Abchat Weekly Wrap Up: Let the Prowess Continue

Let the Prowess Continue: Post Olympics 2012 Watching 95% of Mo Farah’s victory in the 10,000m men’s final was not a pleasant experience. The nerves were in full flow and the adrenaline was thumping through my veins as I watched an extremely tense affair on TV. Coupled with this was a doubt in my mind that Mo was definitely going to lose. He didn’t!! Nor did Jessica Ennis, Chris Hoy, Bradley Wiggins, Nicola Adams, Jonnie Peacock, David Weir or Sarah Storey - just to name a few…What was going on? These sportsmen are British yet they were cleaning up…

It then dawned on me; Eureka!!! These athletes are not England football players! I had been so use to the constant let downs dished out by the Three Lions I just assumed this was the way all Brits conduct themselves on a sporting field with the world watching… How wrong was I? Granted, most Olympic sports are not as competitive as football and we follow football week in week out; however these should not be reasons for the British public to turn their backs on our Olympic heroes once Olympic fever has died down. Our athletes will need our support more than ever to continue this excellent form into Rio 2016; and I can safely say without a shadow of a doubt, that Rio 2016 should and will be a far more profitable tour than Rio 2014 for British sport.

1. After days of speculation, RBS finally announce the formal intention to float for its Direct Line Insurance arm.
2. In the tech world, Apple unveiled the much anticipated iPhone 5, but left many analysts disappointed as it lacked that “one more thing”.
3. Rumours of a £30.4bn BAE Systems and EADS merger are rife, but face investor scepticism as to whether they can overcome political obstacles.
4. UBS whistleblower, Bradley Birkenfeld, received a $104m reward for exposing tax avoidance schemes the Company used with clients.
5. Stockwatch: Facebook - shares finally saw a boost as investors heard some calming words as CEO Mark Zuckerberg made his first public speech since its disastrous IPO. 

Abchaps attended the CIPR Speaker Lunch with Anthony Hilton, Financial Editor of the Evening Standard. As always, Chatham House Rules mean we have to keep the discussion under wraps but suffice to say he was enlightening, educational and extremely entertaining. PRs need to pitch very carefully to avoid being one of the 400 or so emails that end up in his Deleted Items every day…

Abchurch hosted two sector specific Market Lunches this week, focusing on Cleantech with guests from KPMG, HSBC, Turquoise, Daniel Stewart and Climate Change Capital; and our debut Digital Media event, attended by Shore Capital, Charles Stanley, Jeffreys Henry, ComRes and Farrer & Co.

Mitchell and Butler have poached Alistair Darby from Marston’s to fill the CEO position while Glencore has upped its bid for Xstrata this week. BAE also announced a potential tie up with EADS which City AM claimed could make it the largest defense company on the PLANET!

Bear Hug: An approach to a company by another company indicating that an offer is about to be made for their shares. A teddy bear hug is when the target company indicates that is not against the merger, but wants a higher price.

 

London Design Festival, on for another week, sees creative events hosted all over London – browse the itinerary here: http://www.londondesignfestival.com/

The special Jubilee annual Great River Race starts at 10.40 @ Millwall Dock Slipway, London Docklands, finishes around 13.30 @ Riverside Below Ham House, Richmond http://www.greatriverrace.co.uk/

London Fashion Week is underway, check out the rest of the schedule here: http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/schedule.aspx

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