Diamond is the right man for the job September 7, 2010 GOOD on Barclays for promoting Bob Diamond, head of the bank’s investment banking unit, to be the firm’s overall chief executive. He is the best man for the job, proving himself again with the successful integration of Lehman’s US operations. Yet given Diamond’s demonisation in the broadcast media and popular press, not least by the [...]
CITY VIEWS: HOW WAS YOUR COMMUTE AFFECTED BY THE STRIKE? September 7, 2010 ZUBY UDEZUE | ACCENTURE “I was supposed to be working out in Hangar Lane today, but it’s on the central line so obviously that’s not happening. I’ve come into another office in Bank, using the northern line, which was packed.” ISAAC GASKIN | JEEVES “I live in Paddington, but today the trip took two hours, [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 7, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES EUROZONE FEARS SEND INVESTORS TO HAVENS Investor worries over the Eurozone have deepened, hitting the markets of the single currency’s weaker economies and sparking a flight to the safety of US Treasuries, German bunds, the yen and the Swiss franc. Global equities lost ground and the euro weakened on Tuesday, while European bank [...]
Ryanair boss mulls buying spree September 7, 2010 Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has revealed he is considering buying up to 300 planes. The European budget airline boss says he is also writing to aviation authorities, asking for permission to have only one pilot per flight. The airline is preparing to pay its first dividend of €500m (£414m) next month – but a spending [...]
Capital increase for Greek bank September 7, 2010 Greece’s largest lender National Bank announced a €2.8bn (£2.3bn) capital increase yesterday to better deal with the economic crisis and position for further expansion in Turkey and Eastern Europe, the bank said.
FTI hires Lord Malloch-Brown September 7, 2010 Lord Malloch-Brown, 56, has joined an American corporate investigations and consulting group to spearhead its push into emerging markets. The former Foreign Office minister and United Nations deputy secretary-general has been appointed chairman of global affairs at FTI Consulting, the business advisory group said yesterday.
Vodafone sells £4bn stake in China Mobile September 7, 2010 VODAFONE, the world’s largest telecommunications operator by revenue, has sold its 3.2 per cent stake in China Mobile for $6.6bn (£4.3bn). The sale was part of Vodafone’s new strategy to exit non-strategic minority investments, which analysts and investors believe have weighed on the company’s overall value in recent years. Vodafone said UBS, Goldman Sachs and [...]
Sinochem seeks Temasek help for rival Potash bid September 7, 2010 SINOCHEM, China’s state-owned trading company, has approached Temasek to join a consortium of firms looking to rival BHP Billiton’s bid for Canada’s PotashCorp. The move by Sinochem comes after Chinese authorities demanded state companies meet with investment bankers to look at ways to block BHP’s $39bn (£25.4bn) move for PotashCorp. Bill Doyle, PotashCorp chief executive, [...]
Citigroup paid on both sides of EMI deal September 7, 2010 CITIGROUP investment bankers boasted of getting paid on both sides of a deal after the private equity group Terra Firma made a £4.2bn bid for the music group EMI, according to court documents listed in New York yesterday. According to a filing from Guy Hands’ Terra Firma, which alleges that it was advised by Citi [...]
Diamond crowned as Barclays’ new chief September 7, 2010 CITY insiders voiced concern over the future of Barclays’ retail banking operation yesterday after the group confirmed Bob Diamond would replace John Varley as chief executive. Diamond, who has won renown aggressively building the Barclays Capital investment bank, will take over from Varley next March. Varley will stay on for six months as an adviser [...]