from the money gods bank notes falling from above? p16

Transcription

BUSINESS WITH PERSONALITY
FROM THE MONEY GODS
BANK NOTES FALLING
FROM ABOVE? P16
WEDNESDAY 24 FEBRUARY 2016
ARSENAL MESS
GUNNERS FACE
FAMILIAR EURO
BATTLE P32
CITYAM.COM
ISSUE 2,571
FREE
THIRDTIME LUCKY
London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse make another attempt at mega merger
LAUREN FEDOR AND EMMA HASLETT
THE LONDON Stock Exchange Group
and Deutsche Boerse are making their
third attempt at a merger in two
decades, in a bid to create a dominant
European exchange operator worth
more than £20bn.
LSE confirmed that it was in merger
talks with Deutsche Boerse yesterday
afternoon, after reports of a possible
deal sent the London exchange’s
share price soaring. The two exchange
operators said in a joint statement
that they are “in detailed discussions
about a potential merger of equals of
the two businesses” and “expect to
provide a further update in due
course”.
“The boards believe that the potential merger would represent a compelling opportunity for both
companies to strengthen each other
in an industry-defining combination,
creating a leading European-based
global markets infrastructure group.”
Analysts at Edison said a successful
merger would “create a European
champion in the market infrastructure and capital markets business to
rival the two large US firms and the
Hong Kong Exchange in terms of market capitalisation”.
LSE shares jumped by more than 20
per cent on the news, before closing
the trading day at 2,630p per share,
up 13.7 per cent. Deutsche Boerse
shares rose nearly eight per cent,
before closing at €78.80 per share, up
3.22 per cent.
Shares in other European exchange
operators, including Euronext and
Spanish exchange operator BME, also
rose amid reports of the possible
merger.
This is not the first time the London
and Frankfurt exchanges have
attempted to join forces. The first pro-
posed merger was foiled in 2000,
when Sweden’s OM Exchange made a
£808m hostile takeover bid for the LSE
– an offer that was rejected.
Four years later, a full takeover bid
by Deutsche Boerse fell through after
the Frankfurt exchange’s shareholders rejected it. Investors speculated
back then, however, that the two
would give it another go.
£ CONTINUED ON P3
TIMELINE
MAY 2000
LSE plans merger with
Deutsche Boerse, but finds
itself the subject of a hostile
takeover from Sweden’s OM.
LSE rejects the offer.
DECEMBER 2004
Deutsche Boerse tries a
second time for a takeover
with a £1.4bn bid, but is
rejected by LSE, claiming
it has been undervalued.
DECEMBER 2005
Macquarie Bank in
Australia offers up
£1.5bn for LSE, which
LSE rejects.
MARCH 2006
Nasdaq makes a £2.4bn offer, which
is also rejected by LSE. Nasdaq
increases stake in LSE and makes a
£2.7bn offer. But offer expires after it
fails to find favour with shareholders.
JUNE 2007
LSE’s turn for a
shopping spree now, as
it purchases Italian
exchange Borsa Italiana
for more than £1.1bn.
OCTOBER 2015
LSE agrees to sell Russell
Investments, which it
acquired in 2014, to US
private equity firm TA
Associates for £752m.
FEBRUARY 2016
LSE boss
Xavier
Rolet
LSE and Deutsche
Boerse merger
talks revealed.
FTSE 100 ▼ 5,962.31 -75.42 FTSE 250 ▼ 16,299.20 -59.60 DOW ▼ 16,431.78 -188.88 NASDAQ ▼ 4,503.58 -67.02 £/$ ▼ 1.402 -0.010 £/€ ▼ 1.272 -0.010 €/$ ▼ 1.102 -0.001
02
NEWS
CITYAM.COM
DIDCOT EXPLOSION One person dies and three are missing
after blast at decommissioned Oxfordshire power plant
THE CITY VIEW
If you must write a letter,
at least write a good one
A
WONDERFUL book called Letters of Note has gathered
together some of the most remarkable, significant,
amusing and heartbreaking letters ever written. The
project began as a website and amassed legions of fans
on social media, whose enthusiasm drove a crowdfunding
campaign to see the collection published. The book features
letters from a former slave to his master, from an eight-year-old
girl to President Barack Obama, from Clementine Churchill to a
Prime Minister straining under the pressures of war and from a
widow to a dear departed husband, penned in 16th-century
China. It is a masterpiece, and reminds us all of the importance
and enduring power of a simple letter. It is unlikely that the
collection will be updated any time soon to include the letter
signed this week by business leaders, backing David Cameron’s
EU negotiations. This was a letter conceived by a civil servant
and finalised by committee.
It daren’t deviate from the
language of a Downing Street
press release. It contains no
poetry, and very little prose.
And yet it is, in its own way, a
letter of note. It represents a
not insignificant
intervention in a debate that is only just getting started. Its
impact lies less in what it says than in who has agreed to put
their name to it. Between them, the 200 signatories (including
36 FTSE 100 chief execs) employ hundreds of thousands of people
and represent a range of sectors and regions. Orchestrated by
No 10 and immediately seized upon by the In campaign, the
letter will serve as the foundation for claims that British
business backs Britain’s membership of the EU. Impressive as the
letter may be, it’s far from the end of the matter. Indeed, plenty
of names are noticeable by their absence. At the start of the
week, No 10 was hopeful of securing many more FTSE bosses
than it actually got. Furthermore, those who back Brexit can
point to plenty of business support, large and small. A letter on
their behalf is no doubt being drafted as we speak. It’s a fine
British tradition that when things get serious, letters are written
to newspapers. Just don’t expect the campaigns to restrict
themselves to a civilised exchange of letters.
When things get
serious, letters are
written to
newspapers
Follow us on Twitter @cityam
FINANCIAL TIMES
BT VOWS TO INVEST £1BN IN
BROADBAND IF IT’S NOT SPLIT
The chief executive of BT, Gavin Peterson, has promised to “significantly”
increase investment in its broadband
network in a final appeal ahead of a
review that could call for the company
to be broken up. People familiar with
BT’s plans say the company would
commit over £1bn in investment if it is
allowed to keep operating Openreach,
the country’s broadband network.
MPS CALL FOR FASTER
INFRASTRUCTURE APPROVAL
After close to two years and 160 sittings,
which went through 1,600 of the 2,588
objections to phase one of the proposed
new High-Speed 2 railway line,
WHAT THE
OTHER
PAPERS SAY
THIS
MORNING
ONE PERSON has died and three people are missing following the collapse of a building at Didcot A Power Station, in Oxfordshire.
The decommissioned Didcot A plant closed in 2013 and demolition work was taking place at the time of the explosion. Thames
Valley Fire Control Service confirmed the fatality and also reported four people were injured in a “very severe incident”.
Pollster: Brits are anti-EU
but will still vote to stay
REFERENDUM
LAUREN FEDOR
BRITISH voters are deeply eurosceptic
but are still more likely to vote to
remain in the European Union, an
influential pollster has claimed.
In a new British Social Attitudes
report out last night, John Curtice –
the political scientist best known for
conducting the spot-on exit poll at last
year’s General Election – said while
nearly half of Britons see the EU as a
threat to UK identity, and most favour
major EU reforms, fewer than one in
four thinks the UK would be better off
outside the EU.
According to the survey, twice as
many voters think Britain should remain an EU member (60 per cent) as
believe the country should leave (30
per cent).
THE TIMES
ASTON MARTIN TAKES THE
DBX TO WALES
The new Aston Martin DBX is to be built in
south Wales in a move that will create
4,000 jobs. The James Bond car maker
will build a new factory at an old airfield
at St Athan, Glamorgan.
EDF PREPARES SALE TO
BOOST HINKLEY POINT
politicians are pleading for a faster way
to consult on big projects. The hearings
over HS2 have now concluded, clearing a
hurdle for the first phase of the proposed
£57bn line from London to Birmingham.
EDF will help to pay for the construction of
the planned new £18bn nuclear power
plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset by
selling off part of its stake in the French
power grid. The cash-strapped French
energy group is in talks with the French
government, its majority shareholder with
an 84.5 per cent stake, about a financing
plan that would be worth €10bn a year.
LONDON FIRMS BACK SINGLE
MARKET
Nearly all London firms say
access to the Single Market is the capital’s “single greatest strength”, according to a new survey from the
Confederation of British Industry (CBI)
and CBRE. The poll of 200 firms found
three-quarters of businesses have customers, and almost two-thirds of firms
have suppliers, in the European Union.
Ninety-three per cent of those polled
said London was a “good” or “very
good” place to do business, and 83 per
cent said the capital was a better financial hub than New York or Hong Kong.
The CBI – which has come under
attack from eurosceptics for its pro-EU
stance – said last week that it would be
conducting a new national poll of its
members’ views in response to Prime
Minister David Cameron’s reform deal.
“Most CBI members, though not all,
have told us that being in a reformed
EU is better for jobs, growth and pros-
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
THOMAS COOK HIT BY
INVESTOR REVOLT OVER PAY
Thomas Cook, the world’s oldest travel
company, revealed that 25.3 per cent of
investors who voted at its AGM had
opposed its remuneration report. It is a
blow to the tour operator, as the firm
had already courted controversy over
pay.
GKN SHRUGS OFF CHINA
SALES SLOWDOWN
Engineer GKN, the drive shaft and
gearbox maker whose parts go into one
in every two new cars, has shaken off
worries about a slowdown in China, the
world’s largest car market. GKN
reported sales up four per cent at
£7.2bn on a statutory basis.
perity,” CBI boss Carolyn Fairbairn said
on Saturday. “With a final deal now in
place, we will consult our members to
ask for their views once again.”
Separately, EEF chair Martin Temple
will tell manufacturing bosses at the
group’s annual dinner tonight that the
campaign to leave the EU “has no tangible benefits to show voters and can
only offer an abyss of uncertainty”.
SCOTIABANK: BREXIT WOULD
HIT GROWTH AND STERLING
Scotiabank has warned that UK GDP
growth could slow by between two and
five per cent in two years after a Brexit.
In a note to clients yesterday, Alan
Clarke, the bank’s head of European
fixed income strategy, said he would
“assume the impact would be at the
lower end of the scale”. Clarke also said
sterling is the “most likely candidate
for a market reaction in response to a
vote to leave the EU”, saying a “fall in
GBP/USD to 1.30 seems reasonable”.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
US HOME SALES RISE 0.4 PER
CENT CONTINUING GROWTH
Healthy home sales last month kept the
US housing recovery on track, though
fast-rising prices and jitters about the
broader economy could crimp buyer
demand in the coming months. Sales of
previously owned homes rose 0.4 per
cent in January from the prior month to a
seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.47m.
DREAMWORKS ANIMATION
REVENUE AND EARNINGS UP
DreamWorks Animation SKG, the family
entertainment studio known for movies
like Shrek and Kung Fu Panda, posted
sharply better-than-expected results for
its fourth quarter, propelled by a 36 per
cent jump in revenue for the period.
CITYAM.COM
Oil price falters
as Saudis shoot
down output cut
BILLY BAMBROUGH
THE SAUDI oil minister Ali al-Naimi
has denied Opec is at war with the
shale oil industry, though he has dismissed rumours of an eventual production cut.
His comments pushed the oil price
down by around four per cent to
$31.81 dollars per barrel for West Texas
Intermediate and $33.28 for Brent
crude in evening trading. The oil price
has recorded a price rise of almost 10
per cent over the past few trading sessions.
Al-Naimi was speaking at the IHS
CERAWeek conference in Houston,
Texas, in front of much of the US shale
oil industry. The minister, considered
to be the industry’s most influential
policymaker, reiterated Opec’s stance
that the desert kingdom is willing to
work with other oil producers to stabilise the price after a supply glut has
driven it down, despite growing
demand around the world.
Al-Naimi said: “I welcome all sources
of supply, including shale. We are
hopeful that the nimbleness of shale
oil producers will continue.”
The de facto Opec leader, Saudi
Arabia has been trying to broker a deal
to limit both Opec and non-Opec production at January levels and rumours
emerged a deal to reduce output
would follow.
“Saudi wants to let the market
decide the price, and we’ve known
that for some time. What’s sent the oil
price down is dismissal of rumours
there could be a production cut after
the freeze, that’s not going to
happen,” Spencer Welch, director of
oil markets for IHS, told City A.M.
The deal has largely been eschewed
by oil experts, who claim it will be
impossible to enforce and the countries would not stick to it.
Meanwhile, the Iranian oil minister
pushed the price of oil lower, calling
the proposed deal “ridiculous” and
“laughable”.
WHO ARE THE MAIN PLAYERS
BEHIND THE DEAL?
ANDREW BEDNAR
ROGER BARRON
SIMON ROBEY
PARTNER, PERELLA
WEINBERG
PARTNER, LINKLATERS
PARTNER, ROBEY
WARSHAW
LAUREN FEDOR, HAYLEY KIRTON
AND JULIAN HARRIS
BOUTIQUE banks are booming, and
none more so than London-based
Robey Warshaw. Co-founder Simon
Robey may be a huge Arsenal fan, but
was forced to miss last night’s defeat
to Barcelona as he was hard at work
on another huge pan-European event
– namely the London Stock Exchange’s
proposed merger with Deutsche
Boerse.
It is testament to Robey Warshaw’s
burgeoning success that few eyebrows
were raised when the bank was named
as the LSE’s top adviser on the deal
yesterday afternoon. The modestly
sized outfit became the talk of the
town last year, nabbing highly coveted
positions on huge mergers and
acquisitions, such as Shell’s £36bn
takeover of BG, Aviva’s £5.6bn tie-up
with Friends Life and, most
impressively, the intoxicating $100bn+
SABMiller-ABInBev deal known as
Mega-Brew. The year ended with
Robey being named Dealmaker of the
Year at City A.M.’s Awards, with Robey
Warshaw breaking into the top 10 of
the closely watched M&A league table.
Robey has worked with the London
Stock Exchange before, for example on
the 2014 purchase of Frank Russell.
On the other side of the table sits
Andrew Bednar, who is advising
Deutsche Boerse on behalf of another
boutique – Perella Weinberg. City A.M.
understands that Philip Yates is on the
deal for Perella Weinberg from the
London office. Bednar, who is based in
New York, is a previous M&A banker at
Goldman Sachs and Bank of America
and a graduate of Cornell.
And on the legal side, Linklaters’
Roger Barron is advising on the deal,
while fellow Magic Circle law firm
Freshfields is also involved.
NEWS
03
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
LSE chief executive Xavier Rolet
raised deal expectations in April
last year when he said he expected
the LSE to strike a deal with one of
the “big four” western exchanges by
the end of 2016. “Market
infrastructure is still a bit of a
cottage industry. It is ripe for
change,” Rolet said. “When there is
an industry with competitive
tension, consolidation tends to be
not too far behind.”
LSE has made many of its own
acquisitions in recent years,
including the Italian exchange
Borsa Italiana in 2007 for more
than £1.1bn.
Deutsche Boerse’s new chief
executive, Carsten Kengeter,
meanwhile, said upon taking over
at the exchange last June that he
had an “open mind” when it came
to large acquisitions.
If completed, the deal will consist
of an all-share merger under a new
holding company that would give
Deutsche Boerse shareholders a
54.4 per cent stake and LSE
shareholders 45.6 per cent.
The combined group would have
a single board with equal
representation from LSE and
Deutsche Boerse directors.
It remains unclear what roles
Rolet and Kengeter would have in
the newly merged firm, or what
the implications might be for
chancellor George Osborne’s
ambitious plans to connect the
LSE with China’s Shanghai
Stock Exchange.
04
NEWS
Head of Powa
Technologies,
Dan Wagner
Powa workers
are let go after
administration
BILLY BAMBROUGH
POWA TECHNOLOGIES, once billed by its chief executive
Dan Wagner as the future biggest tech company in the
world, has made 74 of its London employees redundant
after burning through its massive cash pile.
The firm was placed into administration on Friday, appointing Deloitte to oversee a potential sale after lead investor Wellington Management called in its loans.
Yesterday, one of its three subsidiaries, Powa Technologies, was also put into administration. Deloitte has said
there are a number of parties interested in Powa.
The firm has around 100 staff at its London HQ, according to its LinkedIn page, and over 300 worldwide.
“The situation seems to be the rate of cash burn has
just outstripped investor willingness to replace it,” said
Nick Hood, business risk analyst at Opus Restructuring.
“Although frankly there is no relevant financial information in the public domain at the moment, stakeholders are stumbling around in the dark until Deloitte make
an announcement.”
City A.M. understands Deloitte will make an announcement on the state of the business within days. The tech
startup, once valued at $2.7bn after acquiring a rival in
a stock deal, has been building mobile retail apps but is
described as “pre-revenue”. Last week the company confirmed it had been struggling to pay staff and suppliers.
Mars recalls chocolate
bars in UK after plastic
production line scare
LYNSEY BARBER
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CHOCOLATE maker Mars has been forced to recall potentially millions of its sweet snacks, including best-selling
Mars and Snickers bars, from more than 50 countries, including the UK after they were found to potentially contain bits of plastic.
The US company said the popular sweets are being
recalled in 55 countries across Europe, including the
UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands in Europe as
well as Sri Lanka and Vietnam but the number of
products affected is not yet known.
Those with best before dates of between 19 June 2016
and 8 January 2017 produced at its factory in the
Netherlands are being cleared from shelves.
The company said in a statement: “With this recall,
we would like to prevent consumers who have
purchased one of the above-mentioned products from
consuming it.”
CITYAM.COM
StanChart profit
plummets 84pc
as shares plunge
HAYLEY KIRTON
STANDARD
Chartered
yesterday
revealed that it had made a loss overall
for the year and that its underlying
profits before tax had dropped
sharply.
The Asia-focused bank announced
underlying profits before tax of $0.8bn
(£0.6bn) for its year ended December
2015, down 84 per cent from $5.2bn
the year before.
After taking costs such as restructuring and goodwill impairment into
account, the company made a loss
before tax for the year of $1.5bn,
down from $4.2bn profit the year
before.
Commenting on the results, Bill
Winters, group chief executive, said:
“While 2015 performance was poor,
the actions we took on capital
throughout last year and in particular
in December have positioned us
strongly for the current macro environment.
“We have a balance sheet that is
resilient and we are in the right markets. We have identified our risk
issues, and we are dealing with them
assertively.
“We are making good progress on
executing our strategy, creating a
bank that will generate improved
financial performance over time following from our improved cost efficiency, tightened risk controls, and
focus on our many core advantages.”
Shares in StanChart closed sharply
down 6.73 per cent at 406.95p.
STANDARD CHARTERED
460
450
440
430
420
410
400
P
23 Feb
406.95
390
17 Feb 18 Feb 19 Feb 22 Feb 23 Feb
NEWS
05
Banks named
as worst for
cutting costs
BILLY BAMBROUGH
Oil firms could be hit by “domino effect”. Insert:
City A.M.’s report on the crisis earlier this month
UK North Sea oil firms are now
teetering on edge of an abyss
CATHERINE NEILAN
NORTH Sea oil firms are operating on
the brink of collapse, with nearly half
of all oil fields on the continental
shelf likely to operate at a loss this
year, a new report has warned.
Oil & Gas UK’s annual survey of the
sector yesterday found that while
operating costs have been driven
down, it is not enough to offset the
decline of the price of oil, prompting
it to raise the alarm if it stays at or
around $30 a barrel for the rest of the
year.
Their “interconnectivity” with
other fields would mean many more
would fall into the red thanks to a
“domino effect”, the report also
warned.
This would deter groups from
“further exploration and capital
investment, and making additional
cost improvement imperative”.
BANKS have topped the list of
companies that are throwing
money away on unnecessary costs,
wasting up to 10 per cent of their
revenue each year according to a
survey from the Chartered
Institute of Management
Accountants (CIMA).
Over a third of respondents from
the banking industry claimed their
companies’ waste between five per
cent and 10 per cent of revenue
every year, and a further 38 per
cent admitted they have very little
adherence to cost saving measures.
In total, British firms recklessly
spent to the tune of £194bn in 2015,
a figure that could cover the cost of
the NHS for a year, or pay for
almost five HS2 high-speed rail
lines. The careless spending has
been put down to inefficient
systems, delayed or cancelled
projects, and over-payment for
goods or services.
The average over-spend for
companies in the UK stood at 5.2
per cent last year. Just over half (53
per cent) of the 2,000 accountants
polled admitted that their
organisations lack any kind of
strategy to be cost competitive.
CITYAM.COM
Carney: BoE not
mulling negative
rates quite yet
CHRIS PAPADOPOULLOS
BANK of England governor Mark Carney yesterday said the institution does
not yet consider negative interest
rates to be an appropriate stimulus
measure for the UK.
He told MPs on the Treasury Select
Committee that the Bank would consider lowering rates below the current
record low of 0.5 per cent if necessary,
but they would be unlikely to go
below zero.
“One of the things we have been
looking at… is the ability of those institutions [building societies] to build
an appropriate capital base,” he said.
“Because they had built up capital in
the last several years, it is now our
judgement that we could, if necessary,
lower bank rate. It is not yet our judgement that it could go negative.
“If we were ever in a situation where
we needed more stimulus we have
other options.”
Negative interest rates are being
tried on the continent, with the Eurozone, Denmark, Switzerland and Sweden using them in one form or
another.
Monetary policy committee member
Gertjan Vlieghe hinted that he would
be voting for more stimulus if developments worsened. “I have relatively
little tolerance for further downside
surprises,” Vlieghe said.
“Should downside surprises continue then I think we will get relatively quickly to a point where I find
it appropriate to respond to it.”
Questions on the economic impact
of the EU referendum will be addressed on 8 March, when Carney and
Sir Jon Cunliffe will face another
round of questioning from the TSC.
The BoE governor brushed off questions over the future path of the sterling exchange rate.
The Bank’s forecasts assume the current exchange rate is maintained
throughout the forecast period, Carney said.
NEWS
07
Banks could
be pushed to
risky investing
CHRIS PAPADOPOULLOS
Minouche Shafik has not voted for a rate cut or rise since joining the MPC in 2015
Shafik and Weale forecasting a
rate hike sooner than expected
CHRIS PAPADOPOULLOS
INTEREST rates are likely to go up
sooner and faster than is currently
implied by a gauge of financial
market expectations, two Bank of
England rate setters said yesterday.
Monetary policy committee (MPC)
member Minouche Shafik said rates
would increase faster than implied by
the market yield curve. The market
yield curve currently points to the
first rate hike coming at the end of
2019.
Martin Weale – who has voted for a
hike 12 times – said he expected
inflation to rise faster than in the
Bank’s latest forecast, which sees
inflation overshooting its two per
cent target over the next two years.
Shafik has yet to vote for a rate hike
or cut since joining the MPC in 2015.
Subdued profitability caused by
low interest rates could push banks
toward riskier activities, a top
European regulator has warned.
Daniele Nouy, chair of the
European Central Bank’s
supervisory board, said in London
yesterday: “Low profitability is
obviously a major concern for the
stockholders of banks. And it is
also a concern for supervisors. Over
the long term, low profitability
threatens the ability of banks to
generate capital and access
financial markets. Ultimately, a lack
of profitability affects the stability
of banks.
“Weak profitability might push
banks into a hazardous search for
yield. And we do observe a trend
towards higher risk-taking by
banks.
“Certain banks in the euro area
have, for instance, invested in
leveraged finance such as high-yield
bonds.”
She said recent falls in bank
shares and concerns over
profitability were reflections of
“weak economic growth and a
prolonged period of very low
interest rates”.
