we really believe Britain’s house price correction is over? Rightmove, the country’s biggest online estate agent, says prices fell only 0.8% in the first half of January, after a 3.2% slide in December.

Powerful move

23rd January, 2008

Barclays Private Equity is preparing to take a nice profit from booming energy markets.

Medical breakthrough

23rd January, 2008

Good assets continue to command high valuations.

Electrical storm

23rd January, 2008

Even in today’s turbulent markets, LBO France is hoping for a quick flip.

Materially sound

23rd January, 2008

Cynthia Carroll is moving aggressively to reduce the dependence of Anglo American on precious metals and diamonds.

Saud and clear

23rd January, 2008

Saudi Telecom is building an international franchise as competition intensifies in its home market.

GE’s bargain hunt

23rd January, 2008

Slumping share prices and dearer credit are manna from heaven for General Electric (GE), America’s super-conglomerate.

Time gentlemen please

23rd January, 2008

It’s a good job we don’t care who makes our beer, so long as it tastes the same.

Trash talk

23rd January, 2008

With landfill prices soaring and regulators pushing recycling, our rubbish has become investor gold.

Desperate measures

23rd January, 2008

After successive approaches, American tech giant Oracle has finally won the hand of BEA Systems, the business software group.

State of Origin

23rd January, 2008

American hedge funds evidently mean business at Atos Origin, the French IT services group.

Ding Dong

23rd January, 2008

Wary of being accused of selling state assets on the cheap, the Danish government has reacted to the turbulence on world markets by pulling the $3.6bn initial public offering of Dong Energy.

German unification

23rd January, 2008

German taxpayers and small savers are paying the price at WestLB.

Grid locked

23rd January, 2008

Much like Britain’s homeowners, National Grid has decided that if you don’t need to sell, you might as well wait – and do the place up while you wait.