Corporate Finance - Arden Boosted By Late Corporate Deals

LONDON (SHARE CAST) - AIM-listed broker Arden Partners has reported a loss for the year to October 2010, but still make an underlying profit in Corporate Finance.

A couple of important fundraising at the end of the period helped increase the income of corporate finance, but secondary income from equity trading fell 29%.

Generally revenues were flat at £13m but there was a sway from a profit of £1.52m to a loss of £512,000. Stripping out share based payments of £1.08m, up from £702,000 the previous year, Arden was profitable. There were also restructuring costs of around £700,000 in the period following the departure of the chief executive Jeremy Grime. The underlying profit was £1.3m, down from £2.2m.

Arden intends to focus its activities on its core areas of the United Kingdom and India. CEO Jonathan Keeling, focusing on the possibility of India. Last month, Arden has raised £ 6,800,000 for Hardy Oil & Gas.
Net cash fell to 9 million pounds in late October 2010, but its financial position remains comfortable. At year end, Arden spent £ 947 000 to buy back shares.

Geithner To Meet With Corporate Finance Chiefs On Tax Reform

The Treasury Department has released the list of companies expected to be represented when Timothy Geithner, the Treasury secretary, discusses tax reform Friday with corporate chief financial officers.

The companies are: Honeywell, Cisco, Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola, Emerson, United Technologies Corporation, Wal-Mart, Exxon, PepsiCo, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Bank of America, Caterpillar, Disney, Eli Lilly, General Electric, Dow Chemical and MetLife.

The meeting comes as tax reform is getting increased attention around Washington, even as members of both parties acknowledge that overhauling the nation’s tax code would be a difficult undertaking.

Treasury representatives have cautioned that Friday’s event is one in a series of meetings dealing with tax reform and have advised not to read too much into it.

For his part, President Obama has said he wants a “conversation” on the issue this year. And Valerie Jarrett, a senior White House adviser, recently called Friday’s Treasury meeting an opening step in what would most likely be a drawn-out push to overhaul the tax code.

Republicans have also been supportive of considering tax reform. Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), the new chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, announced Thursday the panel would have the first in a string of hearings on the issue next week.

Corporate Finance Recruitment Planned By HSBC

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According to the lender’s local chief executive,” Europe’s biggest bank, HSBC, plans to complain up its corporate finance business in Australia”. The Bank intends to expand its corporate finance activities in Australia by hiring more bankers to work in his team’s debt capital markets and plans to extend its land acquisition and leveraged loan syndication activities.

ANZ is vowing not to abandon an ambitious strategy for the Asia-Pacific, despite the heavy defeat the most important target area acquisition yet. Shares of the giant bank’s management met yesterday all but ruled out a bidding war for a majority stake in Korea Exchange Bank, ANZ would lead to speculation and ramp up its foray into India.

The corporate regulator is poised to take legal action against some of Australia’s largest banks over the collapse of Storm Financial after a breakdown in compensation talks.

National Australia Bank says it is working to solve the technical problems that delayed the treatment of certain payments from customers and operations during the night.