cityam 2012-02-23

8/3/2019 Cityam 2012-02-23

1/36

Meet London Business School

Speak informally with a London Business School representative about our portfolio of

top-ranked Masters degree programmes and receive advice on the right programme for you.

Wednesday 29 February 2012: Hilton Canary Wharf, South Quay, London E14 9SH

Thursday 1 March 2012: Novotel London Tower Bridge, 10 Pepys Street, London EC3N 2NR

Please join us at any time between 11.00 and 15.00

Find out more and register your interest at: www.london.edu/meetlbs/

Email: [email protected] or call: 020 7000 7500

FTSE 100 t5,916.55 -11.65 DOW t12,938.60 -27.09 NASDAQ t2,933.17 -15.40 /$ 1.57t-0.01 / 1.18t-0.01 /$ 1.32 unc

Oil price at

record 78per barrel

THE PRICE of oil hit an all-time high insterling yesterday, paving the way forrecord petrol costs at the pumps in thecoming weeks.

The relatively weak pound meansBrent crude spiked at around 78.50 a

barrel, beating the previous record of77.70 set last spring.

In dollar terms crude, squeezed upby supply worries linked to Irans con-frontational stance, rose up to 1.3 percent to nudge past $123 a barrel yester-day a nine-month high.

The pound hit a ten-week lowagainst the euro and lost 0.7 per centagainst the dollar yesterday followingsurprisingly dovish comments in theBank of Englands meeting notes.

Diesel has already hit an all-timehigh of 1.43 a litre in the last fewdays, and the current unleaded cost ofnearly 1.36 a litre is edging closer tothe record of 1.3743 set last May.

Luke Bosdet, spokesperson for theAA, said: [The spike] will feed throughto petrol prices, and it will completelystrangle demand. We are goingthrough an exact mirror of where we

were last year, with tension in theMiddle East creating fears over oil sup-ply, and then market speculators inter-

vening to push the price further.The wholesale price of oil will filter

down to the pumps in as little as 10days, Bosdet added. And it is not just

the UK having to fork out for priceyfuel: the AA has criticised the all-timehighs seen in Ireland, and the rest ofthe Eurozone is also feeling the pinch.

BY MARION DAKERS

ENERGY

RBS boss Stephen Hester is poised to freeze pay for tens of thousands of staff Picture: GETTY

RBS will announce a pay freeze forup to 27,000 staff this morning,including all of its investment

bankers and thousands of otherexecutives, in a move designed tosignal to the public and the govern-ment that it is embracing austerity.

The nationalised bank will alsoreveal that the bonus pool in itsinvestment bank has more thanhalved to some 400m for an aver-age award of 23,000 per banker, afar cry from the awards being givenout by rivals. The rest of the bank

will divvy up a bonus pool of aroundthe same amount, adding up toaround 800m.

Recruiters say they expect manyof the investment banks most tal-ented staff to leave once the next

batch of bonus stock vests or paysout later this year.

Youre going to see a mass-exo-dus of their best guys, said onerecruiter who headhunts bankers.

Such an exodus would stoke fearsthat the managements inability torun the bank on fully commercialterms is damaging its value, makingit harder for taxpayers to get backtheir 45bn in bailout money.

City A.M. recently revealed thedepth of investor concern aboutpolitical interference in the banksmanagement: at least half of its top

RBS STAFF HIT BYSHOCK PAY FREEZE

www.cityam.comIssue 1,576 Thursday 23 February 2012 FREE

ISA MYTHSEXPLODED

MAKE THE MOST

OF YOUR TAX

ALLOWANCE P28

ten private shareholders have com-plained to UK FinancialInvestments, the governmentagency that manages taxpayers 83per cent stake, about the growingpolitical risks associated with own-ing its stock.

Chief executive Stephen Hester

nevertheless tried to make the casefor running the bank as a commer-cial business last night to defendpaying bonuses. We are a commer-

cial business and we attract peoplewho are attracted to a commercialbusiness I had to look all over theworld for the best people [to run thebank] because we fired all of the topmanagement team, he said.

Hester also said that he views thepublic profile of his position with

horror. He told the BBC: The lime-light I hate. I really hate it. I dontknow if Id have done it if I had mytime again. But Im here and what I

care about is can RBS succeed. Imgritting my teeth about the rest andpushing on with that.

He defended the job cuts he isimplementing: One of the leastpleasant things I have to do is mak-ing cost-savings that come from joblosses. If we dont do it we cant save

RBS and safeguard the jobs that areleft.ALLISTER HEATH: P2

BANKS: P8-9

Certified Distribution

02/01/12 till 29/01/12 is 92,258

BY JULIET SAMUELBANKING

ANALYSIS l RBS Group PLC

p

16 Feb 17 Feb 20 Feb 21 Feb 22 Feb

28.50

28.00

27.50

27.00

26.50

27.3322 Feb

HOT CITY JOBS ANDWHERE TO FIND THEMALL-NEW CAREERS SECTION P19

BUSINESS WITH PERSONALITY

8/3/2019 Cityam 2012-02-23

2/36

News2 CITYA.M. 23 FEBRUARY 2012

Weak housesales hit DowUS STOCKS fell back from earlierhighs yesterday as weak housing fig-ures and poor European and Chinesegrowth prospects dented market con-fidence.

The Dow Jones hit a post-financialcrisis record of 13,000 on Tuesday, butfell 0.11 per cent yesterday to 12,951, while the Standard and Poors 500slid 0.19 per cent over the day.

Decembers housing sales figureswere revised downwards, taking theshine off strong January figures.

Sales rose 4.3 per cent in January toan annualized rate of 4.57m units,the highest since May 2010 butDecembers sales fell 0.5 per cent to4.38m, significantly down on the fiveper cent rise to 4.61m that was initial-ly reported.

Price fell, too, with the medianprice down to $166,100 (105,920), thelowest level since 2002, and the priceof pre-owned homes down two percent to $154,700.

However, the housing market isnot all weak the number of unsoldhomes fell to 2.31m last month, itslowest level since 2005.

European stocks were also down onpoor purchasing managers indicessuggesting the Eurozone may fallinto an official recession, pushing theGerman DAX down 0.93 per cent andthe French CAC 0.52 per cent.

BY TIMWALLACE

US ECONOMY

RUSSIAN LINK IN FRAUD CLAIMA $150m fraud allegedly attempted bya former fund manager at Threadneedle Asset Management islinked to a trade in more than a bil-lion Argentinian warrants by formerstaff at Otkritie, the Russian f inancialservices group. Threadneedle con-firmed on Tuesday that a former trad-er had been dismissed in August.

VOLCKER RULE POSES RECOVERY RISKJapan and the UK have urged the USto rewrite its so-called Volcker rule,claiming that trading restrictions onUS banks could hit the internationalsovereign debt market at a delicatemoment in the global recovery. Theysay new US banking reforms could

make it more difficult, costlier andriskier for countries to issue and dis-

tribute debt.BREWER STARBEV FACES TAKEOVERCVC, the private equity fund, hasbeen assesing approaches from sever-al brewers for Starbev, which itbought for $3bn in December 2009. Ithas not put Starbev up for sale orbegun a formal sales process but themove follows approaches to CVCabout a possible bid for the company, which it acquired from Anheuser-Busch InBev.

LIVINGSTONE REJECTS NEW AIRPORTKen Livingstone has spoken outagainst Boris Johnsons plans for anew airport in the Thames estuary,saying it is unaffordable, would hurtwildlife and could harm west London.

HOLIDAY INN OWNER TO CREATE 3,000JOBS The worlds biggest hotel company yesterday became the latest leisureoperator to announce plans to createnew jobs in Britain. InterContinentalHotels Group, which owns theHoliday Inn, Crowne Plaza and Indigobrands, promised to take on almost3,000 employees over three years.

SCHOOL LEAVERS GIVEN DE-TEXTLESSONS TO SPEAK THE LANGUAGEBUSINESS NEEDSSocial networking has created anunderclass of prospective employeeswho lack basic skills needed to jointhe workforce, says Peter Searle, UKchief executive of Adecco.

UK HOUSING MARKET HEADING FORLOST DECADE, WARNS COLLINSSTEWARTBritains housing market is headingfor a lost decade and governmentaid to support the industry is basedon bunkum projections of a proper-ty shortage in the UK. Coalition pro-posals to boost mortgage lendingcould leave first-time buyers in nega-tive equity, says Collins Stewart.

RTSPAIN APPEALS TO BRUSSELS FOREASIER DEFICIT REDUCTION TARGETSSpain has appealed to Brussels forsofter deficit-reduction targets, rais-ing fears that Europes rescue strate-gies are unworkable in the biggerEurozone economies.

FEDERAL PANEL APPROVES WEIGHTLOSS DRUG QNEXA A federal advisory panel yesterdayoverwhelmingly backed Vivussweight loss drug Qnexa, boosting thechance the Food and DrugAdministration could approve a newprescription weight-loss drug for thefirst time in more than a decade.

WORLD BANK PUNISHES ALSTOM The World Bank has temporarilyblacklisted and fined two subsidiariesof the French engineering companyAlstom after the companies allegedlyoffered bribes to gain a power-plantcontract in Zambia a decade ago. Thesubsidiaries will pay $9.5m in restitu-tion and face a block on Bank bids.

WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING

Bonus row now completely irrational

UTTERLY absurd: that is the only wayto describe the debate on bonuses.Here is why. Imagine a salesperson at awidget company so brilliant that shebrings in 10m a year for her firm. Sheis the best widget salesperson in theUK and her firms biggest asset. Hercompany, unfortunately, is loss-mak-ing but if it were to lose her to a rival,it would collapse. Yet according to thecurrent received wisdom, she should-nt receive a bonus. Only profit-mak-ing firms should be allowed to pay bonuses, we are constantly told,regardless of individual effort and

regardless of consequences. The factthat this means she will leave widg-ets salespeople arent know for theirloyalty and her firm will go bust,with the loss of many jobs, is deemed

irrelevant. Its madness.Here is another scenario whichillustrates the ambient silliness.Imagine a widget firm that pays itsstaff half in fixed, base pay and theremainder in variable pay. A recessionstrikes and the demand for widgetsslumps. The firm is able to cut staffcosts without having to fire anybody;it can still reward stars and survivesintact. Now imagine another widgetcompany, run in the way commenta-tors tell us is more prudent. It hasslashed variable pay and put up basepay (it tried merely to ditch bonuses,but the staff threatened to walk out,so it had to hike fixed salaries). Therecession hits; it is unable to cut costsinstantly, starts making redundanciesbut is crippled by the large payoutsneeded and by the slowness of theprocess. It goes bust, all employees lose

their jobs and the shareholders losetheir shirts.