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08
NEWS
CITYAM.COM
Netflix is making a killing with its programming
N
ETFLIX series Making a Murderer is another huge hit for
the streaming service, with
observers reacting with a
mix of bewilderment, shock
and suspicion at the undulating story.
The show became Netflix’s latest
must watch – after House of Cards –
with viewers rushing to complete
the series, while the momentum
around the programme became
insatiable.
However, now that the initial hubbub surrounding the programme
has subsided slightly, YouGov data
enables us to speculate on the
Stephan
Shakespeare
longer-term impact the show has
made on Netflix’s position in the
market.
It is important to recap how big a
success the documentary has been
in terms of creating noise for Net-
flix. YouGov’s Word of Mouth metric measures whether a responded
has discussed a particular brand
with friends, family or workmates
etc.
On this front, Netflix’s score rose
by eight per cent following the
release of the programme, reaching
a high point of 18 per cent at the
beginning of February.
The real positive for Netflix is that
this discussion and excitement has
resulted in an increase in overall
brand health and, according to
YouGov’s Purchase Consideration
Metric, a rise in the percentage of
respondents that would think about
signing up to the service. Among
those aware of the company, there
was a rise of 12 points on this metric, reaching a high of 32 on 5 February.
Underlying all of this, of course, is
that Netflix’s subscribers – now
more than ever perhaps – associate
the streaming service with essential
viewing, and innovative programming that they may not get elsewhere.
This is a repeat occurrence, and
capitalises upon the changing viewing habits that its core audience
now exhibits. A further trick it
seems to have conjured up is to
make the “not to be missed” content
very social – something to be
shared, discussed and bickered
about by friends and the online
community.
It seems there’s very little stopping
Netflix’s march to even greater
prominence and domination of the
sector.
For the moment, its rivals are playing catch up.
£Stephan Shakespeare is the chief
executive of YouGov
NETFLIX BRANDINDEX WOM SCORE - HAVE YOU DISCUSSED THE
BRAND WITH ANYONE IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS?
20
%
15
10
source: yougov.com
5
1 Dec ‘15
21 Dec ‘15
10 Jan ‘16
30 Jan ‘16
19 Feb ‘16
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CITYAM.COM
Investors brush
off tax fears and
bet on Ladbrokes
EMMA HASLETT
NOT A great day Ladbrokes, after it
reported a 50 per cent fall in profits
for 2015 as increased taxes began to
have an impact.
The high street gambling firm said
trading profits fell 50.3 per cent, from
£112.2m last year to £55.8m in 2015.
That’s above analyst expectations –
last week Deutsche Bank said it expected profits to fall to £44m.
Statutory pre-tax profits fell into a
£43.2m loss in 2015, down from a
£37.7m profit in 2014. Group operating profits fell 35.7 per cent to
£80.6m – which it said reflected the
fact gambling taxation had increased
by £50m.
Statutory revenues edged up, from
£1.17bn last year to £1.2bn this year.
Basic earnings per share fell 9.9 per
cent from 10.1p to 9.1p, while total
dividend per share fell 66.3 per cent,
from 8.9p to 3p.
Shareholders seemed mollified –
share jumped 5.8 per cent by the
close, to 125.54p.
The bookie had made a £13.4m loss
on closure of UK stores, plus another
£6.4m loss on European stores.
The light at the end of the tunnel is
its impending £2.3bn merger with
Gala Coral, due to take place later this
year. The two companies are still
awaiting approval from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
Jim Mullen, Ladbrokes’ chief executive said its online and Australian
stores had impressive growth.
LADBROKES
132
130
128
129.30
23 Feb
126
124
122
120
09
Persimmon
profits leap by
34 per cent
EMMA HASLETT
Fewer guests checking in some markets was balanced by “robust” bookings in Europe
InterContinental Hotels share
price up on $1.5bn dividend plan
CATHERINE NEILAN
P
NEWS
INTERCONTINENTAL Hotels’ (IHG)
share price jumped 4.7 per cent
yesterday as the group revealed plans
for a $1.5bn (£1.1bn) special dividend.
Revenues for 2015 dropped three
per cent to $1.8bn, slightly lower
than the $1.83bn that was expected,
but fee revenue was up seven per
cent to $1.35bn.
Operating profit climbed four per
cent to $680m, while net debt was
cut 65 per cent to $529m. The total
dividend per share rose to 85 cents.
IHG has now sold the last of its
major owned hotels, becoming
almost a solely hotel management
and franchising company, running
brands from the top end of the
market to budget names such as
Holiday Inn Express.
THE HOUSEBUILDING sector
chalked up another win yesterday,
after Persimmon reported a 34 per
cent jump in pre-tax profits.
Underlying pre-tax profits rose to
£637.8m in the year to the end of
December, up 34 per cent on last
year's £475m, while full-year
revenues rose 13 per cent to £2.9bn.
The company said legal
completions jumped eight per cent
to 14,572, while average selling
prices increased 4.5 per cent to
£199,127.
Meanwhile, underlying basic
earnings per share increased 39 per
cent to 173p - and it said it will pay
a dividend of 110p per share.
Official figures published last
week suggested prices rose 9.4 per
cent last year and government
schemes to encourage home
ownership look set to increase
demand further.
Company chairman Nicholas
Wrigley said: “Customer activity in
the early weeks of the 2016 spring
season has been encouraging”.
Investors cheered the results,
sending shares in the company up
by 2.84 per cent in London
yesterday.
10
NEWS
CITYAM.COM
WH Ireland slapped with £1.2m fine
after it fails to address market abuse
CATHERINE NEILAN
THE CITY watchdog yesterday fined
WH Ireland £1.2m and banned it
from taking on new clients in its corporate broking division over the next
72 days over market abuse failings.
The Financial Conduct Agency
(FCA) found that for six months in
2013, the business did not have
proper controls in place to prevent
market abuse being detected or
occurring. Specific breaches included
having deficient controls to ensure
inside information did not leak from
the private to the public side of its
business or in ensuring disclosure to
external parties was conducted in a
controlled manner with proper
safeguards in place. It was also found
to have inadequate personal account
dealing rules for employees.
It also failed to maintain an
effective written conflicts of interest
policy and suffered from “deficient
compliance oversight”, including the
absence of a formal risk management
framework for market abuse and
inadequate post-trade surveillance
systems.
“As such, there was significant
scope for an adverse impact on the
market and on a large number of
other market participants if that
inside information was mishandled,”
the watchdog said.
Labour’s shadow business secretary Angela Eagle is appointing industry advisers
“The horse is here
to stay but the
automobile is only
a novelty—a fad.”
The President of the Michigan Savings Bank, 1903
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Eagle swoops to
boost Labour’s
business ties
LAUREN FEDOR
LABOUR’S shadow business secretary Angela Eagle has taken steps to
repair her party’s relationship with
British businesses, announcing yesterday that she will convene a new
group of business leaders to advise
Labour politicians.
Labour’s Business and Enterprise
Advisory Council will be chaired by
Anthony Watson, who is the president and chief executive of Uphold,
a cloud-based fintech firm.
According to the announcement
from Labour, the council will meet
quarterly to “discuss and develop
ideas and to help recalibrate
Labour’s relationship with the business community”.
It follows a similar model to Prime
Minister David Cameron’s Business
Advisory Group, which meets four
times a year and includes BP chief
executive Bob Dudley, Legal & General boss Nigel Wilson and EasyJet’s
Carolyn McCall among its members.
Time exploring bid to purchase
Yahoo’s core internet business
JESSICA TOONKEL
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A Labour spokesperson said the
party will announce more members
of the new advisory council “in the
coming weeks”.
Commenting
on
yesterday’s
announcement, Eagle said that she
was “delighted” to launch the
group “which will assist Labour in
reaching out to and building partnerships with the business community as we seek to devise workable
and deliverable policies that provide the solutions to the pressing issues impacting business and
industry”.
“It’s great that Anthony has agreed
to chair this group which will help
forge a new vision for a dynamic industrial strategy, because he has the
fresh ideas and a proven track
record of putting innovation and
ethics at the heart of business practices,” Eagle added.
Watson said he looked forward to
“building a council across the crucial areas of growth for the future of
the UK economy”.
THE PUBLISHER of Sports Illustrated,
People and Time magazines has been
exploring a bid to acquire Yahoo’s
core internet business for several
weeks, a source familiar with the
situation told Reuters yesterday.
Time Inc has been reaching out to
bankers on pursuing a deal with
Yahoo, according to the source, who
wished to remain anonymous, not
being permitted to speak to media.
The publisher, which has seen print
advertising dollars dry up in recent
quarters, has been trying to boost its
digital presence through acquisitions
of online properties, saying this
month it would buy social
networking pioneer MySpace.
Verizon Communications, which
owns internet pioneer AOL, has
expressed interest in Yahoo’s core
business, which includes Mail, its
news and sports sites and advertising
technology.
Analysts at SunTrust Robinson
Humphrey have valued the core
business at $6bn (£4.2bn) to $8bn.
It is unclear if the company has
retained an investment bank as
financial adviser on the potential bid.
Yahoo officially launched the sale of
Reuters
its core business on Friday.
CITYAM.COM
NEWS
11
Fears over German growth rising
CHRIS PAPADOPOULLOS
Manufacturers’ business expectations fell at their steepest rate since 2008
City watchdog
slammed over
PPI protection
GERMAN sentiment on the economy
has taken a sharp tumble to its lowest value for over a year, data released yesterday reveals.
The IFO business climate index for
German industry and trade dropped
to a score of 105.7 in February from
January’s 107.3. It is the lowest score
since December 2013.
The index was dragged down by a
steep fall in manufacturers’ business expectations, which suffered
its largest monthly fall since November 2008.
“Expectations fell very sharply and
are now at their lowest level since
December 2012, when Germany last
dipped into recession,” said economist Jennifer McKeown of Capital
Economics.
“The latest data support our longheld view that the German recovery
will slow this year. We expect
annual growth of about one per
cent to follow last year’s 1.4 per cent
rise, but a further decline in the survey indicators would pose a downside risk to even our below
consensus forecast.”
The German economy grew by 0.3
per cent over the final three months
of 2015, official figures from German federal statistics office Destatis
showed yesterday.
Scotland fiscal
arrangements
have been set
HIGH RISE
HAYLEY KIRTON
JAMES NICKERSON
THE FINANCIAL Conduct Authority
(FCA) is unable show that its actions
are effective in reducing mis-selling
to consumers, according to a report
by the National Audit Office (NAO).
The report, released today, reveals
that the information the watchdog
holds is not suitable for showing a
link between its actions and complaints. For example, from the NAO’s
research, the FCA does not appear to
collect information on which misselling events prompt specific
complaints.
The NAO also found that, despite
efforts by the watchdog to get firms
to improve their complaints handling, there had been no noticeable
reduction in the number of complaints upheld by the Financial
Ombudsman Service over the past
five years. “Legislative restrictions
limit my access to information that
the FCA holds on firms making it
impossible to draw definitive
conclusions on its approach,” said
Amyas Morse, head of the NAO. “The
information my staff could see, such
as customer complaints, does not
show any clear reduction in the
extent of mis-selling.
“The FCA cannot be confident that
its actions are reducing the overall
level of mis-selling, and it has further
to go to show it is achieving value for
money.”
However, it found that many firms
had altered their incentive structures
to reduce the risk of mis-selling in
light of sanctions issued by the FCA,
particularly in relation to sales of
Payment Protection Insurance (PPI).
An FCA spokesperson said: “The
report makes clear that the recommendations, which we are accepting,
are designed to build on the FCA’s
current strategy and increase
confidence that it is achieving its
intended outcomes for consumers.”
THE SCOTTISH and UK governments yesterday reached agreement
on the financial arrangement that
will support new devolved powers.
Negotiations over the fiscal
framework have been ongoing since
March 2015, with both governments in deadlock over how to
resolve Scotland’s block grant.
“We have reached a deal which is
fair to Scotland and fair to the
whole of the UK. It delivers
accountability to the Scottish government and transforms politics in
Scotland,” Prime Minister David
Cameron said. “It means May’s
Holyrood elections can be fought
on the issues which matter most:
how the Scottish government
should use these extensive new
powers, rather than what they are.”
The deal lays out how Holyrood –
the Scottish parliament – will be
funded when new tax-raising
powers are transferred across the
border.
Scottish First Minister Nicola
Sturgeon said that the deal will
“not allow a single pound or even a
penny to be taken from Scotland's
budget.
“It protects the Barnett Formula
and allows the powers in the
Scotland Bill to be delivered,” she
added.
The two sides had not previously
been able to resolve a key principle
in the Smith Commission deal on
devolution, which stated there
should be “no detriment” to either
the UK or Scotland.
The deal involves a five-year plan
during which there would be no
automatic cuts to Scotland’s budget
arising from the devolution of new
powers. After that, there would be
a review without any prejudice as
to the outcome, according to BBC
Scotland.
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Gates backtracks on support for FBI
LYNSEY BARBER
BILL Gates yesterday backtracked
on earlier comments he made
suggesting that he sided with the
FBI in its request for Apple to break
encryption on the iPhone of a mass
shooter who killed 14 people in San
Bernadino.
Apple has argued against
complying with the order, saying
that it amounts to weakening
encryption with a so-called backdoor and increasing the security
risk for all.
“I was disappointed, because that
doesn’t state my view on this,” the
Microsoft founder said in an interview with Bloomberg. In an earlier
interview with the FT, he apparently
“broke ranks” with the rest of Silicon Valley which is backing Apple.
“I do believe that with the right
safeguards there are cases where the
government, on our behalf, like
stopping terrorism which could get
worse in the future, is valuable. But
striking that balance, clearly the
government’s taken information
historically and used it in ways that
we didn’t expect, all the way to say
when the FBI was under J Edgar
Hoover,” he added.
The Microsoft founder has clarified his comments on Apple’s fight with the FBI
12
NEWS
CITYAM.COM
Hugo Boss’ share price turns ugly
after warning on China demand
BILLY BAMBROUGH
HUGO Boss shares tumbled by almost
20 per cent last night, their biggest
fall since October 2008, after it
warned that sales in China and the
US so far this year have been weaker
than it expected.
The German-based fashion label
said in a statement that earnings
before interest, taxes, depreciation
and amortisation and excluding spe-
cial items will decline by a “low double-digit” percentage this year.
Analysts polled by Bloomberg had
expected just a one per cent decline
for the period.
Hugo Boss has said it will bring
prices in Asia down, closer to levels in
Europe and the US to try and drive
sales.
The Chinese luxury goods market
has been hurt by Beijing’s clampdown on corruption and conspicuous
spending and gifting in 2012.
At US retailers, the fashion house
will begin curtailing distribution,
due to “highly promotional” levels of
discounting eating into profits.
Hugo Boss warned that its latest
cost-saving drive would only partially
be able to compensate for the price
cuts in Asia and limiting of distribution to US wholesale.
Hugo Boss will release its full-year
financial results on 10 March.
Hugo Boss is cracking down on discounting in the US but lowering prices in China
*
**
CITYAM.COM
Soaring student
admissions lifts
Unite earnings
KASMIRA JEFFORD
INVESTORS piling into student housing and soaring university admissions
helped one of the sector’s biggest
property firms Unite Group to deliver
a leap in net asset value (NAV) and
profits last year.
The FTSE 250 company, which owns
46,000 beds across the UK valued at
£3.8bn, said EPRA earnings, the industry benchmark, leapt by 84 per cent to
£61.3m in 2015.
Earnings per share increased by 66
per cent to 28.6p while its NAV per
share rose by 33 per cent to 579p. The
group has also hiked its full-year dividend by 34 per cent on the back of the
strong results to 15p.
A record 532,000 students were
awarded university places in September after a cap on the number of
applicants universities can admit was
lifted last year. Around 440,000 students graduated, meaning that total
student numbers were some 92,000
higher than the previous year.
Chief executive Mark Allen said that
going forward, the company expects
the student population to grow by
around 60,000 a year, fuelling
demand for more student housing.
“From what we can see being built
in the pipeline, we think it is unlikely
for more than 30,000 rooms will be
built a year,” he told City A.M.
Demand for student housing has
also caused a surge in interest in the
sector from outside investors. He estimates that around £5.5bn of new capital was invested into student
property last year, which is more than
a quarter of the sector’s overall value.
Separate figures released by construction data firm Barbour ABI
showed building activity in the sector
reached a five-year high in 2015, with
contracts awarded for more than
4,500 new rooms granted.
The total value of construction projects for student housing was worth
more than £2.3bn in 2015.
LINGERING LOVE Valentine’s Day lifted
sales at Hammerson’s shopping centres
NEWS
13
One in six UK
renters sub-lets
their home
KASMIRA JEFFORD
HAMMERSON, the owner of the Bullring as well as Grand Central shopping centre in
Birmingham, said like-for-like sales increased by 4.2 per cent across its malls in the
first seven weeks of the year, boosted by the January sales and Valentine’s Day.
RENTS as well as house prices may
be rising but tenants are not missing a trick, with more than one in
six admitting to have sub-let their
home, new research today shows.
Insurance provider Direct Line
for Business reported that 17 per
cent of tenants surveyed said they
have rented out part or all of their
property to someone who isn’t on
the lease agreement.
A quarter of people who sub-let
their property didn’t check the
terms of their lease to see if it was
permitted, while 34 per cent had
not informed their landlord.
Over a fifth (23 per cent) of those
sub-letters who did not tell their
landlord were eventually caught,
Direct Line said, and they did not
always get off lightly.
In 11 per cent of cases, the
tenants named on the lease were
evicted, with six per cent losing
their deposit in the process. Others
faced a hike in rents, a fine or a
formal warning.
However, this hasn’t put off
renters, with 15 per cent saying
they are thinking about sub-letting
part or all of their rented home.
Over-40s are being restricted by New stamp duty land
their age when seeking mortgages tax could hit parents
EMMA HASLETT
THE OVER-40s are going berserk for
mortgages – but banks and building
societies are having trouble lending
to them because of age restrictions,
new research has found.
The findings, published yesterday
by Nottingham Building Society,
suggested two in five mortgage
brokers have reported a rise in
mortgage customers over the age of
40 – but 17 per cent of those rejected
reported age was the major reason.
Among those aged between 45 and
54, that rose to 21 per cent. A third of
brokers said they expected the problems to continue into this year.
The lender said brokers are
“working hard” to ease restrictions on
lending for older borrowers.
“It is baffling for people in their
early 40s to be told they are too old to
have a mortgage and particularly so
when the average age of first-time
buyers is rising, which means some
could even be first-time buyers,” said
Ian Gibbons, senior mortgage broking
manager at Nottingham Mortgage
Services. “However there are options
out there for older borrowers and the
key to ensuring they get the most
appropriate mortgage is to search the
whole market. If your existing lender
is restricted on what it can do there
are other options.”
HAYLEY KIRTON
IF YOU are currently saving to give
your son or daughter a helping hand
on to the property ladder, you might
find you need to put aside a little bit
more than you bargained for.
The Chartered Institute of Taxation
(CIOT) yesterday cautioned that the
additional three per cent charge on
stamp duty land tax announced in the
Autumn Statement, and intended to
apply to those purchasing a buy to let
property or a second home, could also
apply to parents who are jointly purchasing a property with their children.
Brian Slater, chair of the CIOT’s property taxes sub-committee, said: “Life is
complex and there are many situations
where parents want to support their
adult children in buying a home. Taking even a small interest… means that
the extra three per cent is payable on
the whole of the purchase price.”
14
NEWS
CITYAM.COM
UK disposable
incomes have
risen to £25.7k
Sales of properties in
the UK at start of year
up 7.7pc on 2015 figures
LYNSEY BARBER
THE NUMBER of properties sold at the
start of 2016 across the UK was 7.7 per
cent higher than in 2015, new figures
out yesterday reveal.
Nearly 105,400 residential properties were sold in January and just over
9,600 non-residential, compared with
97,000 and 9,740 a year earlier on a
seasonally adjusted basis.
“Even as the housing market builds
a head of steam, there isn’t as much
movement as might be hoped for,”
said Andrew Bridges, managing director of London estate agent Stirling
Ackroyd of the property transaction
figures from HMRC.
“Our capital is a case in point. Escalating stamp duty charges are largely
responsible for this slowdown – deterring people from a change of scenery.
These charges now apply to nearly
every residential transaction in London.
“So new measures or more effort
from the government are needed to
encourage moving – and wake the
London property market out of its
current slumber.”
The mortgage Advice Bureau’s head
of lending Brian Murphy said:
“Despite the fact that rising prices
have clearly not put a dampener on
activity, policymakers need to work
hard to ensure that the market is
accessible for first-time buyers and
borrowers on modest incomes.
“While conditions are good for those
who can meet affordability criteria
and raise a deposit, it is important to
ensure that a diverse range of prospective buyers are supported in accessing
the housing market.”
EMMA HASLETT
Swiss Re –based in the Gherkin –benefited from an absence of major natural catastrophes
Swiss Re names new chief exec
as its net income increases 31pc
EMMA HASLETT
SWISS Re, the insurance giant after
which the Gherkin was once named,
said yesterday that it has appointed a
new chief executive.
The company said Christian
Mumenthaler, currently head of its
reinsurance division, will take over
on 1 July, after current boss Michel
Lies said he was planning on retiring.
The news came Swiss Re said it had
benefited in 2015 from the “absence
of major natural catastrophes”, with
group net income rising 31 per cent
to $4.6bn (£3.3bn), up from $3.5bn in
2014.
Premiums earned and fee income
dropped to $30.2bn, from $31.3bn in
2014, which it attributed to
unfavourable foreign exchange
movements.
MEDIAN household disposable
income in the UK rose to £25,700 in
the year to the end of 2015, up £1,500
from the year before, according to
official figures released yesterday,
suggesting the rich are getting
poorer, while the poor are getting
richer.
Average income is now a hair
above the at £25,400 people had just
before the downturn, the Office for
National Statistics figures showed.
Meanwhile, the median disposable
income among the richest fifth of
households was still £2,000 – or 3.2
per cent – below the pre-downturn
peak, after accounting for inflation
and household composition.
On the flipside, for the poorest
fifth, income has risen by £700, or
5.8 per cent, since the pre-downturn
peak. Income has been pushed up by
employment and average earnings
growth, which have both risen.
Provident announces
boost to its 2015 profits
HAYLEY KIRTON
SHARES in specialist lender
Provident Financial rose more than
two per cent yesterday as the
company announced a boost to its
profits for the year ended
December 2015.
The lender, which has more than
two million customers, reported
statutory profits before tax of
£273.6m, up 21.8 per cent
compared with £224.6m the year
before.
Shares rose after the results were
announced, trading up 2.8 per cent
at 3,289p shortly after 11:30am
yesterday. They closed up 2.13 per
cent at 3,267p.
Car loan company Moneybarn,
which Provident purchased in 2014,
also reported positive profits for
the year, with adjusted profits
before tax of £21.3m for 2015, up 42
per cent from pro forma profits of
£15m the year before.
Subsidiary Vanquis Bank, which
provides credit cards for those with
a less-than-perfect credit history,
also performed well, with profits
before tax of £185.5m, up 22.8 per
cent compared with £151m in 2014.
“The group has made a good start
to 2016,” added Peter Crook, chief
executive of Provident Financial.
“Vanquis Bank and Moneybarn have
continued to trade strongly and the
home credit business has enjoyed a
very satisfactory collections
performance.”
Provident Financial has declared
a final dividend of 80.9p per share,
making a total dividend of 120.1p
for the year, up from 98p paid a
year ago.
However, Mike van Dulken, head
of research at Accendo Markets,
suggested that the company may
want to approach the future with
caution.
