The Insider: City deals uncovered

Right trade at London Stock Exchange?

A fortnight after publishing well-received first-half results, London Stock Exchange's Raffaele Jerusalmi has decided to cash in his chips. LSE shares have had an incredible run and have tripled since he joined the board in June 2010. They're up 13% in the past month.

Former Credit Suisse trader Jerusalmi is now executive director, chief executive of Borsa Italiana and director of capital markets. He netted £328,500 from the sale of 15,000 shares at 2,190p. But has he moved too early?

LSE's share price has since risen to 2,231p, a new record high. And, given December is statistically the best month of the year for equity markets, there could be more. Half-year revenue jumped by 18% to £592.6 million, or up 15% on an organic constant currency basis. Adjusted operating profit was up almost a quarter at £286 million, or 21% organically.

"Our Capital Markets division delivered good growth in both primary and secondary market activities, FTSE revenues grew 10% and LCH.Clearnet also performed well with increases in OTC and listed product clearing revenues," explained chief executive Xavier Rolet. "Operating expenses have remained well controlled and we are seeing benefits of the cost reduction programme at LCH.Clearnet."

Genel Energy bet against OPEC

It's not been a great 2014 for Genel Energy. Having started the year at over 1,100p, the share price has sunk to 705p, but not before the boss and finance chief had taken advantage of a brief rally. After a decent rise over the past month, each offloaded over £791,000 worth of stock.

And the sales were well-timed, executed ahead of Thursday's OPEC meeting in Vienna. A failure of members to agree production cuts to prevent a further fall in oil prices hit oil shares. Within hours of the news, Genel had fallen from 749p to 705p.

Tony Hayward has led Genel for the past three years, ever since the company merged with Hayward's Vallares. Before that, Hayward gained notoriety as the man running BP when the Maconda well blew up, causing an environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Still, he's has put that behind him and, after selling over 103,000 shares at 767p, now owns 1.63 million worth £11.5 million. Head number cruncher Julian Metherell made exactly the same trade and ends up with an identical stake.

This article is for information and discussion purposes only and does not form a recommendation to invest or otherwise. The value of an investment may fall. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.