Badly designed bonuses can triggerstupid behaviour but well designedones with deferred and equity compo-

nents and no payouts for failure need-nt, and an economy with low fixedand high variable costs is moreresilient than one with the oppositecharacteristics. Here is another incon-sistency: A banker on a base pay of10m and zero bonus gains plaudits;his colleague on a base pay of zero anda bonus of 4m is hated. Why? Andwhy does everybody always forget thathigh salaries in the UK are a joint ven-ture between HMRC and the individ-ual? Even the terminology is suspect:in many cases, what is known as thebonus system (or these days, as thebonus culture) is more a revenue orprofit share system; it is not meant toexist only or even primarily to rewardexceptional performance. The variablecomponent reflects a range of factors but in the aggregate is a mechanismto divvy up between labour and capi-

tal the cash generated in industriesprone to large cyclical fluctuations.Contrary to the received wisdom, payas a share of revenues is not especiallyhigh in finance; it is comparable to

many other service sector industries.Regular readers will know that Isupport real capitalism and abhorbailouts. I dont think RBS should havebeen allowed to continue to exist post-crisis. But it was, and the aim nowought to be to get taxpayers cashback. Yet the bank is being run to min-imise pay in the short-term to scorepolitical points (and politicians whoonce used to stand up for workersrights and against shareholders arecheering), rather than being managedto maximise value. The investmentbank unit is deliberately being crip-pled. The pay freeze for thousands oftop staff proves the firm is being treat-ed like the civil service. Governmentscant own banks; they always end updestroying them. What a mess.

[email protected] me on Twitter: @allisterheath

WARNER Music Group refuses to sur-render its thirst for British record labelEMI, whose recorded music business isset to go to Universal Music for 1.2bnfollowing Novembers bidding war.

Warner Music is reportedly lobby-ing Brussels to block Universalstakeover of the record label behindColdplay and The Beatles, alongsideindie music representative Impala.

But an Impala spokesperson toldCity A.M.: There is absolutely no link

between Warner and us on that. We both have very different reasons tooppose the move.

Warner is said to have expressed aninterest in buying major parts of EMI ifUniversals bid is approved and themusic giant is required to sell someassets to appease competition issues.

A Universal spokesperson said Warners wave-making is unlikely toaffect the European Commissionsdecision: We have a strong case andwere confident it will get clearance.

Warner Music was unavailable forcomment.

BY LAUREN DAVIDSON

ENTERTAINMENT

Warners eye still on EMIEMI, home to Blur and Iron Maiden, is being pursued by Warner Music Group

NEWS | IN BRIEF

Cherie Blair sues over hackingThe wife of former Prime Minister TonyBlair has begun legal action over thealleged interception of her private phonemessages, her lawyer said yesterday.Barrister Cherie Blair, 57, issued a state-ment through a London law firm thathas pursued phone-hacking cases

against Rupert Murdoch's British news-papers on behalf of several high profileclients. I can confirm that we haveissued a claim on behalf of Cherie Blairin relation to the unlawful interceptionof her voicemails, lawyer GrahamAtkins, of Atkins Thomson, said in thestatement.

BHP stops manganese operationBHP Billiton, the worlds biggest miningfirm, announced this morning that it willsuspend production at its manganesealloy production facility in Tasmania byearly to mid-March, citing stiff interna-tional competition and rising operatingcosts. Recently, there has been furthererosion of its international competitive-ness due to the strong Australian dollarand steady increases in input costs,including in reductants and electricity,"the company said in a statement.

EDITORS LETTER

ALLISTER HEATH

Editorial StatementThis newspaper adheres to the system of

self-regulation overseen by the Press ComplaintsCommission. The PCC takes complaints about theeditorial content of publications under the EditorsCode of Practice, a copy of which can be found atwww.pcc.org.uk

Printed by Newsfax International,Beam Reach 5 Business Park,Marsh Way, Rainham, Essex, RM13 8RS

Distribution helplineIf you have any comments about the distributionof City A.M. Please ring 0207 015 1230, or [email protected]

The US economy hasbeen gradually gainingpace under PresidentObama, who faces anelection battle this year

4th Floor, 33 Queen Street, London, EC4R 1BRTel: 020 3201 8900 Fax: 020 7248 2711Email: [email protected] www.cityam.com

EditorialEditor Allister HeathDeputy Editor David HellierNews Editor David CrowActing Night Editor Marion DakersBusiness Features Editor Marc SidwellLifestyle Editor Zoe StrimpelSports Editor Frank DalleresArt Director Gavin BillennessPictures Alice Hepple

CommercialSales Director Jeremy SlatteryCommercial Director Harry Owen

Head of Distribution Nick Owen

The new jobs website for London professionalsCAREERS.com

8/3/2019 Cityam 2012-02-23

3/36

EDINBURGH Woollen Mill has rescuedthe distressed fashion chain Peacocksout of administration, saving 6,000

jobs, though thousands of staff arestill to be made redundant.

Administrator KPMG said the deal,which was settled at the weekend, willsave 388 shops but more than 244stores have ceased trading withimmediate effect, leading to3,100 redundancies.

EWM walked away from

the auction of Peacocksearlier this month but

was invited back to thebidding table by KPMG atthe eleventh hour.

The group beat offcompetition fromSKNL, thec h a i n sI n d i a nsupplier,

which wasin long-

running talks to buy a substantialnumber of stores.

Chris Laverty, joint administrator atKPMG, told City A.M. that EWM wasfirst to the finishing line with a bidthat reflected the best value with themost certainty.

Last year, EWM snapped up the JaneNorman brand and 33 of its storesafter the womenswear retailerplunged into administration.

The group, based in Langholm,Scotland, has expanded to over500 stores in a decade underthe chairmanship of Philip

Day. He was previously manag-ing director of Aquascutum,where he helped turn aroundits UK business.

Day (pictured), who staged amanagement buyout of EWM

in 2002, said the Peacocks pur-chase gives further depth to

EWMs range of trading pro-files and asserts our positionas one of the UKs leadingHigh Street fashion andclothing retailers.

Peacocks soldto EdinburghWoollen MillBYKASMIRA JEFFORD

RETAIL

ADaimlerBrand

The C-Class Coup AMG Sport.From just 299*a month.

AMG body styling and 18" AMG alloy wheels, bi-xenon headlamps, Attention

Assist and when youve finished driving, theres Parktronic with Advanced

Parking Guidance.

299*can sometimes go an awfully long way.

Visit mercedes-benz.co.uk/offers

*For Business Users only. Advance payment applies. Official government fuel consumption figures in mpg (litres per 100km) for the C-Class Coup range: urban: 15.5(18.2)-44.8(6.3), extra urban:33.6(8.4)-65.7(4.3), combined: 23.5(12.0)-55.4(5.1). CO2 emissions: 280-133 g/km.Model featured is a Mercedes-Benz C180 BlueEFFICIENCY AMG Sport Coup at 30,865 on-the-road including optional metallic paint at 645.00. *All paymentssubject to VAT: Finance example based on a Mercedes-Benz C180 BlueEFFICIENCY AMG Sport Coup with metallic paint on a 36 month (6+35 profile) Contract Hire agreement, excluding maintenance, with an advance payment of 1,794.00. Based on 10,000 miles per annum. Excessmileage charges may apply. Rental includes Road Fund Licence for the duration of the contract. Written quotations available on request including alternative contract lengths and mileages. Guarantees and indemnities may be required. This finance campaign is available on C -ClassCoup models ordered/credit approved between 1 January and 31 March 2012 and registered by 30 June 2012, excluding AMG models. Terms and conditions apply. Offers are subject to availability. Offers cannot be used in conjunction with any other published offer from the Retailer.Some combinations of features/options may not be available. Please contact your Mercedes-Benz Retailer for availability. Credit provided subject to status by Mercedes-Benz Financial Services UK Limited, MK15 8BA. Prices correct at time of going to press 02/12.

PROPERTY tycoons Vincent andRobert Tchenguiz have won the rightfor a judicial review of the circum-stances surrounding their arrests last

year during a Serious Fraud Officeprobe.

Yesterday the embattled SFO didnot contest High Court applications

by the brothers, who were held inMarch as part of the SFO inquiry intothe collapse of Icelands Kaupthing

Bank in 2008. The judicial reviewhearing is expected to take place over

three days in May. They were among nine people

arrested when more than 135 policeofficers swooped on various premisesacross London.

The brothers were released with-out charge and two months ago the

Tchenguiz Family Trust threatened tosue the SFO for up to 100m in dam-ages.

Yesterday Robert said: I am confi-dent that in due course the court willfind in my favour and will vindicate

the view which I expressed at thetime that the actions of the SFO on 9

March 2011 were unlawfully dispro-portionate.

The SFO has admitted there wereerrors in a search warrant obtainedagainst Vincent before the Marchraids but is in dispute with him over

what will happen to certain evidence.Despite dropping their opposition

to the review the agency is expectedto contest Roberts assertion that the

warrants related to him were invalid. The brothers are two of Britains

best-known property entrepreneurs.

Tchenguiz brothers set for new battle with SFOVincent (left) and Robert Tchenguiz, pictured with sister Lisa, have won the right for a judicial review

BY PETER EDWARDS

ENFORCEMENT

News 3CITYA.M. 23 FEBRUARY 2012

8/3/2019 Cityam 2012-02-23

4/36

ROYAL Dutch Shell yesterdayannounced a 992.4m bid for CoveEnergy as it seeks to expand its foot-print in the East African market.