He said: “After doing an
increasing volume of business
while rates are at artificial lows,
and with a generation now seeing
an interest rate rise – or indeed
anything other rates near zero – as
an alien concept, what will happen
when the Bank of England
eventually starts to hike and
normalise?”
Government has a poor grasp on fraud levels
and the information it holds is incomplete
HAYLEY KIRTON
THE GOVERNMENT lacks the right
information accurately to detect
and monitor levels of fraud,
according to a report published
yesterday by the National Audit
Office (NAO).
The report, which focuses on
fraud at central government
expenditure level, warned that,
with the exception of details on
tax credit and benefit fraud,
information collected by the
cabinet office is full of gaps and
inconsistencies.
The NAO also pointed out that
the UK government’s detected
levels of fraud were significantly
lower than estimates for the EU
and the US.
While the National Audit
Office is cautious about using
these figures as direct
comparisons, it stated that the
degree of difference indicated
that there could be frauds going
unreported.
In light of its findings, the
NAO recommended that
government departments should
undertake thorough fraud risk
assessments for new
programmes that they are
planning to implement and aim
to improve the completeness of
the fraud data they hold.
The NAO also recommended
that, once the cabinet office felt
confident that it was collecting
complete information, it should
publish an annual report to
improve transparency and raise
awareness about fraud.
A cabinet office spokesperson
said: “We welcome the National
Audit Office’s findings.
“We are committed to having
the best quality fraud data
available across government and
are working with departments
to ensure this data collection is
being done in the best possible
way.”
CITYAM.COM
Drax is slashing
final dividend as
profits tumble
HAYLEY KIRTON
SHARES in Drax Group plummeted
almost eight per cent yesterday after
the energy company cut its dividend
and reported a sharp drop in profits.
The company reported a profit
before tax for the year ended December 2015 of £59m, almost two-thirds
below its £166m the year before.
The electrical power firm also announced it would be shelling out just
0.6p per share for its final dividend,
down sharply from 7.2p per share in
2014, in line with its policy to distribute 50 per cent of underlying earnings.
Total dividend per share for 2015 is
5.7p, compared with 11.9p in 2014.
However, revenue grew for the company for the year, up to £3.1bn from
£2.8bn the year before.
“In a challenging year, we have delivered another strong operational performance and realised our vision to
become a predominantly biomass
fuelled generator,” said Dorothy
Thompson, chief executive of Drax.
“We are clear on the challenges ahead
and how we will respond. The fastest,
most affordable and safest way to reduce carbon emissions is to further deploy the world leading biomass
technology Drax has pioneered to upgrade more of the UK’s existing coal
fired power stations to sustainable biomass.”
Meanwhile, Drax said it might
decide to mothball its coal-fired power
generation units, as part of a strategy
review triggered by competition from
cheap gas and renewables.
A surge in intermittent renewable energy production and cheap gas prices
have effectively priced coal-fired plants
out of the market in Britain, whose
government has anyway said it plans
to shut all coal-fired stations by 2025 in
a bid to lower carbon emissions.
“We may choose to mothball them,
but what we are keen to is to work
with government and find the right
solution,” said Thompson.
ROYAL TRAIN Crossrail to be rebranded
in honour of Queen Elizabeth
NEWS
15
US watchdog
orders Citibank
topayback$5m
HARRY BANKS
CROSSRAIL is being rebranded before it has even launched. The multi-million-pound
network, which will stretch from Reading in the west to Abbey Wood in east London
and Shenfield in Essex, is going to be called the Elizabeth Line in honour of the Queen.
THE US Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau (CFPB)
yesterday ordered Citibank to pay
$5m (£3.5m) back to customers
and $3m in penalties over its debt
sales and collection practices.
In a statement, the agency said
it took action against the
financial services company for
selling credit card debt with
inflated interest rates and for not
forwarding consumer payments
promptly to debt buyers.
It said it also ordered Citibank,
part of Citigroup, and two law
firms it used to comply with a
court order to refund $11m to
consumers and forgo collecting
about $34m from about 7,000
consumers.
“Citibank sent inaccurate
information to buyers when it
sold off credit card debt and it
also used law firms that altered
court documents,” CFPB director
Richard Cordray said.
“Today’s action provides
redress to consumers who were
victimised by slipshod practices
as part of our ongoing work to
fight abuses in the debt collection
market.”
Upgrade to First Class at
weekends from just £5
(Feel free to dress for the occasion)
Ticket upgrades available from your guard. See southwesttrains.co.uk/firstclass for more details. Terms, conditions and exclusions apply.
16
NEWS
CITYAM.COM
What is helicopter money and will it work?
LOSING CONTROL
CHRIS PAPADOPOULLOS
THE IDEA
THE 18TH-century philosopher David
Hume asked what would happen if
some good fairy went around doubling
the money in everybody’s pockets. No
one would really be richer, he concluded, because prices would double.
The thought experiment was taken
further by Nobel laureate Milton Friedman in 1969, when he replaced the
fairy with a helicopter. He wrote: “Let
us suppose that one day a helicopter
flies over this community and drops
an additional $1,000 in bills from the
sky, which is, of course, hastily collected by members of the community.
Let us suppose further that everyone is
convinced that this is a unique event
which will never be repeated.”
Friedman says people will not want
to hold all the cash. Getting rid of
excess cash is easy, you just have to
spend more than you receive. He
believes a helicopter drop would boost
spending and, in an economy that is
operating at full capacity, lift prices. It
has led some economists to ponder
whether the Bank of England could
use such a technique to bring inflation
back to its elusive two per cent target.
But undertaking the policy is riddled
with practical difficulties.
A helicopter drop is very different to
traditional quantitative easing (QE).
When the Bank does QE, it creates new
electronic bank reserves, and buys
something with them, normally government debt. It gets something in
return. That means the Bank’s assets –
the stuff it owns – and the bank’s liabilities – the stuff it owes other people
– have gone up by the same amount.
BALANCE SHEET PROBLEMS
Bank notes are a liability of the central
bank. With helicopter money, the
Bank would be creating a new liability,
but would not be receiving an asset.
When a bank, like any business or
household, has liabilities greater than
its assets, it is insolvent.
The Bank of England has around
£3bn of capital. That means it could
create £3bn of new notes and dish
them out before it became insolvent.
Insolvency is a problem for a central
bank. It pays interest on its liabilities,
and does so using interest received on
its assets. The interest it decides to pay
on its liabilities is a vital part of the
way it controls its main policy interest
rate, Bank rate.
The Bank of England does not pay
interest on bank notes, but it does pay
interest on reserves kept by banks,
which bank notes can be exchanged for.
Because it could not afford to pay interest, the helicopter drop would erode
the ability of the central bank to raise
interest rates in future.
To boost the bank’s assets so it can
pay interest, the government could
step in and give it an asset free of
charge. This asset would be an interestpaying government bond.
Yet this would mean, in essence, the
bank had created new money and
received a government bond in return.
This would be more like traditional QE,
and would not fit the definition of helicopter money.
The central bank could also create
money to pay the interest on its liabilities. But this would mean it was doing
a helicopter drop to pay for its previous
helicopter drop. Such a situation
would quickly spiral out of control as
new helicopter money is required to
pay interest on old helicopter money.
The Bank could do a helicopter drop
if it promised not to pay interest on
new reserves. However, this would
mean giving up a large deal of control
over Bank rate and therefore future
inflation.
The helicopter drop is a nice thought
experiment to help understand the
relationship between money, spending
and prices. But ultimately, it would
undermine the current framework in
place for adjusting interest rates to
control inflation. The Bank is unlikely
to seriously consider it.
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18
NEWS
CITYAM.COM
President Obama plans to shut Coal takes its toll on
controversial Guantanamo prison commodities trader
JAMES NICKERSON
FRESH plans to close the controversial
Guantanamo Bay detention facility
in Cuba have been signalled by the
Obama administration.
The remaining 91 detainees are to
be moved to their home countries or
US prisons, the Pentagon has
proposed, according to the BBC.
Closing Guantanamo has been one
of Obama’s long-term goals, and
something he has been working
towards since his first day in office in
2009.
However, the US congress had so
far thwarted his plans. It is expected
that congress will move to block
Obama's plan.
Obama said yesterday the prison
undermined national security.
“This is about closing a chapter in
our history, It reflects the lessons
we’ve learned since 9/11, lessons that
must guide our nation going
forward.”
White House secretary Josh Earnest
said he was “not confident” that the
plans would be politically palatable.
He added that wouldn’t stop the
president from arguing for closing
down the controversial prison.
Last July, the White House said
Obama was in the “final stages” of
drafting a plan to close the prison at
Guantanamo.
ANSHUMAN DAGA
COMMODITY trader Noble Group
warned of its first full-year loss in
nearly 20 years yesterday, blaming a
$1.2bn (£855m) writedown on low
coal prices and prompting a credit rating downgrade by Moody’s.
Ratings agency Moody’s cut Noble’s
corporate rating and senior unsecured bond ratings to Ba3 from Ba1,
while S&P said the loss was credit negative and could complicate refinanc-
London Whale
accused: Debacle
was not my fault
JONATHAN STEMPEL
THE FORMER JP Morgan trader who
became known as the “London
Whale” as his unit generated $6.2bn
(£4.4bn) of trading losses in 2012 said
he is not to blame for the scandal and
was made a scapegoat for decisions
made by his superiors.
In a roughly 2,100-word letter sent to
media this week, in which he broke
nearly four years of silence, Bruno
Iksil said he had been “instructed
repeatedly” by senior management in
the bank’s chief investment office
(CIO) to execute the trading strategy
that caused the losses.
Iksil, a French national who traded
credit derivatives for JP Morgan in
London, also said he objected to being
called the London Whale, and being
portrayed by media as solely responsible for the losses.
He said he had in the summer of
2011 repeatedly warned colleagues
about the trading strategy, and by
early March 2012 was “raising alarms”
over management’s plan to add even
more risk. Losses began to publicly
surface in early April 2012.
“The losses suffered by the CIO were
not the actions of one person acting
in an unauthorised manner,” Iksil
wrote. “My role was to execute a trading strategy that had been initiated,
approved, mandated and monitored
by the CIO’s senior management.”
JP Morgan declined to comment last
night. Lawyers for Iksil in the US yesterday confirmed the authenticity of
the letter.
The scandal hurt the reputation of
JP Morgan chief executive Jamie
Dimon, who at first downplayed the
losses as a “tempest in a teapot” before
changing course.
JP Morgan ultimately paid more
than $1bn and admitted wrongdoing
to settle US and British probes into the
losses. In 2013, the US Department of
Justice decided not to prosecute Iksil
over the losses. Iksil has been a cooperating witness in US proceedings
against other individuals.
He said in the letter that he cannot
talk “plainly” about his knowledge of
relevant events until those proceedings are over.
Former JP Morgan traders Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout have been
charged with hiding losses linked to
the CIO. They live in Europe and have
not appeared in the US to answer
charges there.
Earlier this month, the Financial
Conduct Authority fined former CIO
executive Achilles Macris £792,900 for
failing to be “open and cooperative”
with authorities in connection with
the losses. He said he settled after the
FCA accepted that he did not deliberReuters
ately mislead it.
Multiple factors
caused Takata
airbags to fail
DAVID SHEPARDSON
Just under half of London households are worried about their finances
One-fifth of London households
in debt after paying for essentials
JAMES NICKERSON
NEARLY one in five London
households end up in the red on a
monthly basis after paying for
essentials, according to new data.
Figures published today by
Scottish Friendly also found that
after buying essentials such as
housing, energy, water, groceries and
transport, the average London
household has just £934 left per
month to save or use for socialising,
clothing or other items.
“For Londoners in particular, the
cost of housing is a major issue.
Keeping a roof over their head
accounts for a huge chunk of
Londoners disposable income. These
day-to-day financial pressures are
causing a sizeable minority to spend
beyond their means every month,”
said Calum Bennie, savings expert at
Scottish Friendly.
“Consequently less than half of
Londoners are able to save regularly.
This kind of financial fragility
should be a concern for policymakers and businesses,” he added.
Bennie said that while economic
conditions are improving and there
is subdued inflation, high
employment and gradual increase in
wages, these benefits are being offset
by the rising cost of living, and
particularly the cost of housing.
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS Edited by Joseph Millis
GN2
Tim Warren has joined central
London property firm GN2
after nearly eight years at
Cluttons LLP to lead in the
expansion of their investment
advisory offer. Tim has over 23
years’ experience and is
joining as a director and head
of the central London sales &
investment team, based in the
West End. Tim will be
responsible for advising occupiers and investors on
central & greater London office and retail markets.
Specialising in central London, Tim has an extensive
ing a credit facility in May. “The downgrade reflects the impact of the unexpected assets write-down on Noble’s
business and financial profile,” Joe
Morrison, Moody’s senior credit officer, said in a statement.
Singapore-listed Noble, which has
sought to reassure investors after an
accounting dispute and as tumbling
commodity markets battered its
stocks and bonds, set its 2020 and
beyond estimate for thermal coal conReuters
tracts at $55 per tonne.
track record of acting for owner occupiers, UK and
overseas funds, large and small property companies,
landed estates and UK & overseas private investors.
CYRUS INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
Cyrus Investment Management, the specialist
engineering turnaround EIS investment adviser, has
announced the appointment of Lord Peter Hain,
formerly secretary of state for Wales, and General Sir
Peter Wall, formerly chief of the general staff, to CIM’s
advisory board. Hain served in the government for 12
years, seven of these in the cabinet, where he helped
to negotiate the 2007 settlement to end the conflict in
Northern Ireland and was a Foreign Minister with
successive responsibilities for Africa, the Middle East
To appear in CITYMOVES please email your career updates and pictures to [email protected]
and Europe. Wall joined the Royal Engineers from
Sandhurst in 1974. In 2010, he was appointed as chief
of the general staff after a year as commander-in-chief
land forces. He has served in Rhodesia, the Balkans,
and Iraq. He has extensive experience of Whitehall and
working at the top of government. Wall is now director
of Amicus, a strategic leadership consultancy,
specialising in imparting military command experience
to the corporate world.
SANNE GROUP
Sanne Group, a provider of outsourced corporate and
fund administration, reporting and fiduciary services,
has announced the appointment of Justin Partington
to a newly created role of global head of funds. Justin
A COMBINATION of three factors
is the root cause of Takata air bag
inflator ruptures linked to at
least 10 deaths worldwide, a
group of 10 car companies said
yesterday.
According to the review by a
Utah-based team from Orbital
ATK, the cause of the ruptures
linked to more than 100 injuries
is exposure to humidity, design
and manufacturing issues, and
use of the volatile chemical
ammonium nitrate.
The results of the year-long review come as the National
Highway Traffic Safety
Administration continues to
investigate whether the recalls of
nearly 29m defective Takata
inflators in the US should be
expanded to include another 70m
to 90m inflators with ammonium
nitrate.
Former managers interviewed
by Reuters described “chronic”
quality failures at Takata’s North
American inflator plants, an
assessment reflected in dozens of
company emails and documents
dating back to 2001.
Those problems, the former
managers said, make it difficult
for the company and regulators to
pinpoint which inflators – among
tens of millions – pose a danger.
When exposed to moisture,
ammonium nitrate, which is used
to inflate the air bag, can cause
the inflator to rupture with
deadly force, spraying shrapnel on
Reuters
vehicle occupants.
SIGN UP TO RECEIVE THE DAILY CITY MOVES
EMAIL SERVICE AT CITYAM.COM/CITY-MOVES
is an experienced executive in fund services, having
held leadership roles for 10 years in a range of fund
administration businesses across the alternative asset
sector in Cayman, London and the Channel Islands.
TRYZENS
E-commerce provider Tryzens has appointed Gregory
Straw as its new partner manager. Greg joins Tryzens
after previously working as a partner management
executive at Sitecore, where he was principally tasked
with the implementation and management of the new
UK partner programme, managing growth partner
accounts and recruiting new digital agencies into the
ecosystem. Greg is also a special adviser for the British
Interactive Media Association.
CITYAM.COM
THECAPITALIST
NEWS
19
Got A Story? Email
[email protected]
EDITED BY EDITH HANCOCK
Hand of Provident…
Analysts turned away
the meeting.”
Bates told The Capitalist he did forget
to RSVP, but this hasn’t stopped him
getting in before.
He said: “I sent Provident an email at
7:50 am just so they’d know I was coming. Neither of our names was on the
list, but the reception desk told us to
contact Provident so they knew we
were there and could let us in.
“The person I spoke to said we were
too late. I asked if he was joking. He
said he wasn’t and would leave it to us
to decide if it was anything to do with
our seller status.”
A spokesperson for the LSE confirmed that it was Provident who
stopped them coming in.
The meeting was held
on the fifth floor of the
LSE building, home to
Numis – who are themselves a seller of the
stock...well that’s one
way to beat security.
SECURITY at the London Stock Exchange (LSE) is notoriously tight, but
was there another reason why two analysts were turned away from a meeting with Provident Financial?
Word reaches The Capitalist that two
City figures were shunned from the
event yesterday for having committed
the sin of placing a “sell” recommendation on the firm’s stock.
The two analysts, Panmure Gordon’s
Jeremy Grime and Liberum’s Justin
Bates, claim that they were denied
access for their negative view.
On the other hand, a spokesperson
for Provident said that it was the analysts who had snubbed the
firm, claiming that the company sent more than one invitation to both analysts
ahead of the meeting, but neither RSVP’d in time so were
turned away at security.
He
added:
“The
security at the building
is like an airport. Being
sellers
definitely
wasn’t an issue, we
had other sellers at
Two analysts walk into
the London Stock
Exchange
POWA POWERS DOWN Tech firm in no
place to complain about Salesforce’s tower
A BATTLE TO THE FRENCH BALL
The Capitalist battled through an angry
mob last night to attend the launch of
Creative France – a campaign from the
French government to raise the profile of
the nation’s small businesses. While
protestors targeting the French embassy
gathered outside Shoreditch House and
police forced attendees to wait out in the
cold, the party kept going and the red
wine flowed. Well, City A.M. is no stranger
to diplomatic incidents. Back in 2014, a
column by then-City A.M. editor Allister
Heath referring to the France’s “failed
social experiment” prompted a barbed,
10-point response from the French
embassy bashing the Tory government
and the NHS, and caused a war of words
between Conservative MPs, Heath, and
the then-French Ambassador. Sacre Bleu!
QUOTE OF THE DAY…
This is an
isolated incident
POWA Technologies may no longer be a threat to Salesforce’s claim to the Heron
Tower after going into administration and making three-quarters of its UK workforce
redundant. A row between the building’s owner and tenants broke out after it was
renamed to honour Heron’s biggest tenant, Salesforce. As Salesforce is a rival tech
firm based in the tower, Powa was one of the biggest objectors to the name change.
A spokesperson declined to say what will now happen to Powa’s tenancy agreement.
From Mars, after being
forced to take Mars and
Snickers off shelves in
55 countries as a
precaution after
plastic was
found in bars.
CITY A.M. PROMOTION
WIN A TRIP TO TUSCANY
C
hianti produces wines of
global acclaim and has firmly
earned its place amongst the
greatest wine regions of the
world. Alongside the new release of SIEPI 2013, in association with
wine travel company Winerist, the City
A.M. Wine Club is excited to announce
a new competition. One lucky winner
will win a unique trip to the magical
Fonterutoli Estate in Tuscany where
they will experience elegant accommodation, award winning wines and Chianti’s famous local food.
THE PRIZE
The winner of this incredible prize will be
staying for 2 nights in the elegant family-run
hotel, which forms part of the Fonterutoli
estate. The hotel has 12 unique rooms inspired
by the colours of the Chianti region. Guests will
enjoy beautiful views and an excellent location
which is just a short walk from the renowned
Mazzei wine estate. Nearby restaurants offer
local delicacies such as truffles and the famous
‘Chianina steak’. Also included:
A private visit for two people to the
Fonterutoli estate
A dinner for two on one night of your stay
OUR PARTNERS
To enable us to bring you this fantastic
competition, we have partnered with Winerist,
an award winning travel website specialised in
organising wine and food holidays. With over
100 wine regions to choose from, Winerist
offers the perfect platform for booking day
activities in wine country or multi-day
holidaysin your favourite wine destination.
THE WINE
Mazzei Siepi is a real Tuscan heavyweight produced
in vineyards dating back to the 15th Century. Siepi is
the epitome of a ‘no expense spared’ wine spending
18 months in 225 litre French oak barrique. The
resulting wine is powerful, complex and balanced
with notes of sour cherry, violets and chocolate
developing into mushroom, leather and cigar box
with age.
The 2013 release of Siepi has already been
incredibly well received by critics being awarded 95+
by The Wine Advocate’s Monica Larner, her best
score to date.
It is the combination of painstaking viti- and
viniculture and the addition of Merlot that
distinguishes this wine from other leading estates in
Tuscany; at under £50 a bottle in bond, Siepi offers
incredible quality. Siepi only produces 1,600 cases
per vintage.
HOW TO ENTER
Siepi2013isavailabletomembersoftheCityAM
WineClubfor£280IBper6x75(£350.76Duty&VAT
paid).Thisreleaseisalwayshighlysoughtafterand
allocationisexpectedtodisappearquickly.
Existing members can enter too by
simply registering their interest via email
to [email protected].
Sign up for the City A.M. Wine Club at
www.cityam.com/city-am-wine-club.
TERMS & CONDITIONS
• To enter this promotion you must be 18 years of age or older and a
resident in the UK. The competition is not open to employees from
Winerist Ltd or City A.M. and their immediate family.
• No purchase from the promoter is necessary to enter the competition.
The prize is non-transferable and no cash alternative can be offered for any
prize. Only one entry per person is permitted. Proof of being the
authorised account holder of the email address provided
may be required. Bulk and spam entries will be disqualified.
• In order to enter the competition, entrants must provide a valid e-mail
address and opt in to the Winerist and City A.M. newsletters. You must still
be a subscriber of the above at the time of the competition closure.
• The start date of the competition is 8 February, 2016, 9am GMT. The
closing date of competition is 28 February, 2015, 9pm GMT. The winner will
be notified by email within 14 days of the prize draw. The promoter’s
decision is final and binding.
• The first prize includes accommodation for 2 people consisting of a 2night stay at Castello Fonterutoli with breakfast included. A dinner for 2 on
one night only, private winery visit and wine tasting is also included.
• The prize can be redeemed from 15 March 2016 to 15 March 2017 (except,
Christmas, New Year & Easter) subject to availability. You must arrange
your reservation via Winerist ([email protected]) before departure.
• The prize does not include transfers to/from the airport and additional
purchases. It is the responsibility of the winner to cover all additional costs
such as flights, travel insurance and other expenses of personal nature.
• The promoter reserves the right to change the prize to an alternative
destination or item of similar value without notice, if circumstances
beyond their control require it to do so.
• By entering this competition you agree to these terms and conditions
and that Winerist may contact you by email regarding future news and
offers. Winerist is compliant with the Data
Protection Act. The promoter of this competition is Winerist Ltd (company
number 07833335) with the registered address at 2-10 Capper Street,
WC1E 6JA, London, United Kingdom. This competition falls under the
jurisdiction of English law.
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art in Cu
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WEDNESDAY 24 FEBRUARY 2016 MARKETS 21
CITYAM.COM
CITYDASHBOARD
In association with
YOUR ONE-STOP SHOP BROKER
VIEWS AND MARKET REPORTS
LONDON REPORT
BEST OF THEBROKERS
Oil drop offsets
London Stock
Exchange gains
To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to [email protected]
T
HE FALLING price of oil
proved to be too much of a
drag on FTSE companies
yesterday, as even giant leaps
made by the likes of London
Stock Exchange Group were unable
to keep it over the 6,000 line.
