London Remains Leading Centre For International Securities
LONDON’S status as a leading centre for securities dealing has been unaffected by the worldwide falls in equity markets over the past three years, according to a new report on securities dealing by International Financial Services London (IFSL).

IFSL, a private-sector organisation with 30 years of experience of successfully promoting the UK-based financial services industry throughout the world, says London continues to play a crucial international role in the trading of international bonds and foreign equity.

The city’s importance as a centre for securities trading is illustrated by the fact that with 419 foreign companies listed in London at the end of 2002 the UK capital was second only to New York.

Trading in shares of these companies generated turnover of 2,780 billion (bn) pounds sterling. a 56 per cent global share of trading in companies with overseas listings. London’s share fell slightly in the first four months of 2003 to 48 per cent but was still nearly twice that of the NewYork Stock Exchange and Nasdaq combined.

London has an eight per cent share of world equity market capitalisation that totalled 22.8 trillion dollars at the end of 2002. This market share has been stable for some years. Following a partial recovery this year, the market capitalisation of domestic equities listed on the London Stock Exchange totalled 1,210bn pounds at end-June. This was down 20 per cent on the end-2001 total and 32 per cent on the record end-year total in 1999.

The UK has the second highest ratio of market capitalisation to gross domestic product (GDP) of the major industrial countries: 115 per cent in 2002. This was several times that of other large European countries (such as Germany’s 35 per cent, France’s 67 per cent) and second only to the US (combining New York and Nasdaq) with 136 per cent.

Activity remains at a high level in the domestic market. UK domestic equity turnover totalled 1,815bn pounds in 2002, only slightly down on the two prior years (1,896bn in 2000 and 1,905bn in 2001) despite the fall in share prices. Trading in the international bond market, 70 per cent of which is based in London. has increased seven-fold over the last decade, to reach 31 trillion dollars in 2002.

Duncan McKenzie, Director of Economics at IFSL, said: “Securities dealing makes an important contribution to the UK economy, equivalent to 0.2 per cent of GDP in 2002. It generated net exports of 2.4bn pounds in 2001 and provided employment for more than 58,000 people. This large pool of skilled labour and the associated depth of expertise is unparalleled in other major financial centres.”

Rolls-Royce Sticks To Growth Target
ROLLS-ROYCE has stuck by its hope for growth this year after half-year figures showed an 11 per cent increase in underlying profits. The civil and defence aerospace, power tranmission and propulsion systems company - which has waged an aggressive campaign on costs - said the profits figures of 115 million pounds sterling reflected six months of “steady progress”. Growth in the aftermarket, which includes parts and servicing, offset a 14 per cent fall in aero-engine deliveries as tough conditions demand in civil aerospace. But the company said its order book was at a record level of 17.6 billion pounds sterling growth.

Phone Firm Creates Jobs
CARPHONE Warehouse, the mobile phone provider, is to create 800 jobs this year after a 10 per cent rise in profits. The group said it would take on 400 staff for 100 new shops with a similar increase in its call centres. Carphone’s new residential landline service, Talktalk, has won 86,000 new customers and has a further 22,000 applications. Revenues from Talktalk rose recently by 73 per cent to 54 million pounds sterling.

BT Rings Up Profit Rise
BRITISH Telecom recently announced a 56 per cent rise in profits seeing its first-quarter pre-tax profits rise to 502 million pounds sterling ahead of market expectations and equivalent to 3,800 pounds sterling a minute. BT added that it had achieved a milestone early by reaching one million broadband connections in June with new orders for the service running at 25,000 per week. Chief executive Ben Verwaayen said: “Our focus on financial discipline, defending our core business and creating new business streams, continues to deliver results.”

Dixons “Set To Link With AOL”
ELECTRICAL goods company Dixons is to stop a five-year joint venture with Internet provider Freeserve in favour of a new tie-up with AOL. The existing arrangement involves Dixons pre-loading Freeserve’s software on to PCs sold in its stores: Dixons, PC World and Currys. AOL is expected to replace Freeserve in February 2004. The agreement does not cover broadband software but does include joint advertising campaigns and in-store promotions. It is believed that AOL was willing to offer 10 million pounds sterling for the tie-up.

Ebookers Suffers War And Sars Hangover
INTERNET travel firm Ebookers has admitted it is still feeling the effects of the Iraq war as well as the Sars scare despite trimming second-quarter losses. The group, whose brands include ebookers, Travelbag and Bridge The World, said demand for long and medium-haul destinations was still lower than expected. But despite the double blow, results for the second quarter of 2003 published recently show underlying losses narrowing to 900,000 pounds sterling, down from 1.7 million pounds a year ago.

Special Branch To Get A National Coordinator
MEMBERS of the Special Branch are to get a national chief to oversee plans to combat terrorist attacks on the United Kingdom. The new chief will ensure that police operations at all ports are tightened up, linking Special Branch units in forces for joint operations and setting up better training procedures for detectives. Currently, each force has a Special Branch unit that investigates terrorist threats, subversion, espionage and provides intelligence on public order threats.

Real Ale For Material Girls
BREWERS are being encouraged to create a real ale aimed at women drinkers. The challenge has come from the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) president Paula Waters who says that correct marketing was the key to making a success of female-friendly ale (beer). Camra is hoping this will be a success following the attention that real ale attracted earlier this year when Madonna admitted she loved drinking bitter. Ms Waters said: “If beer is marketed at women and tastes good, they will drink it. Sticking to only core male drinkers is a strategy that is doomed to fail.”

Work Stress Warning
A STRESSFUL job significantly increases the chances of dying from a heart attack or stroke, recent research claims. Manual workers are less likely to suffer illness through stress than business executives – at least 25 per cent of executives are likely to suffer a fatal heart attack with a 50 per cent greater chance of dying from a stroke. The research, by the Modern Workers Health Check and published in the TUC-backed Hazards magazine, was conducted worldwide. One of the reasons for such high death rates is that “workers deal with stress by smoking, drinking and slobbing out”.

Royal Mail Stuck At The Lights
THE Royal Mail has launched a search for the owner of a set of traffic lights sent in the post. The lights were in a box covered in brown paper but did not have the recipient’s name or address. It is one of the more unusual items to turn up at the Royal Mail’s Return Letter Centre in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Royal Mail spokesperson Alison White said: “So far we have not received any calls from anyone who is waiting for a set of traffic lights – perhaps they are stuck in traffic.” Undeliverable mail accounts for 322 million items a year.

Supermarket Launches Self-Service Check-Outs
SAINSBURY’S is due to launch a new check-out system across the country that relies on shoppers doing all the work. The self-service check-out allows the customer to scan items, put them in carrier bags, pay and even get cash-back – all without the need for a cashier. The first of the check-outs has been installed in Sainsbury’s Stockport, Greater Manchester store, and will be followed by a wider trial in six additional branches.
 

Submit A Press Release