Coves main asset is an 8.5 per centstake in the Rovuma Offshore Area 1in Mozambique where more than 30trillion cubic feet of natural gas hasalready been identified.

Shell has been concentrating on itsgas business, which is now almostequal in size to its oil operation. The

energy giant has offered 195p pershare in cash, which Coves manage-ment said they would recommend toshareholders.

Coves three most senior executives chief executive John Craven, chair-man Michael Blaha and finance direc-tor Michael Nolan are in line for a31m windfall if they sell their sharesafter a successful deal.

The firms partners on the Rovumaproject include Anadarko, Mitsui,Bharat Petroleum, Videocon, and

ENH. Sources said it was unlikely thatShell would settle for just 8.5 per centof Rovuma in the long term andcould target buying up a bigger slice.

In the meantime Shell needs to winapproval from the Mozambique gov-ernment for the Cove deal. Cove alsohas interests in Tanzania and Kenya.Irene Himona, oil analyst at SocitGnrale, said: Shell absolutely must

be in East Africa.Separately, Shell said Malcolm

Brinded, its gas exploration and pro-duction operations chief outside the

Americas, would step down.

Shell in 1bnbid to snap upCove EnergyBY JOHN DUNNE

OIL


ANALYSIS l Royal Dutch Shell Plc

p


3,320

2,310

2,300

2,290

2,280

2,309.0022 Feb

GERALDINE Murphy heads the oil

& gas advisory team at StandardChartered Bank and is leading theteam advising Cove Energy.

She joined the bank in 2007 fol-lowing the acquisition of HarrisonLovegrove & Co and has over 20years of oil and gas deal experience.

Prior to joining StandardChartered she was an executivedirector with CIBC World MarketsOil & Gas M&A team in Calgary andLondon. She has advised on over$25bn of transactions in the sectorincluding recently advising ChineseNOC Sinochem on the 532macquisition of Emerald Energy andBP on the $7bn sale of assets in US,Canada and Egypt to ApacheCorporation in 2010.

The broker for Cove on the deal isCenkos with Joe Nally leading theteam. The London School ofEconomics-educated executive

joined Williams de Broe in 1976 asan investment analyst coveringproperty and insurance companies.He went on to become an institu-tional salesman, covering a widerange of institutions in the UK andEurope. He has worked on a broadrange of IPOs including secondaryfund raising and takeovers andmergers.

Meanwhile Shells adviser isMorgan Stanley.

MEET THE ADVISERSOIL MAJORS AFRICAN ADVENTURE

GERALDINE

MURPHY

STANDARD

CHARTERED

*992.4m - bid value

*8.5 per cent - Coves stakein the Rovuma Offshore Area 1

*30 trillion cubic feet -Operator Anadarko has foundmore than 30 trillion cubicfeet of natural gas in Rovuma

*31m - the amount Cove'sthree most senior executives chief executive JohnCraven, chairman MichaelBlaha and finance directorMichael Nolan could receiveif they sell their shares follow-ing a deal

18.83m metric tons - Shell'ssales volumes of liquefied nat-ural gas (LNG) in 2011

8/3/2019 Cityam 2012-02-23

5/36

300 INSURANCECONTRIBUTION

4 YEARSSERVICING

4TH YEAR EXTENDEDGUARANTEE

UP TO 3 YEARSROAD TAX*

3 YEARS 6.4% APRREPRESENTATIVE

CHOOSE 3OFFERSON YOUR NEW CR-V,

JAZZ OR INSIGHT

YOUR HONDA,YOUR WAY.

Fuel consumption figures for Honda range in mpg (l/100km):Urban Cycle 23.2 - 61.4 (12.2 - 4.6), Extra Urban 40.4 - 67.3 (7.0 - 4.2),Combined 32.5 - 64.2 (8.7 - 4.4). CO2 emissions: 201 101 g/km.

Call: 0845 200 8000 to find your localHonda dealer, or visit: www.honda.co.uk

Models shown: Jazz 1.4 ES Manual in Azure Blue Metallic at 13,935, CR-V 2.0 ES Manual in Urban Titanium Metallic at 24,235 and Insight IMA EX in Spectrum

White Pearl at 21,435. Terms and Conditions: Offers valid on new retail CR-V, Jazz (including Jazz Hybrid) and 11YM Insight models ordered from 16 December

2011 to 31 March 2012 and registered by 30 June 2012. Offers applicable at participating Dealers and are at the Promoters absolute discretion.Servicing: Four

years complimentary servicing or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first, and includes a maximum of four services. Complimentary servicing covers the manufacturers

scheduled servicing only. 4th Year Extended Guarantee: Additional coverage extends the original Standard Warranty to 4 years / 120,000 miles (whichever occurs

first), and will Guarantee the vehicle is free from material and manufacturing defects (mechanical and electrical items only, excludes items which can be expected to

wear). Road Tax: *Jazz/11YM Insight - monetary amount equivalent to the cost of Road Tax (Vehicle Excise Duty) for the first three years of the vehicles life will be

paid at time of purchase at the prevailing rates of First Year and Subsequent Year VED. CR-V - monetary amount equivalent to the cost of Road Tax (Vehicle Excise

Duty) for the first year of the vehicles life will be paid at time of purchase at the prevailing rate. Insurance contribution: Monetary amount of 300 will

be paid at time of purchase as a contribution to insurance costs. Honda Aspirations (PCP): Indemnities may be required in certain circumstances.

Finance is only available to persons aged 18 or over, subject to status. All figures are correct at time of publication but may be subject to change. Credit

provided by Honda Finance Europe PLC, 470 London Road, Slough, Berkshire SL3 8QY. You do not have to pay the Final Payment if you return the car at the end

of the agreement, you have paid all other amounts due, the vehicle is in good condition and has been serviced in accordance with the Honda service

book and the maximum permitted mileage of 10,000 per annum has not been exceeded. LOVE HEARTS , SWIZZELS MATLOW LTD.

Scan me to seethe latest offers

((,#+'#$#$&'(

+++(,$!$#$#$*)'$(

($&'')%%!,((,$$#$#

6+.&*#..35#..'3:*1454##5'+'8$-#)#

51/13318(31/2/

8/3/2019 Cityam 2012-02-23

6/36

PROTESTERS from Occupy Londonappear set for an angry confrontationwith bailiffs after they lost a last-ditchlegal bid to preserve their camp out-side St Pauls Cathedral.

Yesterday three judges dismissedthe activists applications for the rightto appeal against an earlier evictionorder, paving the way for the City ofLondon Corporation to clear around120 remaining tents.

The Occupy group vowed peacefulresistance after Stuart Fraser, theCitys policy chairman, called on themto pack up their tents and equipmentimmediately. Fraser said: Peacefulprotest is a democratic right but thecamp is clearly in breach of highwayand planning law.

The City will press ahead with aneviction as the protesters consider whether to take their case to theEuropean Court of Human Rights. Itraises the prospect, however, that

much of the camp could have disap-peared before a hearing in Strasbourg.

Earlier yesterday three judges, head-ed by the Master of the Rolls, LordNeuberger, said the protesters did nothave an arguable case to appeal underEnglish law.

The freedoms and rights of others,the interests of public health and pub-lic safety and the prevention of disor-der and crime, and the need to protectthe environment of this part of theCity of London all demand the reme-dy, they said in a written summary.

The City is expected to begin an evic-tion soon but said it could not revealthe timing for operational reasons.

The Occupy group said: This is justthe beginning. The movement is grow-ing and evolving beyond its spiritualand symbolic home by the steps of StPauls near the London StockExchange.

The camp, set up on 15 October,held more than 200 tents at its peak. Activists have denied accusations ofdrug use and vandalism.

Protesters on

the brink aslegal bid failsBY PETER EDWARDS

POLITICS

HEWLETTPACKARD has announceda 44 per cent decline in quarterlyearnings as the computer giant washurt by weak sales of PCs and printers.

The Silicon valley company report-ed net income of $1.47bn (938m) forthe first fiscal quarter, down from$2.6bn a year earlier.

Revenue dropped by seven per centto $30bn, missing forecasts.

HP has struggled to deal with theshift away from traditional PCs andtowards mobile devices.

Meg Whitman, HPs new presidentand chief executive officer, said: Inthe first quarter we focused on thefundamentals to drive long-term sus-tainable returns. We are taking thenecessary steps to improve execution,increase effectiveness and capitalizeon emerging opportunities to reassertHPs technology leadership.

HP profits plungeas PC sales slumpTECHNOLOGY

Members of the Worshipful Company of Stationers pass activists near St Pauls Cathedral


www.RateSetter.com Customer Phoneline: 08442490115

In association with RateSetter: A better way to Save and Borrow, Peer to Peer

MUNICE KHAN | ROTHSCHILD

If the public perceives them to be doing something beneficial thenyes, they would be achieving something. But all the protesters aredoing is causing a nuisance and the public agrees.

JAKE HALSTEAD | INGLEBY TRICE

They havent got anywhere. They have annoyed more people than theyhave helped and even acted aggressively. They seem confused as towhy theyre even there.

MICHAEL FRANK | CELLPOINT MOBILE

Personally I think they are beginning to make a mark as it has been allover the media and has sympathy from people like Terry Smith. Itseems to have caused the whole world to notice and complain aboutthings like bankers bonuses.

* These views are those of the individuals below and not necessarily those of their company

CITY VIEWS: DO YOU THINK THE OCCUPY PROTESTSHAVE ACHIEVED ANYTHING? Interviews by Phoebe Torrance

MICROSOFT has asked EU antitrustregulators to intervene in a patent

dispute with Google and MotorolaMobility as it stepped up its battleagainst Google.

Microsoft complained thatMotorola Mobility was chargingMicrosoft too much for use of itspatents in Microsoft products a weekafter the European Commission andthe US Justice Department approvedInternet search leader Googles$12.5bn acquisition of mobile phone-maker Motorola.

Microsoft asksfor patent helpTECHNOLOGY

8/3/2019 Cityam 2012-02-23

7/36

8/3/2019 Cityam 2012-02-23

8/36

BARCLAYS saw the number of retailcustomer complaints it receives edgedown by six per cent last year in adevelopment that it expects to delivermillions of pounds in cost-savings.

