If analysts are stupid, private investors should thank their lucky boots
30 Apr 2007 [0 Comments | 51 views]
Talking of short termism: “analysts are stupid” and can’t see beyond quarterly results, or so said a leading captain of industry yesterday. Sir Nigel Rudd, boss at Alliance Boots, reckons that the rationale for the merger of Boots and Alliance Unichem was obvious: “Healthcare is a growing business, people are getting older, they need more [...]
Private equity defeats swarm of locusts
30 Apr 2007 [0 Comments | 65 views]
It’s amazing how times change. Not so long ago the hedge funds were held up as the scourge of business. In some cases, companies saw their share price fall in the wake of speculators shorting their stock – selling shares in a company they had not yet bought. It seemed that a listing on a [...]
Spain: is the economy down the drain?
30 Apr 2007 [0 Comments | 45 views]
It didn’t take much. Last week, audited accounts from Valencian real estate developer Astroc were out, and it was the small print that raised alarm. Apparently, some of last year’s profits came from the sale of Astroc assets to its chairman. This immediately led to fears that the company had been deliberately trying to distort [...]
Inflation: Bank of England got it wrong say economists
30 Apr 2007 [0 Comments | 68 views]
Let’s give Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, credit where it’s due. He voted against the move. Sometimes, though, disagreeing with something is not enough. He was the boss, and the organisation he headed made a mistake; the buck stops with him, even if the man said no. Back in August 2005, the [...]
Property crash in an unlikely possibility says Nationwide
27 Apr 2007 [0 Comments | 40 views]
Back in July last year, a home owner with a £150,000 mortgage would have faced mortgage payments of £918, or so says the Nationwide in its latest housing report. Today the payments would be £977, but if rates go up again next month (which just about everyone, including the Nationwide expects) monthly payments would jump [...]
The eroding attributes: Sainsbury’s may have to sell its property assets after all
27 Apr 2007 [0 Comments | 46 views]
Lord Sainsbury recently kicked private equity into touch, leaving it with a nasty flea in its ear. “Sainsbury’s success has been based on a strong balance sheet and a largely freehold property base. Eroding these attributes will make the company more vulnerable to competitive pressures which is not in the best long-term interests of the [...]
Sleazy tricks, responsible human beings, and the EU monolith
27 Apr 2007 [0 Comments | 39 views]
Rijkman Groenink, chief executive of Dutch Bank ABN AMRO explained it to shareholders yesterday: “As human beings and responsible citizens,” he said, “we have the obligation to look farther than the last quarter.” Perhaps more tellingly, he added, “Price isn’t the only thing that counts.” Mr Groenink wants to sell to Barclays, and the CEOs [...]
Microsoft thunders back, but where next? Could Yahoo be bid target?
27 Apr 2007 [0 Comments | 54 views]
Cast your mind back three years. At that time, or so it appeared, Microsoft was far too big for its own good, and it dwarfed the likes of Apple, Google, and Yahoo to such an extent that it was barely worth mentioning the software giant and the three smaller rivals in the same breath. In [...]
A thought for the day from RedTower
26 Apr 2007 [0 Comments | 43 views]
Should equity investors consider returning to the technology theme?The technology sector has been relatively neglected by the investment community partly because other sectors have seen better earnings growth and less demanding multiples, but also because the collapse from 2000 to 2003 meant that technology has remained somewhat of a “dirty word” for private investors since [...]
RBS returns to ABN circus
26 Apr 2007 [0 Comments | 61 views]
Seconds out round two, or is that round 3 – or maybe four? The saga of ABN AMRO rumbles on. This time RBS, Santander and Belgium’s Fortis have said they are considering making an offer that would trump the Barclays bid by around 13 percent. It all comes down to LaSalle. The ABN subsidiary is [...]