The UK’s blue-chip index fell 1.2
per cent to 5,962.31 points, led lower
by Standard Chartered and BHP
Billiton.
Oil’s winning streak was brought
to an end by comments from Saudi
and Iranian oil ministers over deals
to freeze or cut production.
“European markets dropped, led
lower by a pullback in the price of oil
when the Iranian oil minister called
a deal to freeze output ‘ridiculous’,”
said Jasper Lawler, chief markets
analyst at CMC Markets.
London Stock Exchange Group led
the FTSE 100 after the company
announced it was in talks for a
possible merger with Germany’s
Deutsche Boerse.
The merger would make the group
the largest exchange in the world,
valued at $20bn. LSE Group rose 13.7
per cent.
InterContinental Hotels also
jumped after it announced plans to
give shareholders a $1.5bn dividend
after posting strong full-year results.
Its share price closed at 2,540p, a 3.5
per cent rise.
Meanwhile, with no cut in output
expected from Opec, Shell’s share
price closed 2.63 per cent lower,
while BP’s share price dropped 3.2
per cent.
BHP Billiton’s share price fell after
announcing it would be cutting its
interim dividend as its profits
tumbled. It closed six per cent down.
Other miners also fell as metal
prices dropped. Anglo American was
down 6.3 per cent, while
Antofagasta closed four per cent
lower.
Standard Chartered fell after the
bank reported a net loss for 2015 due
to bad loans to slowing Asian
economies and the commodities
industry. It ended the session down
by 6.7 per cent.
“It’s a horrendous headline
number out on Standard Chartered.
I’d still be a seller of any rallies on
the stock, because I am concerned
about their exposure to China,” said
Beaufort Securities’ sales trader Basil
Petrides.
Persimmon made gains after it
reported profits have leaped. Its
share price closed up 2.8 per cent.
On the FTSE 250, Meggitt was the
best performer, up 11 per cent after
the aerospace manufacturer
expressed confidence in its outlook
for 2016, following a tough year.
JUST EAT
P
385
380
6,100
23 Feb
5,962.31
6,000
6,000
5,950
5,900
Wall St slips
as oil prices
slump again
377.40
375
23 Feb
370
365
360
355
17 Feb
18 Feb
19 Feb
22 Feb
23 Feb
Investec initiated its coverage of Just Eat with a “buy” rating and a 435p target price.
The broker said recent market weakness provides a good entry point to buy what it
believes is an industry-leading and highly cash-generative growth company. With no
debt and high cash conversion, Investec sees scope for further bolt-on acquisitions
that both increase scale and remove a competitor in markets it already operates in.
INDIVIOR
P
180
175
170
165
160
155
150
145
165.40
23 Feb
17 Feb
18 Feb
19 Feb
22 Feb
23 Feb
Jefferies has reiterated its guidance to buy shares in Indivior, but lowered its
earnings estimates following its recent full-year results, which showed some gross
margin pressure. The company, which makes heroin addiction medication
Suboxone, faces a court ruling within months that could allow rivals to copy its film
version of the drug. The broker said its 280p target price factors in this risk.
CLOSE BROTHERS
1,280
P
1,270
1,260
1,250
23 Feb
1,240
FTSE
NEW YORK
REPORT
1,234.00
1,230
1,220
17 Feb
18 Feb
19 Feb
22 Feb
23 Feb
UBS has initiated coverage of Close Brothers Group with a “neutral” rating and a 12month target price of 1,320p. UBS said it is one to two per cent below consensus
expectations in the coming three years, on the back of weaker expectations for its
banking business. UBS’ loan growth expectations are also lower than consensus as
it expects Close Brothers to decelerate asset expansion in light of rising competition
from both challenger and high-street peers.
TIGHT FIXED SPREAD CO
P
RESSURE from a renewed drop in
oil prices yesterday, which
undercut momentum that had
helped the market rebound from a
sluggish start to the year, caused Wall
Street to slip.
The Dow Jones industrial average
fell 188.88 points, or 1.14 per cent, to
16,431.78, the S&P 500 lost 24.23
points, or 1.25 per cent, to 1,921.27
and the Nasdaq Composite dropped
67.02 points, or 1.47 per cent, to
4,503.58.
Equity markets this year have been
tightly linked to the daily fluctuations
of battered oil prices.
Energy shares tumbled 3.2 per
cent, leading declines among S&P
sectors.
“The markets are really worried
that we are missing something here,
that the global slowdown may be
more significant than we are
recognising and that slowdown
could be causing oil prices to drop,
and commodities prices in general,”
said Tracie McMillion, head of asset
allocation at Wells Fargo Private
Bank in Winston-Salem, North
Carolina.
Financial shares, the worst
performing group this year, fell
another 1.8 per cent. Nine of the 10
S&P sectors finished negative.
“Having the market take a little bit
of profit wasn’t a surprise to us,” said
John Traynor, chief investment
officer of People’s United Wealth
Management in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
“We think this is just a small
setback in an ongoing recovery. We
have been telling clients that we are
in a bottoming process.”
Fitbit plummeted 20.8 per cent to
$13.08 after the wearable fitness
device maker forecast profit below
estimates.
Spread Betting | CFDs | Forex
START SPREAD BETTING WITH LOW
MARGINS AND SMALL STAKES
Open an account at spreadco.com
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losses may exceed deposits
22
FEATURE
CITYAM.COM
MONEY TRANSFER
ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE
Save money on international transfers
If you use your
high street bank to
make payments
overseas, then you
may be paying
more than you
bargained for
S
tock markets have provided an
interesting if not slightly
stormy narrative to the beginning of 2016, and many City
commentators are forecasting
more of the volatility that was so
prevalent during last year. If this
proves to be the case currency markets
are likely to be a bit choppy too.
STERLING WEAKNESS
Just like stock prices, currency
markets are sensitive to economic and
political news flow. Yet foreign
exchange rates can have an even
bigger impact on the day-to-day running of a business in a world where
technology has facilitated more and
more cross-border trade. This is well
highlighted by sterling’s start to this
year. In the first half of January the
pound had already slipped over 3%
against both the euro and the dollar
(its decline taking it to a five and a half
year low against the dollar).
While disappointing UK industrial
output figures for November are
partly to blame for sterling’s fall, there
are a broad range of factors at play.
This makes it somewhat impossible to
make accurate predictions for the
future. The euro weakened against the
pound for much of last year, so it is
not unreasonable to assume that
many buyers are taking advantage of
the euro’s relative strength. And as
confidence in Eurozone recovery
increases, the euro could well
strengthen further against the pound
during 2016.
Falls in sterling’s value can support
those businesses exporting products
and services abroad however, as their
goods become cheaper to international buyers. But it is not good news for
every business. A drop in the pound’s
value puts cost pressures on any company that imports raw materials from
abroad, for example. The pound’s
recent fall against both the euro and
the greenback certainly serves as a
reminder that such businesses need to
be clever about how they make and
receive international payments as any
fall in the value of sterling can translate directly into an increase in costs.
This certainly highlights the need to
consider and plan for such currency
movements. After all, for many SMEs a
sharp, unexpected currency fluctuation (such as the 3% fall in value highlighted earlier) can pose a real threat
to their ability to trade.
It is not only business that are affected
by
currency
movements.
Individuals are often hard hit too as
people need to send money overseas
for all sorts of reasons (such as buying
and selling international property) or
converting a salary from one currency
to another.
Aside from fluctuations though,
there is another big factor that influences the exchange rate that a business or an individual receives. The
good news is that it something that is
within our control.
ARE YOU GETTING A GOOD
EXCHANGE RATE?
Using a high street bank to make
international payments may appear
to be the most convenient option.
But you could be paying far more
than you bargained for. For some
business owners it surprising to
learn that the typically unfavourable
exchange rates received from a high
street bank might mean that an
international transfer could be
costing up to 4% more.
Making an international transfer
with a foreign exchange specialist
can be far more cost-effective on the
other hand. This is one of the reasons
City A.M. has partnered with foreign
exchange experts moneycorp, to
bring you City A.M. International
Payments.
The service provides you with
access to exchange rates that
typically beat what you can get from
many high street banks by around 34%. If you consider what this means
on a transfer of £100,000 then it
could equate to a saving of up to
£4,000. These competitive exchange
rates are naturally attractive to many
of moneycorp’s business and
personal clients who could be transfering significant sums across international borders.
The service also offers the piece of
mind that your currency affairs are
entrusted to a credible provider, who
will allocate a dedicated account
manager that will spend time getting
to know your needs. You may have
seen moneycorop at major airoprts,
and last year alone the company conducted around 8.1 million currency
transactions. moneycorp is authorised and regulated by the Financial
Conduct Authority for the provision
of payment services.
£ For competitive rates and the
exclusive City A.M. offer of free online
transfers, call free on 0808 115 3718
“I have recently switched to using moneycorp”
C
ITY A.M. has teamed up
with foreign exchange
experts moneycorp to
launch City A.M.
International Payments.
Since its inception, many City A.M.
readers have decided to switch
from their bank to moneycorp
when making overseas money
transfers. Ben Martin is just one
example of the many satisfied City
A.M. International Payments
customers who have taken
advantage of moneycorp’s bankbeating exchange rates, low
transfer fees and expert personal
service.
Mr. Martin decided to change his
money transfer provider after
reading about City A.M.
International Payments. He runs
his own Banking Advisory firm and
needs to send money to France
regularly to pay for work being
carried out on his property in the
Alps.
‘I had been using my primary
bank for international payments,
but grew frustrated at the poor
exchange rates I was being offered.
I called moneycorp after reading
about City A.M. International
Payments, to learn if I could
improve the rate at which I bought
euros.’
Most people use high street
banks to make international
money transfers, however, banks
don’t typically offer the most
competitive exchange rates and
can often charge large fees for
making the transfer. Currency
specialist’s moneycorp can offer
exchange rates that are typically 3-
4 per cent better than you might
get from a high street bank – on a
transfer of £100k that could equate
to a saving of up to £4,000. And
while banks can charge a £20-40
fee for each transfer, with
moneycorp the transfer fees are
waived online for City A.M. readers
I found moneycorp
easy to deal with their team was
professional and
helpful
and rise to a maximum of £15 for
orders placed over the phone.
Mr. Martin added: ‘I was pleased
to find that moneycorp was able to
improve on the poor rate my bank
offered me. I contacted my bank
and advised them their exchange
rate was uncompetitive – I knew
this from representing my own
clients and was backed up by
moneycorp’s better pricing. The
bank was unprepared to improve
its rates, so I have switched to
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As well as competitive exchange
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moneycorp offers customers a
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Each client is assigned their own
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your foreign exchange
requirement. He or she will be able
to guide you through the transfer
process and help you deal with the
often fast paced currency markets.
Your personal account manager is
based in moneycorp’s office in
London, and is available at the end
of the phone during extended
office hours: 7.30am – 9pm
Monday – Friday and 9am – 1pm
on a Saturday. For Mr. Martin, this
high-level of bespoke customer
service has proved invaluable –
helping him to make the most out
of all his currency transfers to
France.
£ For competitive rates and the
exclusive City A.M. offer of free online
transfers, call free on 0808 115 3718
CITYAM.COM
FTSE 100
FTSE 250
5962.31
75.42
FTSE ALL SHARE
16229.20
59.60
Price Chg High Low
GILTS
-0.07
-0.04
-0.03
-0.01
0.03
0.05
0.10
0.20
0.16
0.23
0.08
0.32
0.45
0.18
0.27
0.68
0.84
0.42
0.85
0.89
0.33
0.98
0.53
1.13
1.21
0.66
1.33
1.50
1.50
1.64
0.00
Tsy 8.000 15 . . . . . . .106.51
Tsy 4.750 15 . . . . . . .102.64
Tsy 4.000 16 . . . . . .105.79
Tsy 2.500 16 . . . . . . .327.52
Tsy 1.250 17 . . . . . . . .107.61
Tsy 8.750 17 . . . . . . . .121.21
Tsy 5.000 18 . . . . . . .113.51
Tsy 3.750 19 . . . . . . .113.00
Tsy 4.500 19 . . . . . . .115.07
Tsy 4.750 20 . . . . . .119.04
Tsy 2.500 20 . . . . . .366.72
Tsy 8.000 21 . . . . . .142.92
Tsy 4.000 22 . . . . . .119.85
Tsy 1.875 22 . . . . . . .124.78
Tsy 2.500 24 . . . . . .350.74
Tsy 5.000 25 . . . . . .134.70
Tsy 4.250 27 . . . . . . .131.90
Tsy 1.250 27 . . . . . . .130.83
Tsy 6.000 28 . . . . . .155.76
Tsy 4.750 30 . . . . . . .142.51
Tsy 4.125 30 . . . . . . .347.31
Tsy 4.250 32 . . . . . .136.85
Tsy 1.250 32 . . . . . . .143.94
Tsy 4.250 36 . . . . . .140.37
Tsy 4.750 38 . . . . . .153.30
Tsy 0.625 40 . . . . . .144.56
Tsy 4.500 42 . . . . . . .153.16
Tsy 3.500 45 . . . . . . .132.31
Tsy 4.250 46 . . . . . .152.26
Tsy 4.025 49 . . . . . . .156.13
Tsy 4.000 99 . . . . .100.00
113.8
106.8
108.3
339.1
110.9
126.3
114.4
113.0
115.1
119.0
370.4
143.0
119.8
125.8
353.6
134.8
132.0
131.4
155.7
142.5
350.7
136.9
144.8
140.4
153.2
146.5
153.1
132.2
152.3
156.4
101.8
106.5
102.6
105.7
327.3
107.3
121.1
111.7
108.0
111.2
113.5
359.4
135.7
110.4
119.1
322.5
119.4
112.1
116.0
132.9
118.3
304.4
111.7
120.7
111.6
120.4
112.2
117.1
100.6
113.3
114.4
94.9
AEROSPACE & DEFENCE
BAE Systems . . . . . . . . .508.5
Cobham . . . . . . . . . . . .252.8
Meggitt . . . . . . . . . . . . .428.7
QinetiQ Group . . . . . . . .235.0
Rolls-Royce Holdi . . . . .663.5
Senior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215.7
Ultra Electronics . . . . .1899.0
-1.5
0.2
42.6
0.9
5.0
-1.3
-4.0
547.0
345.1
587.5
274.4
1054.0
358.5
2026.0
425.5
228.9
346.5
188.2
512.5
193.1
1635.0
AUTOMOBILES & PARTS
GKN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .270.1 -18.8 386.0 248.6
BANKS
Aldermore Group . . . . .193.4 -4.1
Barclays . . . . . . . . . . . . .161.6 -3.6
BGEO Group . . . . . . . . .1897.0 7.0
HSBC Holdings . . . . . . . .441.3 -4.6
Lloyds Banking Gr . . . . .62.9 -0.2
Royal Bank of Sco . . . . .236.0 -9.2
Shawbrook Group . . . .258.7 -6.3
Standard Chartere . . . .407.0 -29.4
Virgin Money Hold . . . .318.2 -3.8
316.0
289.0
2135.0
649.3
89.0
403.9
382.0
1086.0
464.0
178.0
147.9
1570.0
420.2
56.0
223.5
256.7
383.9
273.6
BEVERAGES
Barr (A.G.) . . . . . . . . . .498.0
Britvic . . . . . . . . . . . . . .691.0
Coca-Cola HBC AG . . .1458.0
Diageo . . . . . . . . . . . . .1864.5
SABMiller . . . . . . . . . . .4170.5
-6.0
2.0
-11.0
5.5
-5.0
684.0 487.4
776.5 642.0
1629.0 1089.0
1967.0 1640.0
4199.0 2877.5
Croda
Internation
. . . .2929.0 69.0
CONSTRUCTION
& MATERIALS
Elementis . . . . . . . . . . .224.9 -1.4
Johnson Matthey . . . .2483.0 -42.0
Synthomer . . . . . . . . . .288.5 -3.9
Victrex plc . . . . . . . . . .1514.0 -34.0
3137.0 2656.0
320.5 200.3
3556.9 2230.0
361.3 261.0
2117.0 1367.0
CHEMICALS
CONSTRUCTION & MATERIALS
Balfour Beatty . . . . . . .240.2 2.2 272.5 220.2
CRH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1812.0 -5.0 1980.0 1637.0
3272.68
35.31
Price Chg High Low
Galliford Try . . . . . . . . .1371.0
Ibstock . . . . . . . . . . . . . .199.5
Keller Group . . . . . . . . .760.0
Kier Group . . . . . . . . . .1272.0
Marshalls . . . . . . . . . . . .288.8
Polypipe Group . . . . . .306.7
-5.0
-0.5
-10.0
-13.0
-1.0
-3.4
1813.0
225.0
1099.0
1513.0
370.8
362.0
1341.0
189.0
728.5
1170.0
238.0
256.0
ELECTRICITY
Drax Group . . . . . . . . . .238.2 -20.1 429.9 207.6
SSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1383.0 -37.0 1696.0 1321.0
ELECTRONIC & ELECTRICAL EQ.
Halma . . . . . . . . . . . . . .859.5 -6.5
Morgan Advanced M . .223.0 7.3
Renishaw . . . . . . . . . .1685.0 -10.0
Spectris . . . . . . . . . . . .1710.0 -34.0
882.5 680.0
356.8 192.3
2648.0 1600.0
2394.0 1442.0
EQUITY INVESTMENT INSTRUM.
Aberforth Smaller . . . .998.0 -14.0 1234.0 966.0
Alliance Trust . . . . . . . .488.5 -2.3 528.5 440.1
Bankers Inv Trust . . . . .546.5 -6.5 668.0 522.0
BH Macro Ltd. GBP . . .2015.0 -5.0 2190.0 1995.0
BlueCrest AllBlue . . . . . .187.1 -1.0 197.2 185.9
British Empire Tr . . . . . .435.9 -0.4 555.0 412.0
Caledonia Investm . . .2240.0 4.0 2515.0 2112.0
City of London In . . . . .356.0 -5.0 415.9 341.5
Edinburgh Inv Tru . . . .663.0 -14.5 728.0 636.5
Electra Private E . . . . .3321.0 -24.0 3757.0 3059.0
Fidelity China Sp . . . . . .126.5 -0.7 177.3 110.5
Fidelity European . . . . .161.0 1.0 186.7 152.0
Finsbury Growth & . . . .576.0 -1.0 609.0 532.5
Foreign and Colon . . . .419.6 -1.8 465.0 391.2
GCP Infrastructur . . . . . .118.0 0.4 123.9 112.8
Genesis Emerging . . . .444.5 -0.5 572.0 400.5
HarbourVest Globa . . .900.0 4.5 1377.5 825.0
HICL Infrastructu . . . . . .157.7 0.3 160.5 150.2
International Pub . . . . .140.7 0.2 141.5 130.3
John Laing Infras . . . . . .119.3 0.4 128.1 114.0
JPMorgan American . . .271.6 -2.4 292.0 243.0
JPMorgan Emerging . . .518.0 -2.0 671.0 483.0
Mercantile Invest . . . . .1561.0 -17.0 1838.0 1538.0
Monks Inv Trust . . . . . . .391.8 -1.3 456.9 361.1
Murray Internatio . . . . .827.0 -13.0 1057.0 742.5
NB Global Floatin . . . . . .84.7 -0.1 98.7 84.4
P2P Global Invest . . . . .832.0 -5.0 1175.0 831.0
P2P Global Invest . . . . .830.0 -10.0 1033.0 829.6
Perpetual Income . . . .380.8 -8.2 428.5 363.8
Personal Assets T . . .35950.0-130.036080.033130.0
Polar Capital Tec . . . . . .552.0 -5.5 641.0 503.5
RIT Capital Partn . . . . .1551.0 -34.0 1688.0 1436.0
Riverstone Energy . . . .790.0 -7.0 1105.0 720.0
Scottish Inv Trus . . . . . .584.0 -4.0 668.0 544.5
Scottish Mortgage . . . . .247.2 -0.8 281.8 220.6
Temple Bar Inv Tr . . . . .980.0 -10.5 1230.0 940.0
Templeton Emergin . . .399.9 -3.6 604.5 371.5
The Renewables In . . . . .97.0 0.8 108.8 94.8
TR Property Inv T . . . . .274.5 -2.5 324.0 260.2
Witan Inv Trust . . . . . . .714.0 1.0 847.0 683.0
Woodford Patient . . . . .88.0 -0.3 119.3 85.0
Worldwide Healthc . . .1720.0 -20.0 2097.0 1596.0
FINANCIAL SERVICES
3i Group . . . . . . . . . . . .422.2
3i Infrastructure . . . . . . .173.2
Aberdeen Asset Ma . . .235.2
Allied Minds . . . . . . . . .329.7
Arrow Global Grou . . . .209.0
Ashmore Group . . . . . .232.7
Brewin Dolphin Ho . . . .257.9
Charles Taylor . . . . . . . .245.0
City of London In . . . . .298.5
Close Brothers Gr . . . .1234.0
Hargreaves Lansdo . . .1255.0
Henderson Group . . . . .235.4
-1.4
-0.3
-12.4
-2.6
-0.3
5.7
4.0
0.1
-2.5
-16.0
-5.0
-3.2
569.5
178.3
507.5
725.0
288.0
333.9
359.6
289.0
367.5
1664.0
1525.0
312.0
389.8
157.5
209.3
267.0
204.0
196.4
244.0
205.0
285.0
1167.0
1054.0
214.6
Price
ICAP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .412.1
IG Group Holdings . . . .742.0
Intermediate Capi . . . .563.0
International Per . . . . .265.2
Investec . . . . . . . . . . . .468.3
IP Group . . . . . . . . . . . .184.0
John Laing Group . . . . .208.0
Jupiter Fund Mana . . . .392.9
Liontrust Asset M . . . . .255.0
LMS Capital . . . . . . . . . . .68.6
London Finance & . . . . .38.0
London Stock Exch . . .2630.0
Man Group . . . . . . . . . . .161.5
OneSavings Bank . . . . .272.4
Paragon Group Of . . . .293.0
Provident Financi . . . .3267.0
PureTech Health . . . . . .143.8
Rathbone Brothers . .2304.0
Real Estate Credi . . . . . .156.0
Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26.3
S&U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2321.5
Sanne Group . . . . . . . . .353.0
Schroders . . . . . . . . . .2505.0
SVG Capital . . . . . . . . . .481.5
Tullett Prebon . . . . . . . .332.1
VPC Specialty Len . . . . . .92.5
Walker Crips Grou . . . . .49.0
Chg High Low
-5.2 566.5 401.0
10.5 807.0 690.0
1.0 627.0 475.2
-6.8 504.5 219.0
-8.8 647.0 402.7
-1.0 259.1 155.2
-0.5 233.8 187.0
0.0 475.1 362.7
0.0 374.8 245.3
0.6 80.0 66.0
0.5 40.5 31.5
317.0 2780.0 2123.0
-0.1 217.6 139.8
2.2 405.6 211.5
-10.8 455.5 287.7
68.0 3634.0 2643.0
-1.3 170.5 123.0
71.0 2359.0 2028.0
-0.5 183.0 154.0
-0.3 39.8 22.1
21.5 2560.0 1992.5
3.0 385.0 251.0
2.0 3423.0 2342.0
-2.7 522.0 436.0
2.4 414.8 304.8
0.0 104.0 90.8
0.5 53.8 41.3
FOOD & DRUG RETAILERS
Booker Group . . . . . . . .162.8
Greggs . . . . . . . . . . . . .1021.0
Morrison (Wm) Sup . . . .182.1
Ocado Group . . . . . . . . .265.6
Sainsbury (J) . . . . . . . . .251.3
SSP Group . . . . . . . . . . .281.3
Tesco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .179.6
UDG Healthcare Pu . . . .542.0
-1.3
-19.0
-2.8
0.5
-3.9
-2.8
-5.1
7.5
190.0
1355.0
208.2
470.8
284.7
325.0
251.0
598.5
AIR LIQUIDE .....................................................94.44
AIRBUS GROUP .................................................55.41
ALLIANZ N.......................................................135.00
ANHEUS.-BUSCH INBEV..................................105.95
ASML HLDG.......................................................79.75
AXA..................................................................20.27
BANCO SANTANDER ............................................3.61
BASF N .............................................................59.87
BAYER N ...........................................................97.20
BBVA..................................................................5.60
BMW .................................................................73.14
BNP PARIBAS-A- .............................................40.68
CARREFOUR......................................................23.70
DAIMLER N .......................................................62.85
DANONE ...........................................................63.37
DEUTSCHE BANK N............................................15.22
DEUTSCHE POST N.............................................21.42
DEUTSCHE TELEKOM N.......................................15.36
E.ON N................................................................8.54
ENEL...................................................................3.64
ENGIE ...............................................................13.87
ENI....................................................................12.08
ESSILOR INTL...................................................108.45
FRESENIUS ........................................................57.73
GENERALI...........................................................12.12
IBERDROLA ........................................................5.96
INDITEX ............................................................28.01
ING GROUP .......................................................10.39
INTESA SANPAOLO..............................................2.34
L'OREAL ..........................................................156.60
LVMH ..............................................................152.00
MUENCH RUECKVERS N...................................176.85
NOKIA ................................................................5.56
ORANGE............................................................15.99
ROY.PHILIPS .....................................................22.80
SAFRAN............................................................55.40
SAINT GOBAIN ..................................................35.45
SANOFI.............................................................70.50
SAP ..................................................................69.94
SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC........................................52.95
SIEMENS N ........................................................85.01
SOCIETE GENERALE...........................................30.37
TELEFONICA........................................................9.32
TOTAL................................................................39.82
UNIBAIL-RODAMCO..........................................231.10
UNICREDIT ..........................................................3.33
UNILEVER CERT .................................................39.12
VINCI ...............................................................63.06
VIVENDI.............................................................18.23
VOLKSWAGEN VZ ............................................103.30
Chg
High
Low
-2.24
-0.74
-1.25
-0.35
-0.05
-0.50
-0.06
-1.40
-1.77
-0.16
-2.06
-1.08
-0.40
-1.54
2.46
-0.58
-0.36
-0.31
-0.40
-0.09
-0.63
-0.27
-0.95
0.05
-0.01
-0.09
-0.58
-0.25
-0.06
-0.50
-3.65
-3.00
-0.08
-0.35
-0.14
0.45
-0.65
-0.68
-0.56
-0.50
-1.42
-1.18
-0.20
-1.01
-3.20
-0.09
-0.36
0.00
-0.11
-3.05
123.95
68.50
170.15
124.20
104.85
26.02
6.95
97.22
146.45
9.67
123.75
61.00
32.49
96.07
66.50
33.42
31.19
17.57
14.46
4.50
19.88
17.66
125.15
70.00
19.21
6.60
35.38
16.00
3.65
181.30
176.60
206.50
7.87
16.98
28.00
72.45
44.84
101.10
75.75
75.29
106.35
48.77
13.91
47.38
262.00
6.61
42.84
64.00
24.83
262.45
90.77
49.96
126.55
87.73
70.25
18.80
3.31
56.01
91.66
5.24
66.00
37.00
22.26
57.01
51.73
13.03
19.55
13.39
7.08
3.33
13.15
10.93
95.01
47.70
10.90
5.54
26.00
9.19
2.12
140.40
130.75
156.00
4.91
12.21
20.48
48.87
31.47
66.44
53.91
45.32
77.91
26.61
8.48
35.21
212.05
2.77
32.86
50.08
16.30
86.36
142.4
842.5
139.0
232.5
223.7
264.0
139.2
453.5
3.0
-17.0
7.0
1.5
1.5
-16.0
3599.0 2712.0
2100.0 1363.0
697.0 439.7
388.8 273.2
654.5 502.0
3090.0 2524.0
FOOD PRODUCERS
Associated Britis . . . . .3298.0
Cranswick . . . . . . . . . .1986.0
Dairy Crest Group . . . . .597.0
Greencore Group . . . . .365.5
Tate & Lyle . . . . . . . . . .569.0
Unilever . . . . . . . . . . .3066.0
FORESTRY & PAPER
S&P 500
/€ 1.2726
0.0109 €/$ 1.1021
0.0005
16431.78
188.88
4503.58
67.02
1921.27
24.23
/$ 1.4023
0.0108 €/£ 0.7859
0.0067
/¥ 157.15
2.7076 €/¥ 123.48
1.0702
HEALTH CARE EQUIPMETN & S.