The drop in complaints camedespite a 12 per cent rise in the secondhalf of the year entirely due to the pay-ment protection insurance mis-sellingscandal, which has cost the bank 1bn.

Complaints relating to PPI soared by102 per cent to 196,684 at Barclays,

accelerating after banks dropped anappeal and agreed to pay out compen-sation to those who were mis-sold theinsurance. Lenders have received ablitz of unwelcome publicity related toPPI, with lawyers chasing consumersand encouraging them to file for com-pensation.

But overall, complaints dropped sig-nificantly in Barclays other non-PPIrelated businesses, which the bankthinks will deliver millions in savings.

Excluding PPI, complaints dropped

by 29 per cent last year to 336,363. Thebiggest improvement was in the retailbank, where they fell by 31 per cent. The bank said that some of its mosteffective changes included processingreplacement debit cards within twodays rather than a week and releasingfunds of the deceased to bereaved kinfar more quickly.

The banks head of retail Antony Jenkins said: Tackling complaints isour top priority... We are aiming forfurther significant reductions inunderlying complaints in the first halfof 2012.

Barclays seescomplaintsedge down WELLS Fargo is buying an energy lend-ing business from BNP Paribas, in theUS banks latest acquisition from aEuropean bank seeking to shrink its

balance sheet.The San Francisco-based bank is buy-

ing $9.5bn (6.1bn) of total loan com-mitments, including $3.9bn in fundedbalances. BNP said the premium paid by Wells and other terms of the all-cash deal were not being disclosed.

BNP said the sale of the Houston-based business was part of its plan toreduce its US dollar funding require-ments and would provide a slight ben-efit to its tier one common equityratio.

The company said it remains com-mitted to maintaining a strong North American energy and commoditiesbusiness.

About 90 per cent of the portfolio isUS-based, with the rest mostly inCanada, Wells said. Once the deal clos-es, the combined energy group willhave about $30bn in total commit-ments, said Kyle Hranicky, who leadsthe Wells Fargo group, which is alsobased in Houston.

The deal, subject to regulatory andother approvals, is expected to close inthe second quarter. The groups 36employees in Houston and Calgary willbe offered jobs with Wells, BNP said.

BNP Paribasoffloads dollarassets to Wells

BY JULIET SAMUEL

BANKING

BANKING


ANALYSIS l Barclays PLC

p


255

250

245

240

235

239.2022 Feb

BANKS paid out a record 441m incompensation for insurance mis-sell-ing in December, taking the total pay-out for 2011 to 1.9bn.

The Financial Services Authoritysaid payouts in December jumped 16per cent from the previous record of379m in November.

There has been an increase inmonthly payouts in almost everymonth since April, when banks lost a

long-running legal battle to avoid pay-ing compensation.

Analysts predict that the total billto compensate customers who were wrongly sold loan insurance couldnow hit 6bn.

Lloyds Banking Group, led by Antnio Horta-Osrio, has set aside3.2bn to compensate the banks cus-tomers, and this week the said it would claw back past bonus pay-ments to bosses who were in chargeat the time of the mis-selling.

Banks pay out 1.9bn inPPI mis-selling scandal

Antnio Horta-Osrio, Lloyds CEO, has set aside 3.2bn for PPI claims. Picture: GETTY

BY JAMESWATERSON

BANKING

8/3/2019 Cityam 2012-02-23

9/36

News 9CITYA.M. 23 FEBRUARY 2012

THE chief executive of St JamessPlace has said many FTSE-listedfirms are undervalued, as theupmarket wealth manager report-ed a rise in profits and its dividend.

There has been a disconnectbetween the fundamental value ofcompanies and their share price ...2011 was not a good year for mar-kets, David Bellamy told City A.M.

He was speaking as St Jamesssaid a 10 per cent net inflow offunds under management during2011 had helped boost operatingprofit by 12 per cent to 371.5m.

The firms clients, largely highnet worth individuals, face morechallenges in managing their

money as they live for longer andsee asset income hit by record lowinterest rates.

St Jamess, majority owned bytaxpayer-backed Lloyds BankingGroup, increased its annual divi-dend by a third and indicated asimilar hike will follow for per-formance in 2012.

The firm also said funds undermanagement have grown to29.5bn at the end of January, up1bn from the end of 2011.

While mindful of the difficulteconomic conditions that persist,we have a good platform for fur-ther growth in new business in2012 and we remain confident ofachieving our medium termgrowth objectives, Bellamy said.

St Jamess has also appointed

Patience Wheatcroft, the Tory peerand former editor of The SundayTelegraph, as an independent non-executive director. She previouslyserved at Barclays.

St Jamess profit before share-holder tax rose 30 per cent to109.7m.

Profit at St JamessPlace up on turmoilBY PETER EDWARDS

ASSET MANAGEMENT

TRADERS rushed to cash in onglobal turmoil last year, boostingprofits at spread betting firmLondon Capital Group.

The firm said pre-tax profits forthe year ending December 2011rose nine per cent to 7.1m.

London Capital, which specialis-es in spread-betting and onlinetrading, reported a 13 per cent rev-enue rise to 39m.

Chief executive Simon Denham

said its groups systems had comethrough considerable volatility

in financial markets in the secondhalf of the year.

Whilst extreme volatility suchas that seen in August andSeptember can lead to technologi-cal issues in our industry, thegroup had no such issues.

Denham also highlighted thecollapse of commodities broker MFGlobal in October and said LondonCapital would consider appropri-ate acquisitions if opportunitiescropped up, as he struck a bullishtone on the chances of winning

new work.Whilst we believe the economic

situation in the UK and Europe isunlikely to improve significantly inthe medium term, LCG has shownthat it can build its business evenin tough times.

The firm, founded in 1996 as aproprietary trading business, pro-posed a final dividend of 2.6p ashare, making a total for the yearof 3.9p, up from 1p last year.

Its performance echoed that oflarger rival IG Group, which lastmonth also reported higher profitsas big swings in financial markets,

driven by Europes debt crisis,pushed up trading volumes.

Volatility no trouble as traders pushLondon Capital to income growthFINANCIAL SERVICES

BUSINESS has been better than expect-ed for investment banks so far this year, according to research by JPMorgan analysts, offering a glimmerof hope for the troubled industry.

But the analysts, led by Kian Abouhossein, are still expecting thefirst quarter of this year to show amarked drop in revenues compared tothe start of 2011.

The analysts write: We witnessedmaterial improvement in investment bank overall revenues from the firsttwo weeks of January into February,leading us to upgrade our year-on-yearFICC (fixed income, commodities and

currencies) revenue estimate for thefirst quarter of 2012 from minus 26per cent to now minus 13 per cent yearon year.

They add that if the trend contin-

ues, they could see revenues decliningby less potentially by five per cent but that it is not yet strong enough tomerit a full-year upgrade.

The assessment reflects a greatersense of optimism since the New Year,in large part due to the EuropeanCentral Banks decision to inject aflood of long-term funding into thecontinents banking system, which hasseen bank wholesale marketsunfreeze.

The JP Morgan research note showsthat fixed income activity and the business generated from it havejumped so far this year. In particular,global government debt issuance hasshot up from a quarterly average of$70bn (45bn) at the end of 2011 to

$132bn this year so far, the data shows.Equity volumes are also sharply

higher this year. The three-month aver-age volume for the LSE has gone upfrom $2.2bn in December to $3bn.

Investment bankrevenues improving

over first quarterBY JULIET SAMUEL

BANKING

368.4022 Feb

ANALYSIS l St James's Place PLC

p


385

380

375

370

365

360

UBS might struggle to attract biginstitutional investors for more loss-absorbing bonds it wants to sell,after investors voiced distaste for thestructure and price of an initial $2bn(1.3bn) deal announced yesterday.

UBSs new bonds are designed tohelp bolster the bank in tough timesby absorbing losses. Their value can bewritten down if the banks key com-mon equity Tier 1 ratio falls below fiveper cent or hits non-viability.

The bank, which needs to raiseroughly $16bn to meet new capitalrules, said it is weighing issues inother regions and currencies whichare likely to exceed $1bn in size.

UBS attracted $5.5bn of demandfrom investors. But they also drewsharp criticism from several poten-tial institutional buyers, who saidsimilar issues from UBS and other

banks will be a tough sell.Its clearly not an investor-friend-

ly structure, said PhilippeKellerhals from asset managementfirm Cairn.

UBS preparesnew move oncapital rules

BANKING

Sergio Ermotti has led several changes as CEO Picture: GETTY

8/3/2019 Cityam 2012-02-23

10/36

GREECE has received a fresh blow as

ratings agency Fitch downgraded thegovernment, warning a default ishighly likely in the near term.

Even the shaky130bn (109.9bn)bailout deal, agreed by Eurozone lead-ers in the early hours of Tuesdaymorning, may not be implemented asparliamentarians in Germanys rulingparties threatened to vote against it.

Fitch argued the debt swap, inwhich private investors will exchangebond holdings for longer-dated, lowervalue bonds, might help Greece avoiddefaulting next month but counts as adistressed debt exchange, meriting adowngrade from triple-C to single-C.

Meanwhile Merkel was forced torely on the support of opposition par-ties after several members of her ownCDU and coalition partners the FDPrejected the bailout.

I will vote no whatever happensbecause this is purely about delaying

an insolvency, said the CDUs Klaus-Peter Willsch.

However, the Greek government didtake one step towards fulfilling its obli-gations, agreeing to work with othercountries to clamp down on tax eva-sion, which has been rampant in thecountry for many years.

Signing up to the convention onmutual administrative assistance intax matters will help Greece restorethe longer-term sustainability of itspublic finances, and improve itsinternal tax collection system and pur-sue revenues lost to tax avoidance andevasion, said OECD boss Angel Gurria.

Fitch: BailoutBY TIMWALLACE

EUROZONE

News10

Meanwhile data published byMarkit showed economic activity fellin the Eurozone in February, heighten-ing expectations that the first quarter

will see a renewed recession, thoughFrench and German output expanded.

