Friday 4 January 2013

Abchat Weekly Wrap Up: Common sense prevails the fiscal cliff

US President, Barack Obama called for a ‘little less brinksmanship’ the next time that the politically conflicting legislature of the US government has to come to an economic agreement to avoid a fiscal cliff. Whist the World watched in anticipation to see if party politics were going to send the global economy into further meltdown, it was a big relief to see that common sense prevailed.

Party politics could have ruined the crucial vote in the US on Tuesday and subsequently the World economy, however the Republican majority House of Representatives resulted in 257 votes to 167 in favour of raising tax for the wealthy and delaying spending cuts for two months.

On Wednesday morning financial markets responded well to the decision; with Hong Kong's Hang Seng index opening up 2.1% on Wednesday morning, while South Korea's Kospi added 1.7% and Australia's ASX 200 rose 1.2%. In Europe, UK shares jumped 1.5% on opening, German stocks gained by 1.6%, while France's Cac 40 rose 1.4% and Italy's much battered stocks gained 2%.

The World’s immediate response to this is very encouraging however it highlights the significance the US economy has on global matters. It is reassuring to see that for once US politicians decided to “focus not on politics, but on what’s right for the country”, as stated by Barrack Obama.



1. The US fiscal cliff is averted as the Senate finally agree a new legislation, which saw the approval of a bipartisan budget deal.

2. Hopes are high for the
2013 IPO pipeline: with the current equity markets performing strongly and volatility levels considerably lower, analysts keep broadly optimistic with the environment in driving IPO volume

3. Switzerland’s oldest bank,
Wegelin, is to close permanently. The Company, who also face £36m in fines to US authorities, admitted to helping over 100 American’s evade taxes totalling over £1.2bn.

4.
Twitter is hotly tipped for an $11bn flotation in 2014, according to analysts at Greencast. With a market valuation based on the trading of unofficial shares on the secondary market and the Company firming up its management team, it looks as if it could be ready to tackle the public milestone.

5. STOCKWATCH: Equity markets lifted on announcement of US Fiscal Cliff deal, with Banks and Mining leading the
‘top riser’ commodities on the FTSE 100. The news pushed the FTSE past 6000 points and helped add £33bn to the value of Britain’s top companies.




January is traditionally a time for a fresh start. Beginning 2013 in a new role will be Michael Dyson who joins Numis as Managing Director, Head of Fixed Income Products. Dyson joins from Investec. Clearwater Corporate Finance has brought in David Burton to manage its debt advisory team. Burton was previously a manager in the corporate division of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank.

Jamie Barklem has joined Grant Thornton as an Associate in the Corporate Finance team. Jamie joins from Daniel Stewart where he was a Corporate Finance Executive.

Law firm Fox Williams has strengthened its team with the appointment of Peter Ashford as a partner in its litigation and arbitration practice and has also appointed four new associates.

Taylor Wessing has promoted Keith Barnett from Head of Real Estate to Business Group Director covering real estate, finance, insolvency, construction, environment and planning.




With half the City still on holiday, our full networking programme won’t kick off till next week when we are looking forward to hosting our first Market Lunches of 2013!



"Takeunder" - An (accepted) offer to purchase/ acquire a publicly traded company where the offer price per share that is significantly less than its market value.

This weekend is your last chance to skate on the ice rinks at Westfield Stratford, Tower of London, Hampton Court, Somerset House and the Natural History Museum.

Wildlife photographer extraordinaire, Roger Hooper's Art in the Wild exhibition is a must-see this January at the Oxo Gallery on the Southbank, in aid of the WWF-UK.


Following the success of their summer show,
Cabaret Mechanical Theatre is performing their interactive contemporary automata show at Space Station Sixty-Five this weekend.


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