Assura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53.7 0.5 61.8 49.2
Mediclinic Intern . . . . . .817.5 -34.0 1191.0 814.0
Price Chg High Low
London Stock Excha . . . . . . . .2630.0
Meggitt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .428.7
Ladbrokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129.3
Millennium & Copth . . . . . . . . . .423.1
Wood Group (John) . . . . . . . . . .612.5
TalkTalk Telecom G . . . . . . . . . . .215.0
Indivior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165.4
InterContinental H . . . . . . . . . .2540.0
Centamin (DI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87.8
Morgan Advanced Ma . . . . . . . .223.0
MINING
BBA Aviation . . . . . . . . .175.8 -0.9 250.5 150.2
Clarkson . . . . . . . . . . . .1765.0 15.0 2797.0 1722.0
Royal Mail . . . . . . . . . . .448.2 0.0 527.0 413.3
Acacia Mining . . . . . . . .237.4 1.9
Anglo American . . . . . .453.1 -30.7
Antofagasta . . . . . . . . .496.6 -20.9
BHP Billiton . . . . . . . . . .746.9 -48.1
Centamin (DI) . . . . . . . . .87.8 3.0
Fresnillo . . . . . . . . . . . .976.0 16.0
Glencore . . . . . . . . . . . .129.5 -3.0
Polymetal Interna . . . .638.5 -0.5
Randgold Resource . .6520.0 150.0
Rio Tinto . . . . . . . . . . .1988.0 -63.0
Vedanta Resources . . .258.0 -10.5
NON LIFE INSURANCE
Admiral Group . . . . . . .1738.0
Beazley . . . . . . . . . . . . .370.0
Direct Line Insur . . . . . .377.2
esure Group . . . . . . . . .244.6
Hastings Group Ho . . . .149.8
Hiscox Limited (D . . . .1027.0
Jardine Lloyd Tho . . . . .802.0
Lancashire Holdin . . . . .603.5
RSA Insurance Gro . . . .404.8
-11.0
-4.4
-1.0
2.6
0.0
-11.0
-9.5
-11.0
-8.1
1775.0
398.9
414.3
271.3
180.0
1059.0
1093.0
759.0
526.5
1385.0
275.0
314.2
210.4
143.2
800.0
778.0
579.5
373.2
-12.9
-2.1
-6.4
-4.4
-14.5
-33.5
-21.0
-10.0
571.5
199.5
294.4
240.3
922.0
1752.0
1023.0
499.9
400.5
119.4
199.5
149.4
784.5
1087.0
801.0
324.7
LIFE INSURANCE
Aviva . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .421.3
Just Retirement G . . . . .129.9
Legal & General G . . . . .218.8
Old Mutual . . . . . . . . . . .172.8
Phoenix Group Hol . . . .821.0
Prudential . . . . . . . . . .1220.0
St James's Place . . . . . .878.0
Standard Life . . . . . . . . .327.6
NMC Health . . . . . . . . . .796.0 2.0 969.0 508.0
Smith & Nephew . . . . .1152.0 -9.0 1212.0 1051.0
Spire Healthcare . . . . .324.4 -2.6 401.6 279.9
HHOLD GDS & HOME CONSTR.
Barratt Developme . . .562.0 2.0
Bellway . . . . . . . . . . . .2467.0 -35.0
Berkeley Group Ho . . .3222.0 19.0
Bovis Homes Group . . .880.5 6.0
Crest Nicholson H . . . . .551.0 0.0
Persimmon . . . . . . . .2029.0 56.0
Reckitt Benckiser . . . .6554.0 -28.0
Redrow . . . . . . . . . . . . .412.5 0.2
Taylor Wimpey . . . . . . .176.5 1.5
283.0
989.7
896.5
2280.0
1009.0
183.6
817.2
713.0
1947.0
828.0
-2.0
-7.0
-7.4
-12.0
7.2
611.0
787.3
421.0
1219.0
520.0
517.0
520.9
331.2
863.5
270.6
-8.1
-5.8
6.8
-2.9
431.8
290.7
449.6
358.5
256.9
119.7
262.0
247.7
GENERAL INDUSTRIALS
Rexam . . . . . . . . . . . . .604.0
RPC Group . . . . . . . . . . .722.5
Smith (DS) . . . . . . . . . . .373.5
Smiths Group . . . . . . . .973.0
Vesuvius . . . . . . . . . . . .306.9
GENERAL RETAILERS
AA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .271.4
AO World . . . . . . . . . . . .167.4
Auto Trader Group . . . . .387.1
B&M European Valu . . . .283.1
662.5 503.0
2848.0 1918.0
3757.0 2481.0
1201.0 819.0
591.0 409.2
2135.0 1638.0
6585.2 5488.0
499.2 339.6
205.0 141.4
INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING
Bodycote . . . . . . . . . . .600.5 0.5
IMI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .847.5 -10.0
Melrose Industrie . . . . .322.7 -0.3
Rotork . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163.7 -2.1
Spirax-Sarco Engi . . . .3072.0 -10.0
Weir Group . . . . . . . . . .901.5 -30.0
786.0
1436.0
326.6
265.1
3569.4
2024.0
494.0
742.0
242.8
153.1
2725.0
787.5
INDUSTRIAL METALS & MINING
Evraz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65.6 -1.2 207.4 56.2
MOBILE TELECOMS
Inmarsat . . . . . . . . . . . .991.0 -26.0 1148.0 866.5
Vodafone Group . . . . . .213.9 -1.8 255.4 200.2
OIL & GAS PRODUCERS
BP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .345.4 -11.3
Cairn Energy . . . . . . . . .158.0 -3.4
Nostrum Oil & Gas . . . .256.3 -5.8
Ophir Energy . . . . . . . . . .76.2 -1.3
Royal Dutch Shell . . . .1576.0 -41.0
Royal Dutch Shell . . . .1572.0 -42.5
Tullow Oil . . . . . . . . . . .160.0 -3.5
484.2
206.5
623.0
170.9
2129.5
2215.0
429.8
310.3
127.2
254.0
74.5
1266.0
1277.5
118.2
OIL EQUIPMENT & SERVICES
PERSONAL GOODS
Drax Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .238.2
Standard Chartered . . . . . . . . . .407.0
GKN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .270.1
Anglo American . . . . . . . . . . . . .453.1
BHP Billiton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .746.9
Restaurant Group . . . . . . . . . . . .532.0
Aberdeen Asset Man . . . . . . . . .235.2
Burberry Group . . . . . . . . . . . .1234.0
Unite Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .603.0
Antofagasta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .496.6
%
-7.8
-6.7
-6.5
-6.3
-6.1
-5.2
-5.0
-4.3
-4.1
-4.0
Price Chg High Low
Burberry Group . . . . . .1234.0 -55.0 1921.0 1078.0
Jimmy Choo . . . . . . . . .126.0 3.8 181.4 106.0
PZ Cussons . . . . . . . . . .259.8 1.6 373.4 249.3
Supergroup . . . . . . . . .1321.0 -6.0 1714.0 860.0
PHARMACEUTICALS & BIOTECH
AstraZeneca . . . . . . . .4130.5 -12.5
BTG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .598.0 -9.0
Circassia Pharmac . . . . .274.5 -2.9
Dechra Pharmaceut . .1203.0 28.0
Genus . . . . . . . . . . . . .1462.0 -18.0
GlaxoSmithKline . . . . .1378.0 -13.5
Hikma Pharmaceuti . .1876.0 -9.0
Indivior . . . . . . . . . . . . .165.4 6.8
Shire Plc . . . . . . . . . . . .3810.0 -70.0
Vectura Group . . . . . . . .162.5 0.5
4863.0 3903.5
794.5 520.5
353.5 253.0
1204.0 912.0
1620.0 1274.0
1642.0 1237.5
2574.0 1850.0
266.4 130.8
5730.0 3480.0
188.5 143.5
REAL ESTATE INVEST. & SERV.
MEDIA
4Imprint Group . . . . . .1144.0 -14.0
Bloomsbury Publis . . . .154.3 1.0
Centaur Media . . . . . . . .58.6 0.0
Creston . . . . . . . . . . . . .103.0 0.0
Entertainment One . . . .136.0 1.0
Euromoney Institu . . . .890.0 -2.0
Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9.9 0.0
Haynes Publishing . . . . .115.0 0.0
Huntsworth . . . . . . . . . .35.6 0.4
Informa . . . . . . . . . . . .669.0 -3.5
ITE Group . . . . . . . . . . . .130.8 -1.8
ITV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .249.1 -3.5
Johnston Press . . . . . . . .47.0 1.5
Moneysupermarket. . . .335.2 7.4
Pearson . . . . . . . . . . . . .793.0 -26.0
Relx plc . . . . . . . . . . . .1216.0 -15.0
Rightmove . . . . . . . . .3769.0 51.0
Sky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1017.0 -6.0
STV Group . . . . . . . . . . .429.0 9.0
Trinity Mirror . . . . . . . . .149.0 2.3
UBM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .529.0 -0.5
UTV Media . . . . . . . . . . .182.0 0.0
WPP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1488.0 0.0
Zoopla Property G . . . . .217.3 0.0
311.2 156.6
1237.0 221.1
807.5 346.1
1643.5 580.9
88.0 51.6
979.5 588.0
314.9 68.6
643.0 427.1
6535.0 3625.0
3193.5 1577.5
675.0 205.8
Amec Foster Wheel . . .359.8 -6.1 995.0 333.8
Petrofac Ltd. . . . . . . . . .742.0 2.0 1065.0 663.0
Wood Group (John) . . .612.5 29.0 733.5 534.5
Fallers
Price Chg High Low
GAS, WATER & MULTIUTILITIES
Centrica . . . . . . . . . . . . .210.4 -5.8
National Grid . . . . . . . .964.0 -11.0
Pennon Group . . . . . . . .831.0 -9.5
Severn Trent . . . . . . . .2153.0 -28.0
United Utilities . . . . . .940.5 -10.0
%
13.7
11.0
5.6
5.2
5.0
4.7
4.3
3.5
3.5
3.4
Price Chg High Low
INDUSTRIAL TRANSPORTATION
MAIN CHANGES UK 350
Risers
Mondi . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1287.0 -38.0 1611.0 1124.0
EU SHARES
Price
NASDAQ
Price Chg High Low
Brown (N.) Group . . . . .318.7 -3.2 451.3 281.0
Card Factory . . . . . . . . .338.6 -8.5 399.0 265.5
Debenhams . . . . . . . . . .78.2 -0.8 96.0 64.9
DFS Furniture . . . . . . . .322.0 1.9 349.0 255.0
Dignity . . . . . . . . . . . .2438.0 29.0 2621.0 1824.0
Dixons Carphone . . . . . .430.1 -10.1 500.0 407.0
Dunelm Group . . . . . . .973.5 3.5 1004.0 820.0
Halfords Group . . . . . . .381.8 -8.6 561.0 315.0
Home Retail Group . . . .173.5 0.0 206.7 89.7
Inchcape . . . . . . . . . . . .719.0 -4.5 894.0 662.5
JD Sports Fashion . . . . .1114.0 18.0 1165.0 470.5
Just Eat . . . . . . . . . . . . .377.4 6.3 494.9 329.1
Kingfisher . . . . . . . . . . .330.3 -0.2 383.0 314.7
Lookers . . . . . . . . . . . . .148.2 -3.8 185.0 143.5
Marks & Spencer G . . . .417.4 -9.4 596.5 403.8
Next . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6815.0 -20.0 8015.0 6430.0
Pendragon . . . . . . . . . . .37.4 -0.4 49.0 33.2
Pets at Home Grou . . . .267.9 6.5 311.2 231.2
Poundland Group . . . . .174.7 2.0 406.4 139.1
Saga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185.6 1.1 221.5 173.9
Sports Direct Int . . . . . .401.7 2.3 817.5 366.0
Ted Baker . . . . . . . . . .2963.0 -16.0 3555.0 2489.0
WH Smith . . . . . . . . . . .1797.0 0.0 1849.0 1272.0
-7.6 499.8 404.0
-0.6 78.2 55.4
9.7 408.8 189.5
-10.5 1214.0 752.5
1349.0 883.5
184.5 144.3
85.5 55.5
162.0 98.0
326.3 130.0
1261.0 855.0
11.5 9.1
130.5 106.5
49.3 35.0
677.0 534.0
196.8 128.3
280.7 221.8
172.0 35.3
377.1 243.4
1508.0 657.5
1231.0 1011.0
4173.0 2640.0
1141.0 969.0
515.0 340.0
206.0 128.0
576.0 469.6
191.5 139.0
1611.0 1304.0
278.0 165.5
Capital & Countie . . . . .343.0 -6.9
CLS Holdings . . . . . . . .1421.0 -34.0
Countrywide . . . . . . . . .336.5 -5.1
Daejan Holdings . . . . .5760.0-165.0
F&C Commercial Pr . . . .127.8 1.4
Grainger . . . . . . . . . . . .216.5 -1.0
Kennedy Wilson Eu . .1064.0 5.0
Savills . . . . . . . . . . . . . .677.5 -13.5
St. Modwen Proper . . . .316.0 -10.6
UK Commercial Pro . . . .78.8 -0.8
Unite Group . . . . . . . . .603.0 -26.0
473.4
2010.0
599.0
6595.0
148.7
254.0
1220.0
986.5
493.6
93.5
702.5
340.5
1381.0
313.3
5335.0
126.3
203.0
995.0
655.0
313.2
77.0
530.0
847.0
886.0
3880.0
889.5
703.5
128.2
372.5
1363.0
171.5
59.7
463.8
971.0
605.0
651.0
2916.0
685.0
535.0
104.3
269.8
983.0
153.0
42.0
405.5
785.0
REAL ESTATE INVEST. TRUSTS
Big Yellow Group . . . . .732.0
British Land Comp . . . .661.0
Derwent London . . . . .2957.0
Great Portland Es . . . . .689.5
Hammerson . . . . . . . . .551.0
Hansteen Holdings . . . .107.5
Intu Properties . . . . . . .285.1
Land Securities G . . . . .991.5
LondonMetric Prop . . . .158.5
Redefine Internat . . . . . .42.5
SEGRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . .424.3
Shaftesbury . . . . . . . . .826.5
-14.5
-10.0
-61.0
-9.5
-9.5
-0.7
-3.6
-21.5
-0.3
-0.2
-3.3
-31.0
Price Chg High Low
Tritax Big Box Re . . . . . .129.6 0.6 132.0 111.0
Workspace Group . . . . .717.0 -9.5 987.0 713.0
SOFTWARE & COMPUTER SERV.