The purchasing managers index for

PRESIDENT Barack Obama launched adialogue with US companies yesterdayover business tax reform, offering hisfirst clear plan to cut the corporate taxrate, though with little prospect of it

becoming law in an election year.The President proposed cutting the

top corporate tax rate to 28 per centfrom 35 per cent. This would addressUS corporations long-standing gripeabout the rate being too high cur-rently they pay the worlds second-highest corporation tax rate after

Japans.In return for lowering the tax rate

on businesses, the plan calls for broad-ening the corporate tax base by end-

BYHARRY BANKS

US POLITICS

Obama brings firm

Angela MerkelsMPs do not thinkGreece can pay itshuge debts.Picture: REUTERS

8/3/2019 Cityam 2012-02-23

11/36

the region as a whole came in at 49.7 down from 50.4 in January and belowthe no change mark of 50.

Some optimism came fromEurostat data, also published yester-day, which registered a 1.9 per centmonthly rise in industrial orders in

s likely to fail

THE EUROPEAN Commission (EC) yesterday proposed suspendingsome of its payments to Hungary

because it is not satisfied that thecountry is trying hard enough to

bring down its budget deficit.Hungary is set to lose 495m

(418.26m) next year, representing0.5 per cent of the countrys GDPand 29 per cent of its income fromthe EUs cohesion fund, which ismeant to promote economic andsocial development.

The EC said it had repeatedlyurged Hungary to step up its

efforts to end the countrys exces-

sive government deficit, which hasnot been below the three per centlimit since the country joined theEU in 2004 and is forecast to hit 3.25per cent of GDP in 2013.

All 26 other EU members willhave to vote through the proposedmeasure, and if the country persistsin borrowing too much it may haveall of its cohesion funding stoppedin 2015.

EU commissioner Olli Rehndenied the measure is a punish-ment, arguing instead that it is to

be regarded as an incentive to cor-rect a deviation, and is a fair andproportionate step for the EC totake.

BY TIMWALLACE

HUNGARIAN ECONOMY

11News

December.The data are consistent with a mild

recession, focused on the industrialsector, said Barclays Capitals JulianCallow, but the new orders figuressuggest the Eurozone is very graduallyeasing out of recession.

ing a number of tax breaks, somespelled out previously in Obamas

budgets, and sure to be resisted bypowerful corporate interests.

In a move partly to counter theunveiling of an economic plan byRepublican presidential contenderMitt Romney, Obamas proposal wasrolled out at a briefing by Treasury sec-retary Timothy Geithner, likely mark-

ing the start of lengthy negotiations.The current tax code was written

for a different economy, a differentera, Geithner said. He plans to meetnext week with members of Congressto try to win support for the plan.

This process will take some time. Itwill be politically contentious, somewill say these proposals are too toughon business, others will say they are

not tough enough, he said. The plan will try to reverse tax

incentives for corporations to relocatejobs and research overseas, while giv-ing domestic manufacturing opera-tions a special tax break.

In a new twist, the president pro-posed imposing a minimum tax oncorporate profits earned in low taxcountries.

ax simplification to campaign

Hungary faces EUbudget punishment

ECONOMICS | IN BRIEF

IFS hits out at pension planChanging employer pension schemesfrom the current opt in system to anauto-enrolment system will result infirms pushing up prices, reducing divi-dends and mostly likely, the Institutefor Fiscal Studies (IFS) believes reduc-ing wages. Making the switch betweensystems is a case of bad timing fromthe government, the respected think-tank said yesterday, because workershave already suffered from falling realwages in the face of high inflation.Workers who still opt out of the newscheme will be the biggest losers, it said,as they will see wages rises decline butsee none of the benefit from employercontributions to their pensions.

Brits down on economyAn overwhelming majority of Britonsrate the state of the economy as bad,according to new research from IpsosMori. Only 13 per cent view the UKseconomic situation as good, while 87per cent see it as bad. The survey is atits most positive since June 2011, butremains well below Germanys wherearound seven in ten rate their economyas being in a good state. However, theUKs outlook is not the worlds worst only eight per cent in Japan, six per centin France and four per cent in Spain ratetheir economies as good.

Extra 1bn in growth fundsDeputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg willtoday announce 1bn is available forfirms to create jobs through the regionalgrowth fund. A total of 48 firms so farhave taken money from the initiative,which now has 2.4bn available. Thecompanies present an investment planand demonstrate that it will create new

jobs and make a significant impact ontheir local economy, before they canaccess the funds. For every 5 the firmcontributes, the government adds anextra 1, with the aim of stimulatingextra job creation around the country.Clegg is announcing the scheme at amanufacturing conference today, andwill urge the sector to bid for the cash.

Chinas PMI lifts Japans stocksJapans Nikkei share average rose oneper cent yesterday to its highest level insix months, boosted by news thatChinas manufacturing sector rose to afour-month high in February, although itremained in contraction territory. TheHSBC flash purchasing managers index(PMI), the earliest indicator of Chinasindustrial activity, rose to 49.7 inFebruary from 48.8 in January. The PMIhas been below 50, indicating contrac-tion, for most of the last eight months.The Nikkei closed at 9,555 after twosessions of stiff resistance at 9,500.

PRIME Minister David Cameron willattack anti-business snobbery in aspeech to the Business in theCommunity conference today.

Business is the most powerfulforce for social progress the worldhas ever known, he is expected tosay, just two days after theConfederation of British Industry(CBI) accused some government poli-cies and ministers of appearinganti-business.

The Prime Minister will point toincreasing numbers of internshipsand apprenticeships as evidence that

businesses are boosting skills, andmaking things better.

In particular, Cameron is set to hitout at critics of companies, arguingthat it is only snobbery which hasled to work experience placements

being slammed as slave labour,and that says business isnt really to

be trusted.Companies including UBS,

Barclays and McDonalds are allpraiseworthy, he believes, as they cre-ate thousands of opportunities for

young people to gain valuable workexperience.

However the governments ownrecord on promoting business has

been questioned on Tuesday theCBI attacked the governmentsefforts to limit immigration, arguingit put international businesses and

workers off coming to the UK.

PM to hit out atanti-businesssnobbery in UK

POLITICS

8/3/2019 Cityam 2012-02-23

12/36

EUROPES largest drinks can makerRexam put its underperforming per-sonal care business up for sale yester-day and said it would look to returncash to shareholders, sending itsshares to their highest level in nearlyfour years.

The British firm, which also report-ed full-year profits largely in line withexpectations yesterday, said strengthin its core beverage cans business off-set continued weakness at plasticpackaging, which includes the per-sonal care and healthcare operations.

Rexam, which makes Red Bull andPepsiCo cans as well as packaging forfood, healthcare and cosmetic prod-ucts, said it had decided to hive offthe underperforming personal careunit as it did not expect a turnaroundin the near term. The unit has beenhit by rising costs and lower volumes.

The firm plans, however, to retainthe healthcare unit.

Chief executive Graham Chipchasedeclined to say how much the busi-ness could be sold for, or give a time-frame. Analysts have said thepersonal care unit could fetch up to350m.

Full-year operating profit at thecompanys plastic packaging unit wasdown 14 per cent at 102m, with thebusiness accounting for 19 per cent ofgroup underlying operating profit,down from 23 per cent the yearbefore.

Full-year pre-tax profit rose 15 percent to 450m, in line with a consen-sus forecast of 447m, according to acompany-supplied poll.

The rise was driven by a 14 per centjump in underlying operating profitat Rexams beverage cans unit, whichnow accounts for 81 per cent of groupprofit.

Shares in Rexam climbed 7.4 percent to 413p, their highest levels sinceMay 2008, and were the top percent-age risers on the FTSE 100.

FRANCE Telecom, the parent body ofOrange UK, cut dividends for the nexttwo years by almost 15 per cent as itcontinues to lose customers to low-costrival Free Mobile.

Full year net income attributable toequity owners dropped 20 per cent to3.9bn as the group struggled in theface of Europes economic headwinds.

Earnings before interest, taxes,

depreciation and amortisation weredown five per cent to 15.1bn as sales

at France Telecom came in at 1.6 percent lower than last year, at 45.3bn.

Chief executive Stephane Richardput this down partly to the increasingcost of borrowing since France lost itstop credit rating and the loss of201,000 customers.

The telco also postponed the sharebuyback it promised investors when itsold its Swiss arm for $1.5bn inDecember, and said it expected anuncharacteristically quiet year ahead

in terms of acquisitions and big deals.Shares rose two per cent to 11.66.

France Telecom dividendslashed on earnings dropTELECOMS

SHARES in recruiter Hays got an eightper cent lift yesterday after it said itsglobal net fee income had risen 11 percent, despite a decline in its UK opera-tions.

Net fees grew by 11 per cent on alike-for-like basis in the six months to31 December compared to same peri-od in 2010, rising to 373.8m.Operating profit was up 14 per cent ona like-for-like basis to 63.1m, and over-all turnover for 2011 hit 1.86bn.

Hays said it was encouraged by astrong start to 2012 in booming

resource and IT markets, and creditedits diverse market spread for helpingto boost first-half profits by 24 percent.

Net fees, or gross profit, for the peri-od rose by 16 per cent in its Asia Pacificmarket on a like-for-like basis.Continental Europe and the rest of theworld increased by 27 per cent but theUK dropped six per cent as bankingmarkets in particular continued tostruggle.

Hays boosts income asUK lags behind on feesRECRUITMENT

HEATHROW airport passenger numbers rose five per cent to a record

69.4m last year, helping BAA to nar-row its losses.The airport operator made a loss of

255.8m in the year to 31 December,compared with 316.6m the yearbefore.

The firms revenues rose 10 percent on last year to 2.28bn, the firmsaid in a statement.

Passengers at Stansted airport,which BAA must sell under a compe-tition ruling, dropped by 2.8 per cent

to 18m.The company said the total num-

ber of passengers at its airports rose3.7 per cent to 87.4m.

BAA said: Of Heathrows major

markets, European traffic showed themost significant year-on-year growth,increasing 7.6 per cent to 28.5m pas-sengers.

Heathrow operates at almost fullcapacity and BAA said the airportused a record 99.2 per cent of its max-imum permitted annual arrivals anddepartures last year.

