Buyout groups target US retailers
Flush with cash and hungry for deals, private equity groups are circling US retailers. The latest transaction came on Thursday when Apax Partners, the London-based private equity group, agreed the…
ISS settles SEC suit over information leaks
A former employee of Institutional Shareholder Services allegedly told a proxy solicitor how 100 shareholders were voting their proxies in exchange for meals, concert and airline tickets, US regulators alleged.…
Vanguard extends European ETF push
Vanguard, the world’s fourth largest fund manager, extended its push into the European exchange traded funds market with the launch of four new ETFs on the London Stock Exchange on…
Financial transaction tax
The financial industry’s lobbyists are hard at it, churning out warnings about a financial transaction tax proposed by 11 EU member states. Business models at banks, brokers and exchanges destroyed;…
Bank division lifts profits at Investec
A 30 per cent increase in full-year operating profit in its banking division helped boost overall growth at Investec, the South African bank and asset manager. Higher lending and a…
‘Think again on women’s pensions’
©Bloomberg The government is being warned that there will be “casualties” from its decision not to offer wider protection to older women losing state pension rights from 2016. The stark…
Venture capital misses out on bull run
In recent months, it might seem as if investors have fallen in love with risky corporate bets. For as central banks have pumped eye-popping sums into the system, spreads on…
Chinese banks barred from sponsoring IPOs
On the first anniversary of its stock market listing last month, Xi’an Longi Silicon Materials Corp served its factory workers steaming plates of simmered fish, an unusual delicacy for the…
GE eyes consumer finance unit IPO
General Electric is considering listing its consumer finance operations to fund more share buybacks and strengthen focus on its industrial businesses, its chief executive has indicated. Jeff Immelt told a…
Managers to leave Canaccord Genuity
Several senior managers in the advisory business at Canaccord Genuity, the European arm of Canaccord Financial, are set to leave the group, according to people close to the situation. The…
Lenders to CLOs told to take lower rates
Investors who lent money to some structured finance vehicles when the market was struggling to recover two years ago are being told they must accept lower interest rates, in what…
Ares hires ex-Blair adviser for Europe deals
Los Angeles-based fund manager Ares Management has appointed Charles Steel, a former adviser to Tony Blair and a one-time Carlyle Group investment executive, as managing director in charge of private…
DIFC brings in property veteran
The Dubai International Financial Centre has appointed Brett Schafer as chief executive of DIFC Properties. The DIFC last year restructured its core functions into independent entities, making the DIFC Authority…
Chinese broker Galaxy enjoys strong debut
Hong Kong’s retail investors appear to have recovered their stomach for stock market investing after they sent Galaxy Securities 6 per cent higher on its market debut. The Chinese brokerage’s…
Dumb money returns to Japan
The dumb money is returning to Japan, in a big way. Mutual and exchange traded funds investing in Japanese shares attracted record inflows last week. So far this year almost…