Aveva Group . . . . . . . .1401.0 -17.0
Computacenter . . . . . . .807.0 -28.0
Fidessa Group . . . . . . .2303.0 3.0
Micro Focus Inter . . . . .1436.0 -19.0
NCC Group . . . . . . . . . . .293.3 -0.6
Playtech . . . . . . . . . . . .804.0 13.0
Sage Group . . . . . . . . . .575.0 -5.5
Sophos Group . . . . . . . .209.4 4.3
TOBACCO
British American . . . .3843.0 -20.5 3898.5 3355.5
Imperial Brands . . . . .3738.0 16.0 3803.0 2963.0
TRAVEL & LEISURE
888 Holdings . . . . . . . . .177.3 -0.3 185.0 149.0
Carnival . . . . . . . . . . . .3458.0 41.0 3907.0 2896.0
Cineworld Group . . . . .505.0 1.5 597.0 439.6
Compass Group . . . . . .1229.0 -16.0 1247.0 991.0
Domino's Pizza Gr . . . .1017.0 -3.0 1095.0 691.0
easyJet . . . . . . . . . . . .1522.0 -23.0 1915.0 1462.0
Enterprise Inns . . . . . . . .82.1 -1.6 136.0 72.8
FirstGroup . . . . . . . . . . . .87.5 0.0 127.7 80.8
Go-Ahead Group . . . .2389.0 -21.0 2713.0 2151.0
Greene King . . . . . . . . .877.0 -0.5 977.5 772.0
InterContinental . . . .2540.0 86.0 2880.0 2184.0
International Con . . . . .550.5 12.0 617.0 475.3
Ladbrokes . . . . . . . . . . .129.3 6.9 140.0 93.4
Marston's . . . . . . . . . . . .156.1 0.0 176.0 144.2
Merlin Entertainm . . . .439.0 -1.7 470.7 365.9
Millennium & Copt . . . . .423.1 20.9 600.5 379.0
Mitchells & Butle . . . . . .269.2 -3.3 475.3 256.0
National Express . . . . .298.0 3.0 334.4 270.2
Paddy Power Betfa . .10170.0-150.0 14275.0 7392.6
Rank Group . . . . . . . . .250.0 -3.7 295.5 184.0
-31.75
2.50
-20.00
0.00
17.00
-1.13
-0.75
-12.00
BoE IR Overnight.........................................0.500
BoE IR 7 days..............................................0.500
BoE IR 1 month...........................................0.500
BoE IR 3 months.........................................0.500
BoE IR 6 months ........................................0.500
LIBOR Euro - overnight..............................-0.284
LIBOR Euro - 12 months..............................-0.018
LIBOR USD - overnight .................................0.371
LIBOR USD - 12 months .................................1.158
Halifax mortgage rate ................................3.990
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.02
0.00
Euro Base Rate............................................0.050
Finance house base rate .............................1.000
US Fed funds.................................................0.38
US long bond yield .......................................2.60
Euro Euribor...............................................-0.266
The vix index...............................................20.98
The baltic dry index...................................316.00
Markit iBoxx EUR .......................................224.93
Markit iBoxx GBP.......................................296.48
Markit iTraxx...............................................107.95
0.00
0.00
0.00
-0.02
0.00
1.60
1.00
-0.01
-0.61
-0.95
WORLD INDICES
Price
Chg %chg
FTSE 100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5962.31 -75.42 -1.25
FTSE 250. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16229.20 -59.60 -0.37
FTSE All-Share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3272.68 -35.31 -1.07
FTSE AIM All-Share . . . . . . . . . . . . . 688.52
1.85 0.27
Price
S&P 500. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1921.27
Dow Jones I.A.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16431.78
Nasdaq Composite . . . . . . . . . . . . 4503.58
Xetra DAX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9416.77
Chg
-24.23
-188.88
-67.02
-156.82
%chg
-1.25
-1.14
-1.47
-1.64
Price
Chg %chg
CAC 40 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4238.42 -60.28 -1.40
Swiss Market Index . . . . . . . . . . . . 7807.01 -154.48 -1.94
ISEQ Overall Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6109.20 -53.01 -0.86
FTSEurofirst 300. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1289.04 -16.86 -1.29
Price Chg High Low
Restaurant Group . . . . .532.0 -29.0 738.5 495.7
Stagecoach Group . . . .266.2 -2.7 419.6 251.1
Thomas Cook Group . . .99.6 -1.0 161.3 91.5
TUI AG Reg Shs (D . . . .1064.0 -9.0 1271.0 1007.0
Wetherspoon (J.D. . . . . .711.0 -8.0 819.5 609.0
Whitbread . . . . . . . . . .3785.0-108.0 5440.0 3649.0
William Hill . . . . . . . . . .389.2 4.6 425.3 314.8
Wizz Air Holdings . . . .1830.0 42.0 2047.0 1340.0
AIM 50
Abcam . . . . . . . . . . . . .656.0 3.0
Advanced Medical . . . .168.0 2.5
Alternative Netwo . . . .432.6 2.6
Amerisur Resource . . . . .29.5 1.8
Arbuthnot Banking . .1340.0 29.0
ASOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2867.0 97.0
Avanti Communicat . . . .98.0 3.3
Brooks Macdonald . . .1791.5 5.5
Camellia . . . . . . . . . . .8775.5 -50.0
Clinigen Group . . . . . . .632.5 0.0
Conviviality . . . . . . . . . .207.3 -2.3
CVS Group . . . . . . . . . . .780.0 -3.0
Dart Group . . . . . . . . . .559.5 9.0
Earthport . . . . . . . . . . . .25.4 0.0
EMIS Group . . . . . . . . .1062.0 14.0
Fevertree Drinks . . . . . .582.0 2.5
First Derivatives . . . . .1520.0 0.0
Gamma Communicati .402.3 -0.3
GB Group . . . . . . . . . . . .254.3 1.0
Gemfields . . . . . . . . . . . .45.3 -1.3
Gooch & Housego . . . .868.0 3.0
GW Pharmaceutical . . .256.0 -6.5
Iomart Group . . . . . . . . .251.8 -2.3
James Halstead . . . . . .453.8 11.8
Johnson Service G . . . . . .87.3 -1.8
M&C Saatchi . . . . . . . . .297.0 -3.3
M. P. Evans Group . . . . .394.1 0.4
Majestic Wine . . . . . . . .386.0 -10.0
Mulberry Group . . . . . .954.0 6.0
Nichols . . . . . . . . . . . . .1282.0 47.0
Numis Corporation . . . .210.0 0.0
Patisserie Holdin . . . . . .377.3 -3.8
Pinewood Group . . . . .505.0 -8.0
Polar Capital Hol . . . . . .361.4 10.6
Quadrise Fuels In . . . . . .10.9 0.1
Redcentric . . . . . . . . . . .184.5 -1.5
Redde . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175.5 -4.5
Renew Holdings . . . . . .370.0 0.0
RWS Holdings . . . . . . . .203.0 0.8
Scapa Group . . . . . . . . .188.5 3.8
Secure Trust Bank . . .2902.5 2.5
Sirius Minerals . . . . . . . . .12.8 -0.3
Smart Metering Sy . . . .360.0 0.3
Staffline Group . . . . . .1360.0 -38.0
Telford Homes . . . . . . .340.8 -1.3
Telit Communicati . . . .205.0 -1.0
Thorpe (F.W.) . . . . . . . .235.0 9.3
Vernalis plc . . . . . . . . . . .54.0 0.5
Vertu Motors . . . . . . . . . .64.3 -1.8
Watchstone Group . . . .210.3 -3.3
Young & Co's Brew . . . .1147.5 3.0
Young & Co's Brew . . . .842.5 0.0
667.0 464.0
184.5 127.5
541.0 405.0
38.8 17.3
1625.0 1310.0
4194.0 2473.0
264.0 90.6
2040.0 1405.0
9880.0 8750.0
761.0 502.5
223.5 140.0
840.0 460.0
588.5 292.3
47.0 24.8
1155.0 839.0
694.0 201.3
1578.0 1094.0
463.0 257.0
283.8 163.0
68.3 35.5
929.0 674.5
696.0 237.5
307.5 202.0
520.0 317.0
92.8 72.0
395.0 287.0
438.5 345.5
471.3 296.0
999.0 849.0
1492.0 1055.0
276.3 202.3
450.0 260.0
540.0 415.0
479.5 349.0
21.0 9.2
197.5 136.5
210.3 93.8
410.0 240.5
225.5 119.5
220.8 137.8
3385.0 2740.0
24.0 7.3
410.0 305.5
1623.0 785.0
492.0 323.0
356.0 178.3
244.5 143.0
86.5 44.9
78.5 54.0
326.0 85.0
1310.0 990.0
907.5 660.0
http://corporate.webfg.com
mailto:
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US SHARES
CREDIT & RATES
Copper Cash Official..................................4663.25
Aluminium Cash Official.............................1575.25
Nickel Cash Official....................................8672.50
Aluminium Alloy Cash Official ..................1565.00
Cocoa Futures............................................2872.00
Coffee 'C' Futures..........................................119.40
Feed Wheat Futures....................................105.50
Soybeans Futures Continuation Contract...869.00
1719.0 770.0
1217.0 769.0
1656.0 1158.0
1145.0 854.0
1150.0 969.0
1950.0 1671.0
1326.0 1056.0
370.4 245.4
5995.0 3806.0
865.5 608.0
251.9 172.5
1064.0 673.5
1255.0 1022.0
308.8 190.9
858.5 619.5
172.8 113.4
444.6 326.0
531.0 436.7
663.0 359.7
2916.0 2323.0
560.5 371.2
335.6 266.3
656.0 323.0
1091.0 729.5
354.6 217.8
164.4 128.8
184.4 76.8
211.2 119.0
2260.0 1680.0
4384.0 3230.0
316.8 263.8
TECHNOLOGY HARDW. & EQUIP.
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10.35
0.21
-1.38
13.80
-2.00
-12.00
295.00
-39.50
-31.00
1237.0
673.5
1758.0
1077.0
195.3
710.5
461.9
176.2
ARM Holdings . . . . . . . .950.5 6.0 1205.0 848.5
Laird . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .338.9 3.3 409.5 316.5
CITY A.M. MORNING UPDATE
COMMODITIES
2319.0
879.0
2400.0
1610.0
324.1
924.0
625.5
289.7
SUPPORT SERVICES
Aggreko . . . . . . . . . . . .860.0 -11.5
Ashtead Group . . . . . . .876.0 -3.0
Atkins (WS) . . . . . . . . .1250.0 -12.0
Babcock Internati . . . . .910.0 -13.0
Berendsen . . . . . . . . . .1140.0 7.0
Bunzl . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1903.0 -5.0
Capita . . . . . . . . . . . . .1092.0 -19.0
Carillion . . . . . . . . . . . . .265.1 -3.1
DCC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5660.0 10.0
Diploma . . . . . . . . . . . .680.0 2.0
Electrocomponents . . .230.4 -4.6
Essentra . . . . . . . . . . . . .810.0 -18.5
Experian . . . . . . . . . . . .1164.0 -20.0
G4S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .202.4 0.6
Grafton Group Uni . . . .640.0 1.5
Hays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124.2 0.1
Homeserve . . . . . . . . . .393.7 -6.4
Howden Joinery Gr . . .490.4 -2.0
Interserve . . . . . . . . . . .397.2 -0.1
Intertek Group . . . . . . .2831.0 -85.0
Michael Page Inte . . . . .372.9 -1.5
Mitie Group . . . . . . . . . .277.8 -2.7
Northgate . . . . . . . . . . .355.0 -1.5
PayPoint . . . . . . . . . . . .747.0 -3.0
Regus . . . . . . . . . . . . . .284.9 4.3
Rentokil Initial . . . . . . . .164.4 1.6
Serco Group . . . . . . . . . . .80.1 1.3
SIG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129.6 -0.9
Travis Perkins . . . . . . .1734.0 -39.0
Wolseley . . . . . . . . . . .3612.0 -34.0
Worldpay Group (W . . .294.8 -4.4
Rise | Shine
Gold.............................................................1221.35
Silver...............................................................15.21
Brent Crude ...................................................33.49
Krugerrand .................................................1223.10
Palladium ...................................................499.00
Platinum......................................................927.00
Tin Cash Official........................................16272.50
Lead Cash Official ........................................1717.75
Zinc Cash Official........................................1754.25
23
DOW JONES
FIXED LINE TELECOMS
BT Group . . . . . . . . . . . .459.9
Cable & Wireless . . . . . . .75.1
TalkTalk Telecom . . . . .215.0
Telecom Plus . . . . . . . . .870.5
NEWS
Price
Chg %chg
Hang Seng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19414.78 -49.31 -0.25
Shanghai Composite. . . . . . . . . . . 2903.33 -23.84 -0.81
ASX All Ordinaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5039.10 -17.50 -0.35
Sao Paulo Bovespa . . . . . . . . . . . 42520.94 -713.91 -1.65
Price
Chg
High
Low
3M....................................................................156.17
ALLERGAN......................................................286.78
ALPHABET-A ...................................................717.29
ALPHABET-C ..................................................695.85
ALTRIA GROUP..................................................61.52
AMAZON.COM.................................................552.94
AMERICAN EXPRESS ..........................................55.11
AMGEN............................................................147.26
APPLE..............................................................94.69
AT&T .................................................................36.74
BANK OF AMERICA ............................................12.16
BERKSHIRE HATHAWY-B.................................130.74
BOEING CO ......................................................116.90
BRISTOL-MYERSSQUIBB ...................................62.07
CATERPILLAR....................................................65.78
CHEVRON .........................................................84.91
CISCO SYSTEMS..................................................26.12
CITIGROUP .......................................................38.22
COCA-COLA CO.................................................43.69
COMCAST-A.......................................................57.54
CVS HEALTH .....................................................96.75
DU PONT NEMOURS&CO...................................58.83
EXXON MOBIL....................................................81.23
FACEBOOK-A ..................................................105.46
GENERAL ELECTRIC...........................................29.22
GILEAD SCIENCES .............................................88.35
GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP................................144.91
HOME DEPOT...................................................124.53
IBM .................................................................132.40
INTEL................................................................28.80
JOHNSON & JOHNSON....................................104.08
JPMORGAN CHASE............................................56.12
MCDONALD'S...................................................116.90
MEDTRONIC......................................................75.80
MERCK .............................................................50.54
MICROSOFT........................................................51.18
NIKE -B-...........................................................60.21
ORACLE ............................................................36.55
PEPSICO...........................................................99.54
PFIZER .............................................................29.96
PHILIP MRRS INT..............................................92.05
PROCTER&GAMBLE............................................81.81
TRAVLR COMP..................................................107.91
TWITTER ...........................................................18.30
UNITEDHEALTH GROUP ....................................121.15
UTD TECHNOLOGIES..........................................91.60
VERIZON COMM ...............................................50.63
VISA-A ..............................................................72.15
WAL-MART STORES..........................................66.48
WALT DISNEY-DISNEY......................................95.38
WELLS FARGO...................................................48.10
-1.53
0.96
-11.76
-10.61
0.31
-6.56
-0.52
-1.30
-2.19
-0.12
-0.38
-1.25
-0.49
-1.63
-1.53
-3.91
-0.51
-1.30
-0.25
-0.61
-0.71
-1.40
-1.16
-1.70
-0.19
-0.75
-3.88
1.68
-1.37
-0.55
-0.67
-2.45
-0.77
-0.88
-0.23
-1.47
0.04
-0.56
-0.33
-0.09
-0.49
-0.32
-1.44
0.00
-0.12
-0.77
-0.44
-0.91
0.85
-0.99
-1.09
170.50
340.34
810.35
789.87
61.77
696.44
83.54
181.81
134.54
37.12
18.48
149.39
156.91
70.87
89.62
112.20
30.31
60.95
44.16
64.99
113.65
76.49
90.09
117.59
31.49
123.37
218.77
135.47
176.30
35.59
105.49
70.61
124.83
79.50
61.70
56.85
68.20
45.24
103.44
36.46
92.85
85.80
116.48
53.49
126.21
124.33
51.20
81.01
84.86
122.08
58.77
134.00
237.50
529.00
515.18
47.31
365.65
50.27
130.09
92.00
30.97
10.99
123.55
102.10
51.82
56.36
69.58
22.46
34.52
36.56
50.01
81.37
47.11
66.55
72.00
19.37
81.89
139.05
92.17
116.90
24.87
81.79
50.07
87.50
55.54
45.69
39.72
47.14
33.13
76.48
28.25
75.27
65.02
95.21
13.91
95.00
83.39
38.06
60.00
56.30
86.25
44.50
24
OPINION
CITYAM.COM
FORUM
Protecting the pound: The jewel in
the crown of Cameron’s EU deal
F
OLLOWING
the
Prime
Minister’s
EU
renegotiation, the debate is
already raging. Myriad topics, from sovereignty to
benefits, are dominating the headlines. But what shouldn’t be lost in
the detail – and should be celebrated – is David Cameron’s success in
protecting the pound.
This, alongside related hard-won
measures, has far-reaching and positive consequences for Britain’s economic security, and the City’s
status. Keeping control over our
currency means retaining control
over interest rates, financial regulation and economic policy while
shielding us from Eurozone
bailouts. These levers are key to
retaining effective financial and
political sovereignty in a globalised
world. Other nations such as
France have willingly ceded theirs.
William Hague once described
the euro as a burning building
with no exits. Certainly economies
such as Greece have felt the heat in
recent years. It was the future foreign
secretary,
then
as
Conservative leader, who first got
me involved in politics: as a sixth
former, I joined his “Keep the
Pound” campaign. Although not a
fashionable thing to do, it was the
right thing to do then – and now.
That’s why Cameron’s success in
this area is the crown jewel in his
EU renegotiation.
He has secured an historic British
opt-out from the euro, to be
enshrined in EU law, giving permanent protection for the pound. At
the same time, full access to the
Single Market has been retained,
alongside new, related measures
that bolster our economic security
and financial services sector.
For example, the UK is exempted
from the EU’s landmark Banking
Union project. This would have subjected the City’s financial institutions to a distant supervisor, the
European Central Bank (ECB).
Instead – and in the face of French
opposition – Cameron has ensured
that the financial security of
British taxpayers and savers stays
with the UK government and the
Bank of England. British taxpayers
will never have to bail out
Eurozone countries or their banks.
This is a massive safeguard for
Britain’s economy.
Coincidentally, a new Bank of
England Bill is currently going
through Parliament – I’m on the
Committee examining it line-byline – which reforms the way the
Old Lady operates, implementing
lessons learnt from Labour’s financial crisis.
British businesses are also protected, not just our pound. Cameron
won a guarantee that our firms can
never be discriminated against in
the Single Market because Britain
is not a Eurozone member. Londonbased financial services firms, for
example, can never be forced to
relocate inside the Eurozone if they
want to trade in euros.
Protecting the pound has also
resulted in Eurozone states conceding that they cannot act as a bloc to
force through changes to the Single
Market without Britain’s agreement. This new “level playing field”
builds on the Treasury’s victory last
year, where it defeated the ECB in
the courts over the proposal that
all
Eurozone
securities
transactions should be cleared
inside the Eurozone itself.
Alan
Mak
It’s clear many in
Europe would use
Brexit to diminish
the City of London,
which they have eyed
enviously for many
years
Not only will these safeguards be
legally-binding, but Cameron has
made certain that, if the UK ever
fears these rules are being broken,
we can unilaterally activate an
“emergency lever” ensuring other
EU leaders enforce them to protect
British interests.
What does this mean in practice?
Simply, the Eurozone can no longer
impose its costs and decisions on
us. At the same time, we won’t
stand in their way as they take necessary steps to integrate their currency so that it succeeds, which is
clearly in our economic interests.
What would Brexit mean? All the
protections Cameron has won
would go up in smoke. We’d be at
the mercy of an EU bloc that would
make an example of a leading
member state which had flounced
out despite their efforts to accommodate our concerns. The idea that
we could conjure up a UK-EU trade
deal overnight – when Canada’s
has taken seven years and still isn’t
done – is a dangerous illusion.
It’s clear that many in Europe
would use Brexit to diminish the
City of London, which they have
eyed enviously for many years. And
if we wanted continued access to
the world’s biggest single market,
we’d have to pay in, and accept conditions like free movement of people without any say over the rules.
Today, Britain is the fastest-growing industrialised economy. By permanently retaining control of our
currency, interest rates and fiscal
policy
through
the
Prime
Minister’s new EU deal, we keep
control of our economic sovereignty and our financial future.
In 2016, Cameron finally led
Hague’s pro-pound campaign to victory, protecting British taxpayers,
businesses, savers and mortgage
holders for generations to come.
£ Alan Mak is Conservative MP for
Havant. Follow him on Twitter:
@AlanMakMP
Would the Prime Minister have secured a
better deal if he had gone to Cambridge?
G
AME theory is the study of
how rules and tactics affect
outcomes, and it is
pervasive in academic economics. The opening sentence of one of the economics courses
at Cambridge pontificates: “Optimal
decisions of economic agents depend
on expectations of other agents’
actions”. Translated into English, this
means that, for someone in a negotiating situation to get the best possible
outcome, he or she needs to take
account of how the other side might
react. It sounds pretty obvious.
But the maths of game theory soon
gets hair-raising. Would David
Cameron have done better in Brussels
if he had mainlined on straight economics at Cambridge rather than dallying with PPE at Oxford?
Game theory has had some spectacular successes. In 2000, the UK government held an auction for licences for
the new 3G mobile phones spectrum.
Economists Ken Binmore and Paul
Klemperer were commissioned to
design the structure. The auction
raised no less than £22.5bn for the
Treasury, five times more than had
been expected, and it was widely
described as the biggest ever auction.
Binmore and Klemperer were more
modest, pointing out that, adjusting
for inflation, in 195 AD the sale of the
entire Roman Empire by the
Praetorian Guard netted more cash.
The theory was really useful in this
context, where there was a limited
number of players, all of them highly
sophisticated companies such as
Orange and Vodafone. The companies
themselves employed teams of economists and had a lot of information
about their rivals and the sorts of
moves they might make.
But, somewhat paradoxically, when
dealing with less rational decisionmakers, knowledge of game theory
can be a decided handicap. A well
known game is the so-called Beauty
Contest. The rules are simple. Each
Paul
Ormerod
one of a group of people is invited to
select their own confidential number
between, say, zero and 100. The winner is the one who chooses the number closest to the number which is
half (or some other fraction) of the
average of all the numbers chosen.
If you assume everyone else is
rational, as was reasonable in the
spectrum auction, the number to
choose is zero. The logic is: suppose
the average is going to be 40, then I
should choose 20. But this means
everyone else will choose 20, so I
should choose 10, and so on. The
problem is that you do not know how
sophisticated the other players are.
The smart game theorist will lose
every time by opting for zero when
playing in real life. If you are playing
with economists, by all means choose
zero. But in experiment after experiment, most people do not, even in
repeated plays of the game. To win,
you have to judge the levels of rationality of your opponents.
At a political gathering in Brussels,
this is self-evidently a challenging
task. In addition, the complexity of
the game makes formal analysis difficult. There are 28 players, each operating from a fluid set of motivations.
Maybe the worldly wisdom of PPE at
Oxford was the best training for
Cameron after all.
£ Paul Ormerod is an economist at
Volterra Partners, a visiting professor at
the UCL Centre for Decision Making
Uncertainty, and author of Positive
Linking: How Networks can Revolutionise
the World.
DEBATE
Q: As an industry
report warns
that investment
is collapsing, is
there a future
for UK oil and
gas?
Alison
Baker
YES
Times are tough. Over-supply in the
market, lower for longer oil prices and the
impending transition to a low carbon
world, alongside cost management and
working capital issues, are hitting the UK
oil and gas industry hard. But it’s not the
beginning of the end, providing that
corporates, regulators, the supply chain
and the UK government recognise that a
lot of work is needed to secure the North
Sea basin’s future value and cement its
position as a specialist skills and
innovation hub in areas such as
decommissioning. Cooperation is crucial.
In today’s environment, another smart
strategy for sustaining the flow of oil
investments in this mature basin and
protecting long-term total tax revenues
would be to reduce the tax rates on oil
companies. Cutting the headline rate
(currently ranging from 50 per cent to 67.5
per cent) and reducing stealth taxes (e.g.
licence fees) and the infrastructure tax
burden in next month’s UK Budget could
provide a much needed cushion – and,
crucially, a stimulus for investment and
tax-paying employees.
£ Alison Baker is head of UK oil and gas at
PwC.
Sebastien
Marlier
NO
Production from the UK’s North Sea oil and
gas fields is in decline. Maturing fields,
ageing infrastructure and high costs mean
that oil output is only a third of what it was
20 years ago. Gas output has fallen by
about two-thirds since 2000. The collapse
in oil prices since mid-2014 has only
exacerbated this, further removing
prospects of a North Sea revival. The
sector’s hopes, therefore, rest on shale.
However, in contrast to the US, where shale
production has boomed, shale
development in the UK faces big
constraints. These include a more complex
geography, stronger domestic opposition,
less favourable land-ownership rights and
significant regulatory hurdles – even if the
current government is supportive of the
technology. British shale would thus be
more expensive to dig out than that in
America. With energy prices likely to remain
low for years, firms may not see it as a
viable option, and the UK’s shale reserves
could remain in the ground.
£ Sebastien Marlier is senior commodities
editor at the Economist Intelligence Unit.
CITYAM.COM
WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR VIEWS
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
BEST OF
TWITTER
The Cameron idea
of sovereignty
The prospect of a banking
non-performing loan cleanup may limit China’s ability
to aggressively ease fiscal
policy.
@RBS_Economics
[Re: Forget Boris: The real story is
Cameron’s EU deal isn't binding,
yesterday]
Good stuff as usual from Ryan Bourne. The
fact that Cameron’s deal isn’t legally binding –
or even complete – reflects his perverse
conception of sovereignty. That doesn’t
matter per se, however, because it’s a
worthless deal anyway. What we should be
worried about is the Prime Minister’s
assertion that it is legally binding. Because
this Pyrrhic victory is symptomatic of the
whole EU project – for example, the illusory
idea that member states can pick and choose
which bits of legislation they sign up to.
Should Leavers spell out what Britain should
look like outside the EU?, asks Bourne. This
question rather misses the point, of course.
Leaving means regaining sovereignty. And
that means it will be for the people to decide
what an independent Britain looks like.
Janet Simons
BoE blockchain
[Re: In welcoming blockchain is the Bank of
England embracing risk?, yesterday]
Jonathan Turner is right that the aims of
innovation and ensuring resilience are
mutually compatible – but the reason is more
profound than the Bank of England carefully
using innovation to build resilience.
Blockchain technology is innately robust. It is
immutable, so once logged, data can’t be
altered, and its distributed nature makes it
orders of magnitude more secure than a
server-based system.
Name withheld
Fountain House,
3rd Floor, 130 Fenchurch Street,
London, EC3M 5DJ
Tel: 020 3201 8900
Fax: 020 7248 2711 Email: [email protected]
This is
What will our budget
contribution be in 2020?
How many more bailouts?
How much more migration?
*Remaining* in the EU is a
leap in the dark.
@DanHannanMEP
Cam says before becoming
PM he did not know EU was
important for UK prosperity
and security. Great.
@DenisMacShane
If we left EU, our trade would
still be covered by the World
Trade Organisation rules on
tariffs. So maximum extra
cost 0.43 per cent of GDP.
@JGBartholomew
Ladbrokes receives £20,000
bet on UK leaving the EU.