BAA said this meant it was unableto keep up with demand for newroutes to growing markets in places

in Asia, such as Manila, Shenzhenand Jakarta.

Chinese airlines have come to ussaying they want to add routes fromHeathrow to cities in China but we

have to turn them away becausetheres no space the airlines cantbelieve it when we say no, said ColinMatthews, BAAs chief executive.

However, growth has comebecause there was no disruption in2011 and thanks to aircraft sizesincreasing and load factors being atrecord levels, which we see continu-ing in 2012.

Matthews said investors can expecta dividend payout of 60m next year.

Heathrow slims losses at BAABY JOHN DUNNE

AVIATION

Rexam plans

personal carebusiness saleBYHARRY BANKS

CONSUMER


NEWS | IN BRIEF

Aegis buys US digital agencyAegis Group is speeding towards itstwin targets of US expansion and digitalmedia growth by agreeing to acquireRoundarch, the American digital agency,

for a maximum consideration of $360m(229.6m) in cash. The British communi-cations company will pay an initial$125m for its new addition, but is morelikely to fork out nearer $250m by 2017due to the deals five year structurebased on Roundarchs performance.

LightSquared cuts staff in halfLightSquared plans to axe half of itsemployees to save money after the USwireless network defaulted on its $56mrental fee to Inmarsat last weekend. Thecompany hit a blockade last week whenUS communications regulator the FCCrevoked permission for LightSquared tomove ahead with its wireless network,which was found to be interfering withGPS signals. Amid speculation that thebusiness could be nearing bankruptcy,LightSquared will lay off 45 per cent ofits 330-strong workforce.

Alibaba stocks soar on delist planShares in Chinese e-commerce giantAlibaba.com soared yesterday after thewebsites parent, Alibaba Group, bid upto HK$19.6bn (1.6bn) yesterday to buyout minority shareholders and delist thebusiness. Alibaba Group, led by Jack Ma,offered a 46 per cent premium ofHK$13.50 a share for the 27 per cent itdoes not already own, sending the stockup 43 per cent to HK$13.20, valuing thecompany at HK$66bn.

Micro Focus says trading on trackMicro Focus has said its trading was inline with expectations in the latest quar-ter. The FTSE 250 firm ended the periodwith a net debt position of $156m(99.5m), compared to $47.6m at theend of October, the firm said in a state-ment yesterday.

AUSTRALIAS top job could be aboutto change hands, after foreign minis-ter and one-time leader Kevin Ruddquit his government post yesterday,saying he could no longer work withcurrent Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

Gillard last night said her LaborParty will hold a vote on Monday todecide its leadership though Ruddhas not explicitly said whether ornot he will stand.

Gillards government has sunk inpopularity as she and Rudd, whom

she ousted in 2010, have waged a per-sonal feud that has split their LaborParty and alienated Australian vot-ers.

Rudd had announced plans for a40 per cent tax on miners profits,triggering huge protests from heavy- weight companies including BHPBilliton and turning the levy into apolitical football.

But a compromise agreementnegotiated by his successor Gillardhas now reduced the rate to 30 percent for coal and iron ore miners.

The deal was struck just a weekafter Gillard had swept to office.

Rudd quits Australiangovernment in PM bid

Kevin Rudd clashed with the mining industry over taxation

BY JOHN DUNNE

POLITICS

ANALYSIS l Rexam

p


420

410

400

390

380

413.0022 Feb

FINANCIER Jacob RothschildsLondon-listed RIT Capital Partners,Sainsbury and the Duchy ofCornwall are among a group ofinvestors who plan to invest morethan 65m in a clean technologystart-up focused on producing ener-gy from organic waste matter.

The new company, Tamar Energy, will develop a network of around44 anaerobic digestion plants togenerate 100 megawatt of green

electricity over the next five years,the consortium said yesterday.

Anaerobic digestion is the con- version of organic waste materialinto biogas by bacteria. Themethane-rich biogas can then beused either in a local generatingplant to produce electricity, orcleaned and injected into the gasgrid.

Sainsbury, which is investing2m, said it will work with suppli-ers to ensure that they have accessto Tamars new plants, whichwould reduce waste in the supplychain.

The UK is lagging behind com-petitor countries in this form of

renewable energy; Germany, forexample, has around 1,000 timesmore plants than in the UK, partlydue to more attractive subsidies.

Alan Lovell, the former Costainchief executive who is Tamar chair-man, said that some of the manage-ment team would be investing inthe new company and would own atotal stake that amounts to aroundfive per cent of the company.

He said the management wereopen-minded about the future.The aim is to run t he company for

a number of years and then decidewhether to sell or list, he said.

Rothschild-backed renewable energygroup Tamar planning to raise 65mENERGY

8/3/2019 Cityam 2012-02-23

13/36

8/3/2019 Cityam 2012-02-23

14/36

CITY SALUTES ARMED

FORCES AT GUILDHALL THE CREAM of Londons business and culi-nary talent last night came together atGuildhall for the Square Mile Salute fundrais-er to support the armed forces.

Owen Paterson, secretary of state forNorthern Ireland, was guest of honour at themilitary fundraiser, where 13 of the worldstop chefs including John Williams of TheRitz and Christian Garcia, chef to His SereneHighness Prince Albert of Monaco had pre-pared a six-course charity banquet withmatching wines and champagnes.

The evening was all about pleasure, bon vivant and networking, said lead chef

Raymond Blanc, who declared himself a fan ofthe City as he opened the evening. I like it somuch, I opened Brasserie Blanc on

Threadneedle Street, he said. The Lady Mayoress Liz Wootton and Gilly

Yarrow, wife of the sheriff of the City ofLondon, arrived together while their hus-

bands are in Dubai as part of a tour selling theCity to Middle Eastern business we think

weve got the better deal, said Yarrow whileGeneral Lord Dannatt, the former head of theBritish Army, caught up with Second Sea LordCharles Montgomery and private secretary tothe Lord Mayor William Chapman.

The fundraiser was held in aid of four sol-diers charities Help for Heroes, ABF TheSoldiers Charity, The Royal British Legion andthe Household Cavalry Operational CasualtiesFund. Auction prizes included four days skiing

with Olympic downhill champion FranzKlammer and a five-night stay at Albany, theBahamas resort owned by billionaire JoeLewiss Tavistock Holdings.

Lewis, The Capitalisthears, is a keen player ofpaddle tennis, even though he turned 80 earli-er this month. He keeps beating me, com-plained Lewiss much younger opponentDarren Renwick, a professional golfer.

The Capitalist14

Olympic skier Franz Klammer and his wife Eva

Terry Murphy of Chamberlain & Thelwell and his daughters Grace and HopeOwen Paterson, secretary of state for Northern Ireland Former Kinetic WPP chairman Eric Newnham and his wife Judy

WO1 (RCM) Warren Brown, WO2 (SCM) Martin Ireland, and Major James Gaselee

David McG Smith, director of markets of the City of London, Second Sea Lord Charles Montgomery, and WilliamChapman, private secretary to the Lord Mayor

The Lady Mayoress Liz Wootton and Gilly Yarrow, wife of Sherif f of the City ofLondon Alan Yarrow Chef Raymond Blanc OBE

BlackRock VP Alex MacEwen and his wife Scarlet

8/3/2019 Cityam 2012-02-23

15/36

520Copy

EDITED BYHARRIET DENNYSGot A Story? [email protected] The Capitaliston Twitter: @dennysharriet

15

PICK OF THE AUCTION LOTS

Guest of Francois Roland-Billecart in ChampagneAccompanied by John Williams of TheRitz, stay in House of Billecart-Salmon as

Francois' guest. Dinner with Francois andJohn; tour of the vineyards and golf.

A day with the HouseholdCavalryIncludes a tour of the Mounted Regimentstables and cavalry black horses, an hourlong coach ride in Windsor Great Parkand Officers Mess lunch.

Internship at City A.M.A great opportunity to work with theCitys leading newspaper and see fromstart to finish what it takes to bring anewspaper to life each day.

Work experience withBlackRockA rare opportunity for someone wantingto gain experience at a global asset man-agement company.

Luxury Game reserve stayFour days for 10 people at RoyalMadikwe 5-star game reserve andsafari in an unrivalled slice of Africa'swilderness.

Skiing with Franz KlammerFour days skiing next winter in thepremier skiing locations in the Italian,German and Austrian Alps, hosted and

personally guided by OlympicChampion Franz Klammer.

Five Nights on Albany inthe BahamasTrip of a lifetime. The resort that is thevision of Tavistock Group and golfinglegends Tiger Woods and Ernie Els,and home to James Bond's CasinoRoyale.

Monaco Grand Prix and RoyalReceptionFour nights at Fairmont Monte Carlo.Exclusive Grand Prix viewing point at theFairmont Hairpin bend and an invitationto Prince Albert of Monaco's reception.

The Savoys Royal Suite andBoodles diamondsChauffeured in The Savoys Phantom,

overnight stay in the Royal Suite, 24hour butler service, dinner in Savoy Grilland 3,000 of Boodles jewellery.

A davenport made fromNelsons HMS Victory wood

Nina Campbell Interiordesign consultationWorld renowned interior designerNina Campbell will provide a profes-sional consultation in your home.

General Lord Dannatt Rosina and James George of The East London Steak Company

8/3/2019 Cityam 2012-02-23

16/36


BARRATT Developments swung backinto profit in the first half of the yearthanks to its increased focus on high-er margin regions, building housesrather than flats and developing low-cost land bought after the 2008 prop-erty crash.

Shares, which are up almost 50 percent since Christmas, rose almosteight per cent yesterday after thecompany said it made a pre-tax prof-it of 21.6m for the six months toDecember compared with a loss of4.6m for the same period last year.

The average selling price increased3.1 per cent to 181,200, helped to

boost its operating margin to 6.4 percent from five per cent a year ago.

Housebuilders have been widen-ing their operating margins by focus-ing on houses and building oncheaper land purchased since thedownturn.

Barratt has bought more than22,000 plots of land since 2009, andexpects to purchase around 8,000plots in 2012, it said in a statement.

