Latest Alternative Investment company news

Barings: Investment Update On Co-Ordinated Action From The Central Banks

(09/12/2011)

Last week, the US Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of Japan, Bank of England, Bank of Canada and Swiss National Bank announced that they would cut the rate charged to other central banks for access to US dollars, from 100 basis points over the base rate to just 50 basis points. A reciprocal agreement has been set up for a similar arrangement with regard to the domestic currencies of the other central banks. A joint statement from the banks said that the move was aimed to "ease st... [more]

British Gas: Since privatisation British Gas shares have increased by 12 times in the 25 years

(02/12/2011)

Next week, the 8st December marks the 25th anniversary of the controversial privatisation of British Gas, when many people from in the UK took advantage of the opportunity to buy shares. Following a long “Tell Sid” campaign, 425.5 million shares were put up for sale, creating millions of first time shareholders in the UK. In fact the Thatcher era produced over twenty million new shareholders through its intensive programme of privatisations, employee share ownership schemes and demutualisations.... [more]

Bank of England: Interest Rates On Hold For 32nd Consecutive Month - More QE Remains Likely As Global Economic Outlook Deteriorates

(14/11/2011)

Interest rates have been kept on hold for the 32nd consecutive month by the Bank of England after the Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC's) November meeting. In addition, the size of the asset purchase facility (commonly known as quantitative easing) was held constant at £275 billion. The economic outlook in the UK - and the West in general - has deteriorated sharply in recent months, making the prospect of a rise in interest rates any time soon highly unlikely. The failure of European leaders... [more]

Baring: UK investors are underweight in their exposure to global emerging markets

(04/01/2011)

Many retail investors have a disproportionately low allocation to emerging markets. UK retail investors are underweight in emerging markets, with just 2% of retail funds under management in the asset class. A recent roundtable debate (hosted by Baring Asset Management (Barings), Rod Aldridge, Head of UK Retail Distribution at Barings, joined by leading investment IFA, Ben Yearsley, of Hargreaves Lansdown and Chief Executive of North Investment Partners, John Husselbee) explored the reasons fo... [more]

Batterymarch: Emerging market companies are delivering faster earnings growth compared to their counterparts in the developed world

(01/12/2010)

Emerging market companies are delivering faster earnings growth versus their counterparts in the developed world as the cost of capital gap narrows. As a result, they will enjoy higher price-to-earnings ratios and will eventually trade at a premium compared to developed market stocks in terms of both asset-backed and earnings-related valuations. Claudio Brocado, senior portfolio manager at Legg Mason affiliate, Batterymarch's Emerging Markets team, says: "Emerging markets have historically ha... [more]

Baring Asset Management: One in two non-retired women does not have a pension

(21/09/2010)

According to a new research from Baring Asset Management, a staggering 47% of women who are not retired (8.7 million) in Great Britain do not have a pension. The total number of women who have yet to retire without a pension is increasing year-on-year, as the corresponding figures in 2009 and 2008 were 40% and 39% respectively. Equally alarming is the fact that the research shows that more than one in five (22%) non-retired adults aged 55 - 64 does not have a pension. The asset manager's r... [more]