@minefornothing
Economic impact of
Zikavirus to Latin America:
$3.5bn or 0.06 per cent of
GDP in 2016.
@WorldBank
World’s biggest arms
importers, 2011-2015: 1.
India 2. Saudi Arabia 3. China
4. UAE 5. Australia.
@ianbremmer
me
TM
• Reduce stigma
• Talk without fear
• Dispel the myths around
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in the workplace
Lord Mayor’s 2016
POWER OF
DIVERSITY
LORD
MAYOR’S
APPEAL
CHARITY
25
› E:[email protected] COMMENT AT:cityam.com/forum :@cityam
Business to politicians: Don’t let the
referendum paralyse real governing
S
O NOW it’s official. Britain’s
politicians and opinion-formers
will spend the next four
months in hyper-drive, as they
seek to convince the public of
the case to leave or remain in the
European Union. Many Westminsterwatchers have already cleared the
decks, reasoning that little else will get
done while megaphone diplomacy,
claims, and counter-claims dominate
the airwaves.
There is no doubt that the EU referendum is of huge importance to the future
direction of our country. The electorate
is being asked to make a once-in-a-generation choice with significant consequences. Our own surveys show that
businesspeople are divided, and that
they are paying closer and closer attention to the referendum and its impacts.
There is, however, a very real danger
that the referendum will squeeze the
oxygen out of the room – crowding out
debate on other key business issues, and
paralysing decision-making at the heart
of government.
We have already seen one casualty of
this, with the delay to a decision on new
airport capacity in the South East. First
put off because of the mayoral election,
expectations are now being further
downplayed thanks to the referendum.
Politicians have been reduced to saying
they “very much hope” to make a decision by the end of July, while observers
believe we’d be lucky to see it before the
end of the year. Businesses seethe with
frustration at the lack of progress on
new runways, and now face an even
longer wait.
On issue after issue of crucial importance to companies across the UK, the
worry we constantly hear is that timetables may slip and commitments may be
further deferred.
On tax, will businesses’ legitimate con-
Adam
Marshall
cerns about their treatment by HMRC
get the time of day, with the Treasury
and Revenue focused on modelling the
potential impacts of Brexit?
Will ministers finally grasp the nettle
on business rates after years of prevarication, and tackle the politically-tricky
issue of revaluation, with the winners
and losers this may create?
Will firms’ concerns around the everincreasing burden of doing business –
with the apprenticeship levy, the
National Living Wage, dividend tax
hikes and others all set to drive up costs
– attract the chancellor’s attention at
the Budget and beyond?
With business skills shortages reaching all-time highs, will ministers relax
the Tier 2 visa cap – and let companies
recruit the people they need from outside the EU at a time when migration is
the neuralgic issue of the referendum
debate?
And what other controversial transport, housing or energy projects are likely to face further delays, as ministers do
everything in their power to avoid
antagonising a divided electorate?
These are just a small sample of the
real world business issues that need to
be tackled, without delay. For many
firms, these delays and uncertainties
are just as pressing as the questions generated by the forthcoming EU referendum.
What’s more, global economic conditions remain a significant cause for con-
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OPINION
cern, as the chancellor himself recognised at the start of the year. While it
may be too early to declare that the economic cycle is at its end, there are serious downside risks facing businesses
operating both here in the UK and further afield. There is no guarantee that
the financial system will escape another
liquidity crisis, and access to finance
could once again become an acute issue
for many firms.
At a time when other governments
will be thinking about their countercyclical strategies, ours cannot afford a
half-year of navel-gazing and paralysis
around a single issue. Ministers would
do well to remember their commitments to “fixing the roof while the sun
is shining” – a job that by their own
admission remains incomplete.
So the message from businesses, whatever their views on the referendum
itself, is simple. If politicians neglect the
UK business environment between now
and 23 June because they only have eyes
for the referendum, they will be guilty
of the political version of gross misconduct. No board of directors would keep
a management team that ignored a big
chunk of its strategy and missed its core
objectives.
We, the electorate, need to apply the
same approach to our politicians, who
must be reminded that their everyday
duty – creating the conditions for prosperity and growth – needs to remain
centre-stage. Our future relationship
with the EU, while critical, cannot be
the only item on the Westminster agenda this spring.
£ Dr Adam Marshall is executive director of
policy and external affairs at the British
Chambers of Commerce. The BCC’s Annual
Conference will debate many of these key
business themes in London on 3 March
(www.bccconference.co.uk).
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Join our initiative ‘This is Me – in the City’, and encourage
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26
FEATURE
CITYAM.COM
PERSONAL FINANCE
GOLD PRICES
HEADING UPWARD
Inflation, interest rates and safety - investors think prices
could keep rising. Annabelle Williams explains why
G
OLD has been the best performing asset so far this year,
rising 15 per cent during a
tumultuous period for global
markets. The precious metal
is now priced at $1,226 an ounce, $151
higher than at at the start of January.
It’s an impressive rise, which has
been driven by several big factors – all
of which are based upon worries and
nervousness about the state of the
global economy.
Economic growth is slowing around
the world. But the central banks in
two major hotspots – the Eurozone
and Japan – are gearing up to kickstart their economies with fresh
rounds of money printing, or QE.
History shows that money printing
tends to drive up the price of gold.
“The one thing that does seem to
have a long-term relationship with
gold prices is the size of central bank
balance sheets,” says Edward Smith at
Rathbones.
SAFETY
The other chief reason for the price
rise is due to gold’s perceived safety
and use as a store of wealth during
times of crisis. There’s talk of a potential world recession, and problems in
bond markets keeping investors anxious. But there’s also a sense that policymakers at central banks aren’t sure
what to do next. This was illustrated
by Japan’s surprise decision to implement negative interest rates last
month – an unorthodox policy with
an uncertain, and possibly dangerous,
effect on the economy.
“People are beginning to be rather
concerned about whether central
banks know what they are doing,” says
Clive Hale of Albemarle Street
Partners. “The state of the economy
depends on who you talk to. There are
good signs, but you can find lots of
negative ones too.”
Those are the factors which have carried gold prices up this year. But not
everyone’s convinced the price
increases – or indeed the worries
about the global economy – are warranted. Analysts at Goldman Sachs
have issued a note saying gold’s rise
has gone too far and investors would
be better off shorting the precious
metal, or betting it will fall. “Risks
from oil, China and negative interest
rates are very unlikely,” said analysts. It
went on to say the negative impact
from low oil prices have already happened, while China’s problems aren’t
likely to spill over and the US is far
from recession.
One of the reasons some analysts dislike gold is that it isn’t used for anything.
There’s
no
predictable
industrial demand propping up its
price, like there is for other metals.
Gold’s value is partly sentimental and
partly in its safety status. It’s hard to
ascertain fair value for this precious
metal.
“To my mind gold is an insurance
policy against central banks getting it
wrong,” says Hale, adding that the
future direction of key global currencies and interest rates is very uncertain.
Hale also points out that no investment goes up in a straight line, and
it’s natural for prices to fall for a time.
In the last 20 years, the overall direction of gold has been upwards.
But there are some other interesting
dynamics too.
RISING PRICES
Gold prices tend to have an inverse
relationship with the US dollar. So,
when the US dollar is rising strongly,
gold prices tend not to. That is sometimes because during times of uncertainty, as in recent years, investors use
the dollar as a safe place and buy up
the currency.
But now, there’s a rare situation
where there could be a rise in the
price of both gold and the dollar, says
Rathbones’s Smith. That’s because QE
in Europe and Japan will push down
the yen and euro, making the dollar
relatively stronger. At the same time,
QE could make gold prices rise, as it
has done historically.
“What’s interesting, is over the next
six months, we may have reached a
point where investors benefit from a
rise in the dollar and the price of
gold,” says Smith.
INFLATION
Finally, gold is considered a hedge
against inflation. While inflation is
around zero in most developed
economies, there are voices saying it’s
likely to return soon. If inflation
comes back on the agenda, gold prices
could rise too.
“The factors driving demand for gold
[now] may not be the factors that matter most in a year’s time. Demand for
safe havens could be replaced by
demand for inflation hedges,” says
Julian Jessop of Capital Economics.
Their price forecast is for gold to reach
$1,250 an ounce by the end of the year,
with potentially higher prices later.
GOLD PRICE (USD/OZ)
1,240
1,217.45
1,220
1,200
23 Feb
1,180
1,160
1,140
1,120
1,100
1,080
1,060
Apr ‘15 Jun
Aug
Oct
Dec Feb ‘16
CITYAM.COM
FEATURE 27
OFFICE POLITICS
The grass isn’t
greener: Why
you should
stay in your job
your current situation is really that
bad in comparison to how it could
be. This means taking off the rose
tinted glasses to assess more deeply
whether your friend’s new job really
is as wonderful as they have convinced you it is.
RE-POSTAL
SERVICE
Repost for
Instagram
Free
Your boss isn’t a mind-reader, so you need
to raise your concerns, says Steven Ross
O
NE IN five people have
said they are looking to
change their jobs this
year. And while there are
plenty of benefits to
switching, there are also many reasons to stay put.
Making the move may cause a significant upheaval in your life, and
you need to ask yourself whether it
is really necessary.
Yes, you’ll probably secure an uplift
in pay and freshen up the tasks you
perform on a daily basis. But you will
also have to start from scratch: learning to navigate office politics; figuring out who the real influencers are;
establishing who your supporters
are; and gaining the trust of those
who don’t know you yet.
The grass isn’t always greener on
the other side, and it may be the
case that a few tweaks will help you
fall back in love with your current
job.
REMEMBER THE HONEYMOON
Think about what initially attracted
you to your current role. Try to
remember what it was during the
interview stage that really sparked
your interest. It could have been the
great learning and development
opportunities promised to you, for
example. If budgets have been cut,
why not seek out a mentor to stimulate your development again?
Just because your organisation isn’t
putting additional learning opportunities on a plate for you, it shouldn’t
stop you from accessing them yourself.
There are no
guarantees that
your new boss will
be any better than
your current one
IT’S NOT YOU, IT’S ME
It’s all too easy to blame your company for your unhappiness, but could
you make changes to improve your
mindset? So your boss is really
annoying – that is frustrating, but is
it enough to throw in the towel?
Your next boss could make you
work all hours under the sun, be
condescending and have a reputation for getting through new starters
at record speed. How bad would your
current boss look then?
While fear of the unknown should
never be a reason to stay put, you
should seriously consider whether
Re-post your
favourite videos
and photos on
Instagram easily
and give credit
to the original
poster with this
helpful app
addition. Users
can also
bookmark
photos and
videos to repost
them later and
search for posts
by user or
hashtag.
Download the
Pro version to
manage
multiple
accounts and
see who has
been reposting
your photos and
videos.
LET’S TALK ABOUT IT
Have you spoken to your manager
about your career recently and let
them know how you feel? They’re
not mind-readers after all, and may
be surprised to hear that you are
unhappy. Talking to your boss about
your job can be a really positive step
towards increasing your own happiness at work, and opening up channels of communication again. But
this needs to be handled the right
way.
Go into any discussion with a positive attitude. Think about how you
could play a part in making things
better, and ask for help to achieve it.
Don’t go in with a list of complaints
and moans and expect your boss to
make everything alright for you.
Explain how you feel, that you’ve
thought about it clearly and have
come up with some suggestions
about how you could make the situation better.
It may be that changing job is the
best option for you after all. But
before making a decision that will
affect your life considerably – effectively occupying your waking
hours – seriously consider if there
are simple measures you could take
to improve where you currently are.
£Steven Ross is head of career
development at Penna Career Services.
28
LIFE&STYLE
CITYAM.COM
FOOD&DRINK
Steve
Dinneen
Restaurant review
@steve_dinneen
W
e can afford to be discerning about things, us
Londoners, what with
all the lovely London
stuff we have, Londoning the place up. “Isn’t everything
here great compared to the things in
places that aren’t London?” we say to
each other, smiling and knowing it to
be true. Take restaurants: we have
heaps of them, some containing the
world’s best chefs, all cooking their
little chef hearts out for us every
night of the week. What a time to be
alive! The flip-side is, for a new restaurant to get noticed, it doesn’t only
have to be good: it has to be brilliant.
A place could be an all-star, blockbuster restaurant in Peterborough
but go completely unnoticed in Camberwell.
I suspect Galley, a new seafood
restaurant on Islington’s Upper Street,
would be a massive hit in Peterborough. People would queue for weeks
just to peer through its windows.
They’d pay to deliver its post, just so
they could touch the letterbox. But in
London? I’m not so sure.
Galley is owned by Polish brother/sister duo Marcel Grzyb and Oriona
Robb, the former a chef most notable
for his 10-year stint at Soho’s Randall
& Aubin, and the latter best known as
a fashion stylist. Robb is responsible
for the visuals, and Galley is a nice
looking venue. A mish-mash of fashion prints and paintings and framed
feathers fill the walls. Seating consists
of tables, green velvet banquettes and
stools up against the open-kitchen.
The menu pings disconcertingly
around the globe – Asian, Spanish,
Italian, British – yet still manages to
be rather predictable: tuna tartare
with avocado and mango; salmon in a
sticky Asian-style ginger dressing; octopus with chorizo. The dishes from
closest to home tend to be best. Haddock and chips with pickled shallots
was great: meaty fish in a light, delicate batter. John Dory with cauliflower puree and a striking yellow
saffron and mussel sauce was perfectly nice. So was roasted hake with
chorizo and chickpeas. And so was the
lobster pappardelle (fellow diner
Dario, an Italian, was particularly impressed with the pasta).
In fact, everything was nice. Here’s a
review in list form.
• Crab crostini: nice.
• Tuna tartare: nice.
• Beef carpaccio: nice, although I’d
like to have seen a little more beef.
• Salmon: nice, if ever-so-slightly overcooked, served with a nice tempura
oyster.
• White chocolate panna cotta: nice.
Actually, better than nice; beautifully
presented with blackberries and fragments of honeycomb and petals and a
little mound of passion fruit. It even
got a thumbs-up from Dario, who says
most places outside of Italy make a
mess of panna cotta without even realising.
• Chocolate fondant: very nice, laced
with amaretto and served with cherry
compote and some nice vanilla ice
cream.
There you have it: Galley is nice. It’s
sometimes very nice. The cooking is
nice and the service is nice and the
décor is nice. It’s a nice place filled
with nice people and I had a perfectly
bloody nice time.
And yet it never quite managed to
surpass nice; its dishes are too predictable to really capture the imagination, the cooking a fraction off the
pace of a really top-class restaurant. In
a city where we’re spoiled for great
places to eat, sometimes nice isn’t
quite enough (especially when the superlative Oldroyd is a short stroll
down the road).
“Nice” also makes it difficult to fill
1,000 words. I can’t just type “nice,
nice, nice”, file my copy and cash my
pay cheque. People expect more. They
deserve more.
Clockwise from main: the bar and
window-seats at Galley in Islington; the
tuna tartare with mango and avocado at
Galley; the superlative Gala pie at Hop;
the scotch egg and sausage rolls at Hop
People in
Peterborough
would pay to
deliver Galley’s
post, just so they
could touch the
letterbox; but
London crowds
are tougher
S
o at 2pm yesterday afternoon I
hauled myself to the closest
new opening to our Fenchurch
Street office, which happened
to be the Galvin brothers’ new
gastro-pub Hop. Nestled in the City
A.M. heartland of Spital Square, in the
shadow of the RBS building, it’s on
the site of what used to be the Galvins’
wine bar Café à Vin (next door to their
brasserie La Chapelle). It’s a sign of the
times that a gastro-pub serving quality lager now seems more sophisticated than a wine bar.
A decade ago, at this time on a weekday, a pub here would have been filled
with rowdy men with beer bellies and
business suits debating whether or
not to supplement their fourth pint
with a pie or to man-up and forego
food altogether. Yesterday, I was the
only person enjoying the pilsner,
which the barman told me is imported from the Czech Republic every
week. Everyone else was drinking
fizzy water. Someone had a toddler
with them. That, right there, is
progress.
A colleague had recommended the
Gala Pie (a pork-pie with an egg in the
middle to you and I) and God bless
them for that. It was a glistening slab
of minced pork, kidney and liver, cemented into water pastry with marmite and pork jelly, in the centre of
which lies a slow-cooked egg the
colour of success. If you order the
“butcher board de luxe” you’ll also get
a sausage roll, some sweet pickled
onions, a scotch egg and some crisps.
It’s like getting a top chef to cook for
a children’s party.
The beef burger is unusual in this
post-Meatliquor world, where patties
are expected to be the size and shape
of fists, as pink as internal organs
and dripping with blood. Galvin’s is
decidedly old-school: flat, cooked
medium-rare, its over-riding taste
being charcoal and relish. It’s like the
platonic ideal that Burger King aspires towards; what the patties in its
adverts would taste like if they
weren’t made from plastic.
It’s all delicious: food that promises
little and then over-delivers at every
turn. From a menu that just looks
plain old nice, Hop manages to create something pretty special.
GALLEY
106 Upper St, Islington N1 1QN
Tel: 020 3670 0740
FOOD
VALUE
ATMOSPHERE
hhhii
hhhii
hhhii
£ Cost for two with wine: £100
GALVIN HOP
35 Spital Square, E1 6DY
Tel: 020 7299 0404
FOOD
VALUE
ATMOSPHERE
hhhhi
hhhhi
hhhhi
£ Cost for one with a beer: £30
WEDNESDAY 24 FEBRUARY 2016 LIFE&STYLE 29
CITYAM.COM
: @city_am
: @cityamlife
LITTLE SOCIAL
5 POLLEN STREET, W1S 1NE
WHAT? The pocket-sized little sister of
Jason Atherton’s flagship Pollen Street
restaurant, Little Social is a Parisianthemed bistro bedecked in dark wood and
red leather banquettes, with homely
wallpaper that’s barely visible behind a
collection of Gallic tchotchkes and period
French tourism posters. It’s all faux and
make believe of course: the place opened
in 2013. And it isn’t even in Paris.
WHERE? A sophisticated hideaway just off
Regent’s Street, Little Social is near enough
to Pollen Street Social that you could hurl
your starter across the road and have it
land all over table two. Not that you’d want
to, as that’s both rude and a waste of a
good soup.
WHO? Head chef Cary Docherty runs this
operation, having worked under Little
Social’s owner, the Michelin starred Jason
Atherton, as well as popular swearing man
from the television Gordon Ramsay.
ORDER THIS... The warm smoked eel
with mini-discs of beetroot is pleasingly
oily and rich with a citrus kick. And the
creamy, nutty, braised chanterelles and
parmesan tagliatelle sells itself short on the
receipt, where it’s functionally described as
a “veggie pasta”. Come on girl, you’re so
much more than that. Believe in yourself.
BUSINESS OR PLEASURE? Little Social’s
intimate booths provide the perfect setting
for discreet lunchtime conversation.
There’s also a corner table that can be
curtained off from the rest of the diners, in
case you’re planning something devious.
NEED TO BOOK? Absolutely. Little Social
doesn’t get its name from its cavernous
interiors and tables fill up quickly at
lunchtime. Reservations can be made
online at littlesocial.co.uk
THE VERDICT... Somewhere this close to
Atherton HQ couldn’t get away with less
than excellent food and service. A classy,
cosy bolthole of a bistro.
ONE MORE THING... Share a plate of
maple glazed doughnuts. They come with
little creme anglaise and cinnamon sugar
dipping stations and make you feel like
you’re doing some sort of tasty art project.
WORKING
LUNCH
Steve Hogarty on
the best places to
eat during office
hours in the City and
Canary Wharf
Slow cooking and fast cocktails at Typing Room
T
here are right and wrong
times to drink certain cocktails. A negroni with breakfast, an espresso martini
before dinner and a mojito
after supper might suggest you’ve
got a drinking problem. A bloody
mary in the morning, a martini before dinner and an old fashioned
after dessert on the other hand? Well
that’s just common sense.
When it comes to choosing a cocktail to drink alongside dinner, things
are less clear cut. For me, wine and
beer are nearly always a better accompaniment to food than mixed
drinks. However, Typing Room head
chef Lee Westcott and luxury rum
producers Ron Zacapa have done as
good a job as is humanly possible at
overturning this.
The Art of Slow supper club at the
Typing Room is, as the name would
suggest, all about slow cooked food
and leisurely dining. There’s no
denying that cooking stuff gently
over a long period of time can add
another dimension to food.
MIX
IT UP
Philip
Salter
@philip_salter
The same is true of alcohol. A glass
of Zacapa XO, which is blended with
rums that have been aged for up to
25 years, is more like drinking a cognac than what most people would
recognise as rum.
Westcott’s Typing Room supper
club food is just sublime, with the
starter of slow cured sea trout, kohirabi, lime and raisin one of the
most extraordinary things I’ve eaten
in recent memory.
The main course of 72-hour
braised beef cheek, fermented
grains, smoked bone marrow and
turnip isn’t too shoddy either, but ultimately it was the accompanying
cocktail that blew me away.
I believe in equality of gastronomy. In other words, I’m happy to
consume pretty much any animal,
vegetable and mineral on this planet
(except for any animals that are particularly smart, beautiful or useful
to humans – I know, life just
isn’t fair).
That being said, I’ve
never really got on
well with leeks, yet
the Zacapa 23 leek
cocktail (I don’t
think it has a
proper name yet)
is a surprisingly
delightful drink.
It’s 50ml of Zacapa
23, two slices of
honey roasted leek
(lightly muddled in a
mixing glass), 3ml of balsamic vinegar, two pinches
of all spice, 5ml of honey and 10ml
of chestnut liqueur all stirred over
ice, double strained and garnished
with a leek. The resulting cocktail
has all of the complexity of an old
fashioned with the sharpness of a
gibson martini.
After the supper club, I drunkenly
joined forces with another drinks
writer to petition the Typing Room
to keep this cocktail on the menu.
We were victorious, but sadly
you’ll have to wait until
after 9 May to order
one, which is when
The Art of Slow supper club will run
The Temptation
Wheel matches
desserts to cocktails
(tickets will be
available to buy online at biletto.co.uk
from 1 April). I’m not
into this waiting around
lark, which is why I’ve included the recipe above.
But while the Typing Room tries
to match an entire meal with cocktails the Savoy is focusing solely on
desserts. From 7:30pm until mid-
night, the sumptuous Thames Foyer
packs away the afternoon tea and replaces it with something even more
indulgent.
The Temptation Wheel is a mahogany spinning wheel that aims to
match cocktails with the perfect
desserts and chocolates. You’ll be
served from an art deco domed bell
cart so flamboyant that it would
make even the Great Gatsby blush,
while inside you’ll find a host of
equally theatrical desserts.
The peach melba is fun, and is recommended to be eaten alongside the
Southern Rose: Grey Goose, rose,
muscat, St. Germain and raspberry
syrup. Also, you should check out the
Kings & Quince cocktail, which is the
simple but effective mix of Woodford
Reserve Distiller's Select, quince
liqueur and dry vermouth.
I still doubt that I’ll ever be convinced that cocktails and food make
the perfect bedfellows – but the
matchmakers at the Typing Room
and the Savoy are doing their best to
prove me wrong.
30
SPORT
FOOTBALL
Beckham urges
United to give
Van Gaal time
ROSS MCLEAN
FORMER England skipper David
Beckham believes under-fire boss
Louis van Gaal should be given more
time by his old club Manchester
United but also wants to see Jose
Mourinho back in the Premier League
as soon as possible.
Van Gaal has overseen a turbulent
campaign at Old Trafford which has
left fifth-placed United six points
adrift of the Premier League’s top
four, having also suffered a
Champions League group-stage exit
in December.