Chief executive Mark Clare thefirm was upbeat in its outlook forthe second half as housebuilders

move into the key spring selling sea-son, particularly with a new govern-ment-backed mortgage indemnityscheme to help first-time buyers,

which is due to be introduced mid-March.

The company has received around1,000 registrations a week for thenew programme, designed to helpfirst-time buyers get on the propertyladder, which Clare said presents amajor opportunity for the industry.

Rival housebuilder Galliford Tryalso posted strong results yesterdayand doubled its dividend afterreporting an 89 per cent rise in half-

year profits to 32.2m.The firm, mainly focused on the

south east, said it built a record 1,352homes in the period, up 50 per cent.

GENERAL Motors and PSA PeugeotCitroen are discussing a manufac-turing alliance designed to stemlosses in Europe and reduce pro-duction costs elsewhere, sources

with knowledge of the matter said. Talks between GM, the worlds

biggest carmaker, and Europeannumber two Peugeot are focusedon sharing vehicles and parts

rather than swapping stakes,according to the sources.

Any new shareholdings thatemerged would be small and sym-

bolic.Peugeot confirmed talks but

would not name the partner, andGM spokeswoman Kelly Cusinatosaid: We routinely talk to othersin the industry but have no com-ment beyond that.

Peugeot shares jumped as muchas 21 per cent, and closed 12 percent higher at 16.12, the biggest

one-day gain in three years, whileGM was down 0.1 per cent.

Peugeot moots GeneralMotors alliance in EuropeAUTOMOTIVE

SHARES in London-listed Logicajumped over six per cent to 86.7p yes-terday despite an 80 per cent drop inpre-tax profits to 32.7m, as the ITservices provider reported improvedtrading since its December low pointthat led to a profit warning and 1,300

job cuts.In 2011, the Anglo-Dutch compa-

nys revenues grew four per cent to3.9bn, but its underlying operatingprofit dropped 11 per cent year-on-

year to 247m in line with LogicasDecember forecast.

Full-year orders were up 13 per centto 4.6bn as outsourcing sales grew23 per cent to 2.2bn.

Logica chief Andy Green said thecompanys Benelux business, whichdragged the group down, is expectedto return to profit in 2012 after mak-ing a 73m operating loss in 2011.

Otherwise, revenue is expected tobe flat in 2012 although margins willrecover slightly to above 6.5 per centfrom 6.2 per cent in 2011.

Logica leaps on recoveryfrom December despairTECHNOLOGY

EVERYTHING Everywhere could rollout the next generation of mobile net-

work (4G) later this year despite expec-

tations that Ofcoms auction of thecoveted 800MHz spectrum will notsee any real action until early 2013.

The UK hybrid of Orange and T-Mobile is running an ongoing 4G trialin Cornwall on the 800MHz spectrumand is due to trial the latest networkon its existing 1800MHz spectrum inBristol from April. If this trial is suc-cessful, and Everything Everywherereceives a licence to liberalise its band-

width for 4G use, Orange and T-

Mobile customers could be on 4Gby the years end.

But the group said the ini-tial rollout will be on a smallscale and available only ondongles at first, not phones.

The 4G network will supportmuch faster downloadspeeds, allowing mobiledevices to be used for HD

video streaming andother data-heavy tasks.

The telco group hasalready upgraded 60per cent of its currentnetwork to 3.5G,

which increasesdownload speeds by

about 50 per cent.Chief executive Olaf Swantee (pic-

tured) called this a great opportunityfor the UK, and said that 4G is vitalin bringing the nation to a levelplaying field with other parts of

Europe, the US and Asia.It is expected that thenational birth of 4G onthe 800MHz spectrum,currently used foranalogue TV, willinterfere with televi-sion signals in up to1m homes. The telcos

will foot the bill, inexcess of 100m, toprovide a solution.

4G rollout expected this yearBY LAUREN DAVIDSON

TELECOMS

Barratt sees

swing backinto profitsBYKASMIRA JEFFORD

PROPERTY

Barratt said the first-time buyer scheme is proving popular Picture: GETTY

MILLENNIUM and Copthorne, theowner of a chain of hotels includingthe Chelsea Football Club hotel, hasposted record profits for 2011 andupped its annual payout to share-holders.

Underlying profits before taxjumped by 43.7 per cent to 184.7min the year to December, boosted bythe sale and leaseback of its Studio Mhotel in Singapore to CDL Hospitality

Trusts REIT.The groups annual dividend leapt

by 65 per cent at 16.5p per share.

Millennium upsdividend payout

LEISURE

TRAVIS PERKINS, the building mer-chant and home improvements retail-er, said it was continuing to winmarket share, helping to drive profitsup by 37 per cent last year, despite adepressed construction market.

The owner of brands includingWickes DIY chain posted adjusted pre-tax profits of 297m while revenuessurged by 52 per cent to 4.78bn.

Chief executive Geoff Cooper fore-cast solid progress for 2012 , and saidthe group was capable of outgrowingcompetitor in what he expects willremain a tough market.

Travis Perkins

earnings surgeRETAIL

ANALYSIS l Barratt Developments

p


140

135

130

125

120

139.8022 Feb

Why a tie-up isnt necessarily the answerIN 1974, Citron brought out its CXmarque, an avant-garde masterpiecethat rivalled the likes of Audi, BMWand Mercedes Benz. It was the lastgreat Citron. Two years later,Peugeot took over the financially-struggling car company in a deal bro-kered by the French government. Itspent the next decade or so destroy-ing everything that made Citronsspecial. The same thing happened

when General Motors bought Saab in1989. Both cases serve as cautionarytales to those who think mergers orpacts can solve the industrys woes.

Any cooperation between Peugeotand GMs European operations

Vauxhall and Opel is likely to stop

short of a merger; the Peugeot familywill not want to lose control of thefirm that has been part of theirdynasty since 1842. Instead the pairare likely to take small, symbolicstakes in one another and to sharetechnology and production facilities,much like Nissan, Renault andDamiler did when they announced athree-way tie-up in 2010.

Heaven knows the pair need to dosomething. Last year they lost around$1.2bn between them, as theEuropean car market struggles in theface of the euro crisis and the with-drawal of government-funded scrap-page schemes (thankfully Britains

Asian-focused car production is buck-

ing the trend). But a tie-up in and ofitself is not a solution. The real prob-lem is that Europes car industry isoperating at huge overcapacity.

Whereas the US car sector shedalmost half a million jobs in the two

years before its biggest namesemerged from bankruptcy in 2009,

just two European factories haveclosed since 2007.

What Peugeot, Vauxhall andOpel must do is shut down some oftheir plants. A tie-up wont make itany easier.

BOTTOMLINEAnalysis by David Crow

ANALYST VIEWS: CAN BARRATT BUILD ONITS STRONG RESULTS? Interviews by Kasmira Jefford

ROBIN HARDY | PEEL HUNT

Barratt has risen 50 per cent in less than six weeks even though little haschanged in its expected trading patterns and despite it making still unacceptably lowreturns. It risks being a case of better to travel than to arrive and we would nowadvise investors to carve out gains or switch into stocks that have lagged.

KEITH BOWMAN | HARGREAVES LANDSDOWN

Current stability in the housing market provides a platform for potential fur-ther growth. Debt across the industry has been cut, reducing financing costs, whilstthe outlook for interest rates has, if anything turned in the industrys favour. For now,market consensus opinion continues to denote a buy.

RACHEL WARING | PANMURE GORDON

Barratt's interim results are ahead of expectations and the group hasreported a strong start to second half trading. Although the shares have enjoyed afantastic performance already in 2012 (up 40 per cent), we still believe that thereis further to go. We maintain our buy recommendation.

8/3/2019 Cityam 2012-02-23

17/36

enjoy sitting.down.

Credit subject to acceptance. Credit is provided by external finance companies as determined by DFS. 4 years interest free credit from date of order. Delivery charges apply. After event prices apply from 02.07.12 - see instore or online for details. Mobile charges may apply when calling 0800 110 5000.

DFS is a division of DFS Trading Ltd. Registered in England and Wales No 01735950. Redhouse Interchange, Doncaster, DN6 7NA.

4 years interest free credit on everything

Or pay nothing until January 2013 then take 3 yearsinterest free credit

0%REPRESENTATIVE

APR

Visit your nearest store, order direct at www.dfs.co.uk or call free on 0800 110 5000 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

No deposit with 4 years interest free credit. 48 equal monthly payments of 18.72. Or nothing to pay for the first year then 36 equal monthly payments of 24.97. 0% APR. Total 899.

50%OFF

18.72A MONTH

NO DEPOSIT

NO INTEREST

EVER

AKASHA

4 SEATER

NOW ONLY

899AFTER EVENT PRICE

1799

8/3/2019 Cityam 2012-02-23

18/36

St Jamess PlaceBaroness Wheatcroft, the former editorof the Wall Street Journal and theSunday Telegraph, has been appointed

as an independent non-executive direc-tor of the wealth management group,effective from 2 April. Roger Walsom, anon-executive director since 2005, will

not be seeking re-election at the AGM inMay and will leave the board on 8 May.

Squire SandersThe law firm has launched a maritimepractice team in London, led by threenew partners: Graham Harris and

Dharmendra Nair, who join fromThomas Cooper, and Linos Choo, whojoins from DLA Piper. Additionally, AnnePickering and Ann Mazzucco join asassociates, also from Thomas Cooper.

Barclays WealthThe wealth manager has appointedJulian Wantling as managing director,head of global FX. Wantling joins fromUBS, where he has worked for 25

years, working primarily in FX distribu-tion for UBS investment bank andwealth management divisions.

Akin GumpAkin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld hasannounced it will open a new office in

Hong Kong, to be led by Gregory D Puff,who joins from Shearman & Sterling.Puff, who will also run the law firmsAsia practice, will be joined in the HongKong office by Andrew Abernethy, whomoves from Norton Rose.

QuilterThe wealth manager has hired OliverStainer to join its investment manage-ment team. Stainer joins Quilter from

Towry, where he was a specialist withinthe investment management team; priorto that, he worked at Edward Jones,where he was an equities specialist andhead of equity marketing UK.

