Bob Diamond set to lead Barclays September 6, 2010 Barclays will today name investment banking president Bob Diamond as successor to chief executive John Varley in a surprise shake-up at the top of the British bank. Diamond, who is credited with propelling Barclays Capital into the premier league of Wall Street players, is expected to take the reins next year around the time of [...]
Gartmore hit by row over trust September 6, 2010 AILING fund manager Gartmore suffered another blow yesterday as the independent board of one of its most high-profile investment trusts threatened to cut ties with the company. The Gartmore Growth?Opportunities trust served 12-month notice on Gartmore following the shock resignation of star fund manager Gervais Williams. Williams, who quit last week after 17 years at [...]
Obama plans $50bn spend September 6, 2010 US President Barack Obama yesterday announced a six-year plan to revamp ageing roads, railways and runways with a $50bn (£32.4bn) up-front investment to jump-start job creation. The plan is one of several economic initiatives that Obama is due to unveil this week aimed at generating some desperately needed US job growth and limiting predicted Democratic [...]
Strikes and Brussels cripple London September 6, 2010 BY one estimate, today’s strikes will cost London £50m. That is hugely expensive for an exercise in grandstanding by politically motivated militants – and it fails to quantify intangible costs such as stress, inconvenience and general misery. Anyway, if you are reading this in a print copy of City A.M., congratulations – you’ve made it [...]
Green tipped for coalition September 6, 2010 HSBC chairman Stephen Green could stun the City by resigning to become the coalition government’s trade minister, it was reported last night. Green has been named as the frontrunner to take up the post after months of searching by Prime Minister David Cameron. He would succeed Lord Davies, who was lured away from Standard Chartered [...]
Citigroup in row over $50bn of deferred tax September 6, 2010 CITIGROUP, the American behemoth, is embroiled in a dispute with analysts and accountants over whether it should store up capital to cover $50bn (£32.4bn) of deferred taxes. Citi says it will earn enough cash to justify ignoring the need to hold reserves against the deferred charges. But critics say the necessary target – $99bn of [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 6, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES HIRING RATES ARE FLAT IN THE UK Employers expect a “static” rate of recruitment for the remainder of this year, according to new research, underlining concerns about the momentum of economic recovery. The survey of 2,100 employers by Manpower, the recruitment company, is likely to intensify debate on whether the private sector can [...]
Barnier takes on UK with bank tax plan September 6, 2010 EUROPEAN finance commissioner Michel Barnier will take on the UK today when he advocates setting up a series of liquidation vehicles funded through a region-wide bank tax. Chancellor George Osborne has refused to back the use of tax revenues to create funds to wind down failed institutions, arguing that ring-fencing the proceeds of banking levies [...]
Weak rise in high street sales September 6, 2010 SALES on the high street picked up slightly last month but the positive performance was flattered by an extremely weak August 2009, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) will say today. Like-for-like sales values, which strip out the effect on sales of changes in floorspace, rose one per cent in August compared to the same period [...]
Record for foreigners in UK shopping bonanza September 6, 2010 LAST month was the busiest on record for international shoppers hitting UK stores, a new survey showed today. Sales were up 18 per cent with shoppers from China, Russia, Thailand and Malaysia leading the boom. The hike came despite Middle Eastern shoppers heading home for religious festival Ramadan during the month. The growth in Chinese [...]