That has led to speculation over
the Dutchman’s future with exChelsea manager Mourinho, who
was axed from Stamford Bridge
before Christmas, heavily linked to
Van Gaal has endured a difficult season
succeeding Van Gaal.
“He [Van Gaal] is an experienced
manager with a great reputation in
the game. Sometimes it takes time,”
said Beckham. “At the end of the day
we have to look at results, the way
we play, listen to the fans, the people
around the club and I only hear
great things about him as a person, a
manager and a coach and that’s all I
can talk about.
“He’s the manager of Manchester
United so there’s always going to be
speculation, there’s always going to
be criticism but the most important
thing is at the end of the season.
Let’s see what happens then.”
The pressure on Van Gaal eased
slightly with Monday’s FA Cup fifthround victory over Shrewsbury
Town, although the spectre of
Mourinho, a manager Beckham rates
highly, remains an almost constant
presence. Beckham added: “He’s still
one of the best managers and I hope
he comes back to the Premier League
as soon as possible.”
FOOTBALL
FOOTBALL
COMMENT
Trevor
Steven
T
OTTENHAM
manager
Mauricio Pochettino cannot
have failed to notice the
furore
that
greeted
Manchester City’s rotation
policy as the Argentinian ponders
team selection for tomorrow’s match
against Fiorentina.
City boss Manuel Pellegrini has been
pilloried after his experiment of fielding six teenagers in a much-changed
line-up for Sunday’s FA Cup tie at
Chelsea resulted in a 5-1 defeat.
Pochettino must now decide how to
allocate his playing resources as he
weighs up the importance of progress
in the Europa League with maximising Spurs’ chances in a four-horse Premier League title race.
Momentum was the priority during
my playing career. We always fielded
the best team available and we definitely benefited. That wasn’t just at
Everton, Rangers or Marseille; every
club’s mentality was the same.
But the psychology has changed. It’s
a squad game now and players don’t
expect to play every match. Many are
happy to get some kind of run in the
side and only the best know they’re
sure to play the biggest fixtures.
It’s clear what City’s most important
targets are. They want to win the title
– and because it’s so open this year believe they still can – while the Champions League is their holy grail.
If everyone at City understands that
and believes in it, then there’s no reason for FA Cup elimination, even losing by such a big margin, need be a
major setback. It could even work to
their advantage, if important players
get much-needed rest and other avoid
picking up yellow cards.
The FA Cup in particular has become
something of a pothole for clubs.
Imagine if City striker Sergio Aguero
had played at Chelsea and turned his
ankle. It’s regrettable but the competition is now an opportunity for some
teams to rest players.
CARROT
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger similarly
made wholesale changes for their 0-0
FA Cup draw with Hull on Saturday.
Chelsea and Manchester United, who
beat Shrewsbury 3-0 on Monday,
played strong teams because their
title hopes are effectively over so the
cup now has greater importance.
For Tottenham, I doubt that the Europa League is the priority. Yes, it now
comes with the carrot of a Champions
League place for the winners, but
Spurs look sure to qualify anyway
with a top-four place.
Pochettino might even wonder
FOOTBALL
CONTINUED FROM P32
when another swift break saw the ball
fall to him 12 yards out, but his shot
was straight at Ter Stegen.
Barca’s fearsome strikeforce began
to bare its teeth as the opening period
wore on, and Messi squandered a freekick and headed over before Nacho
Monreal was forced to clear a Suarez
cross-shot from the goalmouth.
Suarez wasted the half’s clearest
chance with its very last action when
Sergio Busquets’s lofted diagonal pass
found Dani Alves and he volleyed a
first-time centre back across goal. Unmarked and six yards out, the
Uruguayan glanced his header wide.
Petr Cech saved from Neymar with
his legs, Giroud’s downward header
brought a smart stop from Ter Stegen
CITYAM.COM
Mauricio Pochettino could find that defeat in tomorrow’s Europa League tie with Fiorentina helps Tottenham’s title challenge
Rotation critics ought to
give it a rest: bosses are
right to choose priorities
whether it would be an advantage to
go out of Europe now and minimise
their workload, especially if Premier
League rivals City and Arsenal prolong their continental campaigns.
A rare top-flight title challenge has
to be Tottenham’s main concern. If
they carry on in the Europa League
then fine, but it cannot be at the expense of Premier League results.
Winning the league or going far in
the Champions League can have a
transformative effect on clubs. Besides
glory, it elevates their brand and
makes them a more attractive destination for top players.
We shouldn’t rush to criticise managers for resting their stars, as Pellegrini did. It’s an unavoidable
consequence of prioritising the right
competitions for their team.
What’s more, because this year’s
title race is so unusually open clubs
have to be very clear about their tar-
TENNIS
and Suarez dragged a low shot just
wide from a tight angle as the second
half began in end-to-end fashion.
Barca looked increasingly likely to
capitalise on the stretched play and so
it proved on 71 minutes when Suarez
broke down the left, he nutmegged
Koscielny and Neymar squared to
Messi, who waited for Cech to go to
ground before lifting over him.
Suddenly the visitors were rampant
and Suarez hit the post before substitute Mathieu Flamini made an instant
impact by felling Messi and the No10
won another battle of wits with Cech,
this time from the spot. It might have
been worse had Cech not tipped a
Neymar header over in stoppage time,
but Arsenal’s hopes of a first quarterfinal since 2010 look bleak even before
the trip to Camp Nou on 16 March.
gets. Players buy into that and know
their workloads need to be managed.
This phenomenon isn’t going away.
In fact, with increased television
money making the lesser English
teams more competitive and therefore Premier League points harder to
come by, it will likely only increase.
Trevor Steven is a former England footballer who has played at two World Cups
and two European Championships. He
now works as a media commentator.
FOOTBALL
Murray set for return as Great Prince in bid to
Britain plot Davis Cup defence delay Fifa vote
ROSS MCLEAN
WORLD No2 Andy Murray is set to
make his competitive return to action
when Great Britain begin the defence
of their Davis Cup title against Japan
in Birmingham next month.
The 28-year-old has not played
since the Australian Open final in
January having taken the whole of
February off following the birth of
his first child, Sophia.
Murray won all 11 rubbers as Great
Britain claimed their first Davis Cup
since 1936 last year, a run which
ended with victory over Belgium
during November’s final in Ghent.
He has been selected alongside
Dan Evans, Kyle Edmund, Jamie
Murray and Dom Inglot in a squad of
five, while captain Leon Smith will
make his final selections on 3 March,
the day preceding the start of the
first-round tie. Smith said: “Japan
have a very strong team, they have
progressed well in recent years and
with Kei Nishikori have an
established top-10 player.”
JOE HALL
FIFA presidential candidate Prince
Ali bin al-Hussein has appealed to the
Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)
to have Friday’s vote suspended.
The Jordanian’s lawyers moved
after his request for transparent
voting booths was rejected by
football’s world governing body.
Prince Ali is one of five candidates
to succeed Sepp Blatter, with Sheikh
Salman, Gianni Infantino, Tokyo
Sexwale and Jerome Champagne.
CITYAM.COM
FOOTBALL
RESULTS
Pellegrini: Pep shadow is not affecting City
ROSS MCLEAN
MANCHESTER City manager Manuel
Pellegrini last night denied that the
shadow cast by the impending arrival
of Pep Guardiola at the Etihad
Stadium has derailed his side’s tilt for
silverware this season.
City beat Sunderland the day after
announcing that departing Bayern
Munich boss Guardiola would
replace the Chilean at the end of the
current campaign but have since lost
three successive matches across two
competitions.
Pellegrini’s charges face Dynamo
Kiev in Ukraine tonight in the first
leg of their last-16 Champions League
tie before a pivotal week ends with a
showdown with Liverpool in
Sunday’s Capital One Cup final at
Wembley. The announcement of
Guardiola’s appointment was
meant to end speculation and
uncertainty over Pellegrini’s
future, and the 62-year-old
refuses to accept that his
players have been affected.
“No, really, that is not
a problem,” said
Pellegrini. “All the
players from the start,
they are just thinking
in this season. We have
important challenges this year and
we are focused in every game.
“It’s very easy because we are
focusing on winning silverware.”
Pellegrini’s defensive options are
set to be boosted by the return of
centre-half Eliaquim Mangala, who
has been missing since early January
with a hamstring injury.
City, meanwhile, could play in
front of 70,000 supporters at
the Olimpiyskiy Stadium
tonight after a previously
imposed three-match
Pellegrini’s City have lost
three successive matches
stadium ban for racist behaviour and
crowd disturbances was reduced to
one game on appeal earlier this
month.
While pleased that City’s
showdown in Kiev will not be played
in an empty arena, Pellegrini hopes
fans of the Ukrainian champions
heed warning from past mistakes.
“One of the worst things you can
do is play in an empty stadium,”
added Pellegrini.
“In this case, fans of Kiev have a
lesson about what happened. I know
maybe for the home team it’s not an
advantage to play without fans, but
for football it’s important.”
FOOTBALL
Stefano Sturaro equalised as
Juventus levelled the tie in Turin
Juve comeback stifles Bayern’s last-eight dash
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
JUVENTUS
BAYERN MUNICH
2
2
ROSS MCLEAN
SERIE A leaders Juventus produced a
stunning second-half fightback to stall
Bayern Munich’s charge towards the
quarter-finals and revive their own
flagging Champions League hopes in
Turin last night.
Bayern stormed into a commanding
2-0 lead 10 minutes after half-time as
former Chelsea winger Arjen Robben
added to Thomas Muller’s opener late
in the first period – his sixth
Champions League goal this season.
FOOTBALL
CONTINUED FROM P32
Charlton,” C7 boss Steve Barton
told City A.M.
“But when we then saw the fan
reaction yesterday to even the
possibility of us approaching
Charlton I issued a statement via
Twitter.
“There appears to be a high level
of unhappiness with the current
regime there. So given the passion
and level of social media messaging
we were left with one option: to
assure fans that we would not be
pursuing any commercial links
with Charlton whatsoever.”
The efforts to convince Coco5
against any sponsorship form part
of Charlton fans’ protests against
absentee owner Duchatelet.
But Massimiliano Allegri’s side
retaliated and initiated their
comeback as Argentine forward Paulo
Dybala netted moments after the hour
mark, while substitute Stefano
Sturaro’s close-range finish restored
parity inside the final 15 minutes.
The last-16 clash remains in the
balance ahead of the second leg at the
Allianz Arena on 16 March, although
last season’s beaten finalists and
defending Italian champions Juventus
would likely need to become the first
visiting team to win in Bavaria this
campaign in order to progress.
Bayern have won all 15 matches at
home across all competitions this
term, although Juventus are unbeaten
in their last seven away fixtures,
winning six.
IN BRIEF
Supporters are angry at what
they perceive to be a flawed player
recruitment strategy, the departure
of star players such as Yann
Kermorgant, Joe Gomez and Diego
Poyet, and a record of five different
head coaches in two years under
the Belgian’s ownership.
Their latest campaign also
follows successful fan protests at
other clubs, including at Liverpool
and Arsenal who were forced to
reconsider ticket charges in the
wake of supporter activism.
Charlton declined to comment
when contacted by City A.M.
The Addicks, meanwhile, lost 2-1
at in-form Preston last night, a
result which leaves Jose Riga’s side
bottom of the Championship, seven
points adrift of safety.
GATLAND MAKES THREE
CHANGES FOR FRANCE GAME
£ RUGBY UNION: Wales have recalled
Wasps lock Bradley Davies for
tomorrow’s Six Nations clash with
France in place of the injured Luke
Charteris. Coach Warren Gatland’s two
other changes from the team that beat
Scotland a fortnight ago see wing Alex
Cuthbert and flanker Dan Lydiate
replace Tom James and Justin Tipuric.
Centre Jonathan Davies is fit to start
after recovering from a groin problem.
GB BOSS WARNS WIGGINS
OVER RIO OLYMPIC SPOT
£ CYCLING: Seven-time Olympic
medallist Sir Bradley Wiggins has been
warned he is not guaranteed a place in
Great Britain’s track team for this year’s
Rio Olympics. Wiggins hopes to be part
of the four-man pursuit team and will
race in that and the madison at next
month’s World Championships. GB
boss Shane Sutton said: “Brad has to go
out and produce in London, which will
determine whether he makes the road
to Rio or not.”
RAMIRES AND JIANGSU HELD
IN ASIAN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
£ FOOTBALL: Big-spending Chinese
side Jiangsu Suning were held to a 1-1
draw by 10-man Vietnamese outfit Binh
Duong in their opening Asian
Champions League match. Jiangsu
have led the spending by Chinese
Super League clubs this year by
spending £25m on Chelsea midfielder
Ramires and £38m on Shakhtar
Donetsk striker Alex Teixeira, who both
played but did not score.
SPORT
31
FOOTBALL
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
ROUND OF 16 FIRST LEG
Arsenal ..................(0) 0 Barcelona ..................(0) 2
Att: 59,889
Messi 71, 84 (pen)
Juventus ...............(0) 2 Bayern Munich ..........(1) 2
Dybala 63
Muller 43
Sturaro 76
Robben 55
Att: 41,332
THE SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP
Birmingham ...........(1) 1 Bolton ........................(0) 0
Donaldson 29
Att: 15,992
Brentford ...............(1) 3 Wolverhampton .......(0) 0
Swift 38, 67
Canos 56
Att: 8,769
Bristol City ............ (0) 0 Brighton .................... (2) 4
Murphy 8
Baldock 21
Hemed 56
Att: 15,256
Little 75 (og)
Burnley ..................(0) 1 Nottm For ..................(0) 0
Vokes 68
Att: 15,517
Ipswich .................(0) 0 Hull .............................(0) 1
Att: 17,630
Diame 48
Leeds ......................(1) 1 Fulham ........................(1) 1
Cook 38
Cairney 17
Att: 17,103
Middlesbrough ......(1) 3 Cardiff ........................(1) 1
Connolly 25 (og)
Da Silva 20
Ramirez 63
Nugent 83
Att: 24,322
MK Dons .................(1) 1 Huddersfld ................(0) 1
Revell 28
Wells 86
Att: 9,402
Preston ...................(1) 2 Charlton .....................(1) 1
Garner 35
Gudmundsson 37
Robinson 52
Att: 10,075
Reading .................(0) 1 Rotherham ................(0) 0
Robson-Kanu 66
Att: 13,504
Sheff Wed ............. (0) 1 QPR ............................(0) 1
Nuhiu 63
Tozser 57
Att: 19,233
P W D L F A GD Pts
Hull ....................................32 19 6 7 48 19 29 63
Burnley............................33 17 11 5 51 26 25 62
Middlesbro’ ...................31 18 7 6 42 17 25 61
Brighton .........................33 16 12 5 45 34 11 60
Sheff Wed .....................33 14 12 7 50 35 15 54
Derby ...............................32 14 12 6 43 28 15 54
Birminghm ....................32 14 9 9 39 30 9 51
Cardiff .............................33 12 13 8 43 37 6 49
Preston............................33 12 12 9 32 30 2 48
Ipswich ...........................32 13 9 10 40 40 0 48
Brentford .......................33 12 7 14 46 51 -5 43
Nottm For ......................32 10 12 10 31 28 3 42
QPR ...................................33 9 14 10 39 40 -1 41
Reading...........................32 10 10 12 34 33 1 40
Wolves.............................33 10 10 13 40 46 -6 40
Huddersfld ...................33 10 9 14 44 45 -1 39
Leeds ................................32 8 14 10 30 35 -5 38
Fulham.............................33 8 12 13 51 54 -3 36
Blackburn ......................30 7 13 10 28 27 1 34
Bristol City ....................33 8 10 15 29 52 -23 34
MK Dons.........................33 8 8 17 26 45 -19 32
Rotherham ....................33 7 5 21 36 58 -22 26
Bolton ..............................33 4 13 16 31 54 -23 25
Charlton..........................33 5 10 18 27 61 -34 25
SKY BET LEAGUE 1
Bury .......................(0) 0 Barnsley ....................(0) 0
Peterboro ...............(1) 1 Oldham .......................(1) 2
Rochdale ................(1) 1 Fleetwood Town .......(0) 0
SKY BET LEAGUE 2
AFC Wimbledon....(0) 1 Carlisle ......................(0) 0
Accrington St ....... (2) 3 Notts County.............(0) 2
Barnet ....................(1) 1 Portsmouth...............(0) 0
Exeter ....................(0) 1 Oxford Utd ................ (2) 4
Yeovil .....................(0) 0 Plymouth ...................(0) 0
York .......................(0) 1 Northampton .............(1) 2
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE
Braintree Town .....(1) 2 FC Halifax ..................(0) 0
Cheltenham...........(0) 0 Gateshead .................(0) 0
Grimsby ................. (3) 3 Woking .......................(1) 1
Guiseley .................(0) 0 Forest Green .............(0) 1
Torquay .................(0) 2 Welling ......................(0) 0
Wrexham .............. (2) 2 Kidderminster ..........(0) 0
THE WILLIAM HILL SCOTTISH CUP
FIFTH ROUND REPLAY
Dundee .................. (2) 5 Dumbarton ................(0) 0
McGinn 16
Hemmings 29
Stewart 51, 90
Holt 79
Att: 3,532
LADBROKES SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP
Partick...................(0) 2 St Johnstne...............(0) 0
Doolan 72
Amoo 87
Att: 2,320
P W D L F A GD Pts
Celtic ................................26 19 4 3 69 21 48 61
Aberdeen .......................26 17 4 5 45 29 16 55
Hearts..............................25 12 8 5 46 26 20 44
Ross Co ...........................27 11 3 13 42 43 -1 36
St Johnstone ...............26 10 5 11 41 43 -2 35
Dundee ............................26 8 10 8 39 41 -2 34
Inverness CT................25 8 8 9 33 36 -3 32
Partick .............................24 8 7 9 24 28 -4 31
Motherwell ...................27 8 5 14 30 43 -13 29
Hamilton.........................27 7 8 12 31 47 -16 29
Kilmarnock....................27 7 7 13 29 48 -19 28
Dundee Utd...................26 4 5 17 26 50 -24 17
LADBROKES SCOTTISH LEAGUE 1
Albion .................... (3) 4 Brechin ......................(0) 1
Cowdenbeath ........(1) 1 Forfar ......................... (2) 4
LADBROKES SCOTTISH LEAGUE 2
Berwick ...................... 1 Queen’s Park .................. 1
Stirling ...................(1) 1 Clyde ..........................(0) 2
Arbroath ...............(0) 0 East Stirling ..............(0) 0
TODAY’S DIARY
(7.45pm unless stated)
UEFA Champions Lge Round of 16 First Leg
Dynamo Kiev v Man City ................................................................................
PSV Eindhoven v Atletico Madrid ..............................................................
Sky Bet Championship
Derby v Blackburn.............................................................................................
Ladbrokes Scottish Championship
Hibernian v Morton ..........................................................................................
32
SPORT
CITYAM.COM
BEST OF THE REST Trevor Steven
in defence of managers who aren’t
afraid to rotate their squads PAGE 30
SPORT
FOOTBALL
Lethal Messi gives
Gunners deja vu
Arsenal again succumb to Barca class
and face last-16 away battle to salvage
European hopes for fourth straight year
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
ARSENAL
BARCELONA
0
2
FRANK DALLERES
EMIRATES STADIUM
ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger
blamed his team’s failure to learn
from previous mistakes after
Barcelona condemned them to an allbut certain Champions League exit at
the first knockout round for a sixth
year in a row.
Two goals in the last 20 minutes
from star Lionel Messi, the second a
penalty, decided this first leg and
swept the Catalan giants to the brink
of eliminating the Gunners for the
third time in seven seasons.
Midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
and striker Olivier Giroud tested goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen but Arsenal failed to score for a fourth time
in six home games and will carry only
the slimmest of hopes into next
month’s return leg.
For the fourth straight year they will
go into the second half of a last-16 tie
having lost the home leg, and Wenger
was anguished not just by the familiar
predicament but also the manner in
which his team were undone.
“They are better than us and I believe everybody knows that but we
could have won the game tonight if
we had kept the discipline until the
end. Once again like against Monaco
[last year] we were caught in exactly
the same way,” he said.
“They are European champions and
world champions, but I felt there was
room to beat them tonight – that is
the biggest regret I have. Sometimes
you can lose against a team and you
think there is nothing to do but
tonight there was room to beat them.
“Barcelona is through 95 per cent,
certainly, but we want to go there and
play. We are Arsenal football club and
we won’t go there and have absolutely
no chance. But what we want now is
to focus on our next game.”
Wenger accused Barca players of attempting to influence the referee –
‘they are tricky; they never go down
silent’ -- while opposite number Luis
Enrique denied defender Gerard Pique
had engineered a late booking that
rules him out of the second leg.
Arsenal contained Messi, Neymar
and Luis Suarez for 70 minutes but
could not capitalise on their own halfchances and, as the game opened up,
eventually succumbed to Barcelona's
all-star attacking triumvirate.
Wenger’s men were content to let
Barca monopolise possession early on
yet looked the more dangerous team,
Aaron Ramsey seeing a shot blocked
from a Mesut Ozil cut-back at the end
of a sweeping counter-attack.
The pace of Alexis Sanchez and
Oxlade-Chamberlain had the visitors
retreating, and the latter had the Gunners’ best chance of the first half
Messi ‘s double at
Emirates Stadium last
night leaves Arsenal
facing uphill task
£ CONTINUES ON PAGE 30
FOOTBALL
RUGBY UNION
Potential sponsor pulls plug on
Charlton talks after fans protest
JOE HALL
CHARLTON Athletic have missed out
on a potential commercial deal after
their own fans persuaded a possible
partner not to work with the
Championship club.
Energy drink brand Coco5 ruled
out a financial arrangement after
being bombarded with social media
messages from Addicks fans upset at
the way their club is being run.
Supporters of the second tier’s
basement club have been protesting
against Belgian owner Roland
Duchatelet, who has attended
just four games since
purchasing Charlton over
two years ago.
The Campaign Against
Roland Duchatelet group,
as part of its drive to oust
the absentee chief, called
on Charlton fans to contact
Coco 5 and dissuade them
from any deal which could
benefit the club financially.
Once Coco5 was made aware of
the level of opposition it
felt any commercial deal
would be counterproductive, according
to the chief executive
of C7 Brands, which
markets the drink in
Britain.
“A conversation
took place about a
potential commercial tieup between ourselves and
£ CONTINUES ON PAGE 31
Rookie Daly set for England bow
in Ireland Six Nations showdown
ROSS MCLEAN
UNCAPPED Wasps centre Elliot Daly
is in line for his international debut
after being named in England head
coach Eddie Jones’s 23-man squad for
Saturday’s Six Nations clash with
Ireland at Twickenham.
Daly’s inclusion coupled with the
omission of Northampton lock
Courtney Lawes is the only change
from the matchday party on duty
against Italy earlier this month as
England maintained their winning
start to the championship.
“I have been pleased with the hard
work and attitude the squad have
shown since Italy,” said Jones.
“Everyone wants to be on the field
on Saturday and there were some
tough selection calls.
“Elliot Daly has impressed in
training and is now ready to be part
of the matchday 23.”
Victory for England at the
weekend would end Ireland’s pursuit
of an unprecedented third
consecutive Six Nations title and
boost their own chances of a first
Grand Slam since 2003.
Bath’s Exeter-bound centre Ollie
Devoto and back-row forward Josh
Beaumont have both been ruled out
of the Ireland game through injury.

from the money gods bank notes falling from above? p16

Transcription

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