Novo Altum

Simon Cordier has joined Novo Altum asa director responsible for finance trans-formation delivery. He joins from Ernst& Young, where he was a director in thefinancial management team in Scotland.

Field Fisher WaterhouseThe law firm has hired Tim Bird, formerlyhead of the corporate practice atWedlake Bell, where he focused on equi-ty capital markets, as corporate partner.

CITY MOVES | WHOS SWITCHING JOBS Edited by Harriet Dennys

+44 (0)20 7092 0053morganmckinley.com

To appear in CITYMOVESplease email your careerupdates and pictures to [email protected] SPECIALISTS IN GLOBAL PROFESSIONAL RECRUITMENT

in association with

US stocks slide ondoubts over credit

BANKS led US stocks lower yester-day as the S&P 500 stalled near a10-month high after signs ofweak European business activity

rekindled concerns about a recessionoverseas.

US banks were the S&P 500s worstperforming sector. Investors fearedthat weak Eurozone growth wouldhamper countries dealing with heavydebt loads and the banks exposed tothose debts.

Were very concerned around themarkedly deteriorating credit funda-mentals in Europe, said StevenBaffico, chief executive officer at FourWood Capital Partners in New York.

Data showing weakness in theEurozone services and manufacturingsectors overshadowed the day-old dealto bail out Greece.

After touching a near seven-monthhigh on Tuesday, the KBW bank indexfell two per cent. A key European bankindex declined 2.5 per cent.

The S&P 500 index failed again tohold above 1,360, the high reached lastMay and a key resistance point thatcould spark further gains if broken.

The benchmark index is up abouteight per cent for the year and gained

more than 20 per cent from itsOctober lows.

The Dow Jones industrial averagelost 27.02 points, or 0.21 per cent, to12,938.67. The S&P 500 Index dropped4.55 points, or 0.33 per cent, to1,357.66. The Nasdaq Composite fell15.40 points, or 0.52 per cent, to2,933.17.

Oil services companies rose, partlyoffsetting the decline by banks.Drilling contractor Nabors Industriesrose seven per cent to $21.78 a dayafter its operating results topped Wall

Street expectations and as the chiefexecutive detailed a retooling of thecompany.

The PHLX oil services sector indexrose 1.7 per cent.

Home builder stocks fell, with thePHLX housing sector index down 1.4per cent. Data showed US home resalessurged to a one and a half year high inJanuary but came in below forecasts.Dellwas one of the biggest drags onthe S&P, tumbling 5.8 per cent to$17.10 in volume 2.5 times above itsrecent daily average. The computermaker forecast revenue below expecta-tions late Tuesday.

After the markets close, shares ofcomputer maker Hewlett-Packard fell1.4 per cent after reporting quarterlyrevenue below expectations.

About 6.3bn shares changed handson the New York Stock Exchange, theNasdaq and Amex, compared with last

years daily average of about 7.8bnshares.

BRITAINS leading share indexedged lower yesterday asinvestors refocused on funda-mentals, specifically weaker-

than-expected Eurozone data, withthe Greek debt restructuring theatri-cals out of the way for now.

Recession concerns increased afterdata showed the Eurozones servicesector unexpectedly shrank inFebruary, with Europe being Britainsmain market for its goods.

The FTSE ends the trading day fair-ly flat off the back of lacklustre trad-ing and average volume, as a fall inBanking and Mining Stocks offset thegains by Oil and defensive stocks,said Mike Mason, trader at SucdenFinancial Private Clients.

Banks were the biggest blue chipfallers, extending Tuesdays weaknessseen after the second Eurozonebailout for Greece failed to alleviateconcerns about the debt-laden coun-try, with the cautious mood nothelped by a downgrade of Greecescredit rating by Fitch yesterday.

Worries remain about the imple-mentation of key austerity measuresin Greece which were crucial in get-

ting the bailout.Royal Bank of Scotland was a big

sector faller, down 3.1 per cent asinvestors took a cautious stanceahead of the lenders full-year resultsdue today.

Barclays also fell, down 3.5 percent, albeit as the stock traded ex-div-idend. Carnival andReckitt Benckiseralso traded without their paymentattractions, knocking 3.5 points over-all off the FTSE 100 yesterday.

The FTSE 100 index ended down11.65 points, or 0.2 per cent at5,916.55, retreating further from aseven-month closing peak reached on

Monday, stuck in a tight tradingrange established earlier in Februarybetween around 5,850 and 5,920.

Miners fell back in tandem withcopper prices as demand confidencewas rattled by weak export data fromtop consumer China, as well as doubtover Greeces ability to implementtough reforms aimed at cutting debt.Vedanta Resources was the topblue chip faller, down five per cent asRBC Capital cut its rating for the min-ing group to sector perform fromoutperform, in part on valuationgrounds, and reduced its earningsforecasts and target price.

Vedanta had added seven per centon Tuesday on reports of a potentialconsolidation of both its Sterlite andSesa Goa minorities.

Gains in integrated oils, however,provided underlying strength for theblue chips, led byBG Group, up 1.9per cent, thanks to a steady crudeprice and with consolidation moves

in the sector.Royal Dutch Shell, up 0.2 per cent,launched an agreed 992.4m offer forMozambique-focused small cap oilexplorer Cove Energy, which jumped25 per cent.

Europes largest drinks can makerRexamwas the top FTSE 100 gainer,up 7.4 per cent after it put its under-performing personal care business upfor sale and said it would look toreturn cash to shareholders, sendingits shares to their highest level innearly four years.

Outsourcing firm Capita was alsoin demand ahead of full-year resultsdue today, up 6.5 per cent supportedby the award of a managed servicescontract for the training of Britishcivil servants, worth 50m perannum for two years.

US blue chips were also modestlylower by Londons close, down 0.2 per-cent as concern over the weakEurozone data countered solid USexisting home sales.

FTSE down as investors lookagain at weak Eurozone dataTHELONDONREPORT

THENEW YORKREPORT

BEST OF THE BROKERS To appear in Best of the Brokers email your research to [email protected]

ANALYSIS lCookson

650

550

600

500

450

Dec Jan Feb

p640.00

22 Feb

COOKSONDeutsche Bank has upgraded the materials specialist to buy fromhold and upped its target price from 6 to 8, citing low consensusforecasts and a very inexpensive current price as a catalyst. The brokersees the first half of this year as the low point in the industrial and steelcycles, and expects reasonable growth next year, so raises its 2012/13forecasts by 13-16 per cent.

ANALYSIS lGreat Portland Estates

370

340

350

360

330

320

310

Dec Jan Feb

p

357.4022 Feb

GREAT PORTLAND ESTATESJP Morgan Cazenove says the West End-focused developer is its preferredplay in the sector, and upgrades it to overweight with a 21 per centupside to its new target price of 430p. The broker says Great Portlandsrecent share weakness is unjustified, having underperformed the sector byfive per cent since July, despite a strong underlying performance and sig-nificant pre-lets, including UBM and Savills.

ANALYSIS lAMEC

1,100

1,000

1,050

900

950

850

Dec Jan Feb

p1,115.00

22 Feb

AMECUBS maintains its buy rating on the oil and gas services f irm, but raisesits target price from 1 ,225p to 1,325p following good second-half resultsearlier in the week. The broker says Amecs growth outlook for 2012 isstrong, and welcome news of the companys 400m buyback over the next12 months. UBS increase revenue estimates by an average of five per centfrom 2012-14, but reduces operating income for this year by two per cent.

p

28 Nov 16 Dec 10 Jan 17 Feb30 Jan

6,000

5,200

5,000

5,400

5,600

5,800

ANALYSIS lFTSE5,916.55

22 Feb

AccorHotel operator Accor has appointed ThomasDubaere as managing director for UK andIreland. Dubaere has worked for Accor for over22 years, most recently as managing director,budget brands Accor UK & Ireland. Dubaere

began his career with Accor in Belgium in 1990at the Novotel Bruges Centre, and held severalgeneral manager positions before being appoint-ed delegate director economy brands Belgium in2004, and then director of operations economybrands Belgium and Luxembourg in 2005.


8/3/2019 Cityam 2012-02-23

19/36

INVESTMENT BANKING

NICK STEVENS, EXIMIUS

TO attract attention in 2012sinvestment banking marketyou need to show you canmove the revenue or cost nee-

dle singlehandedly. Top revenue pro-ducers are always in demand, peoplewith senior relationships with themovers and shakers in Bric economiesin particular. Qualified professionalswith the knowledge and relationships

to reduce the need to hold capital, oravoid FSA levies, are attracting exciting

packages and building their careers. If youcan drive revenue in, drive cost out, or

keep cash in the business, 2012 isyour year.

RISK MANAGEMENT

RICHARD PICKARD, OLIVER JAMES

WITHIN banking, candidateswho can relate regulatory liq-uidity risk to the bigger pic-ture of bank funding and

balance sheet management are stillsought after. As a consequence of theimpending implementation of the Volckerrule a large amount of proprietary trading

operations will close, resulting in invest-ment banks possibly losing risk managers,who prefer to work in a trading environ-ment, to hedge funds. The Big Four consul-tancies continue to show interest in

candidates with knowledge of Basel II &III, capital modelling, ICAAP and

stress testing.

PRIVATE EQUITY

CHARLIE HUNT, PRIVATE EQUITY RECRUITMENT

19

CAREERS.com

The skills you need for thehottest sectors in the City

C++ developer/architect, Linux,market making organisation100k-200k pa + c.300k totalcompensation for the right person

This world beating market maker is look-ing for a strong and enthusiastic C++ onUnix based technologist.

http://www.cityamcareers.com/job/5354

Product developmentmanager in FX and equities150k-250k + attractive

A job for an experienced and high calibreindividual to manage equity, FX and com-modity derivative pricing services, leadinga team of 8-10 product specialists.

www.cityamcareers.com/job/5607

Group IFRS specialistParis55k-60k + bonus + benefits

A multi-billion insurance group wants aqualified chartered accountant with prac-tical knowledge, insurance experience,IFRS knowledge and analytical skills.

www.cityamcareers.com/job/5847

Financial

cityam 2012-02-23

Documents