Letter condemns RBS for irresponsible investments November 29, 2009 IAIN BANKS, the Scottish author, along with MPs and church leaders, has written to the chancellor to complain about the government’s handling of Royal Bank of Scotland. More than 30 people have signed a letter to Alistair Darling, complaining about how RBS is being allowed to invest. They say the government has written “a blank [...]
HOW WILL TOUR FIRMS FARE DURING THE DOWNTURN? November 29, 2009 ANDREW FITCHIE COLLINS STEWARTOperators have demonstrated the flexibility of their businesses to withstand demand pressures. On balance we remain lukewarm on the sector, given the likely impact of increasing unemployment over the next year and the constraints tax rises will put on discretionary spend. SAM HART CHARLESSTANLEYOutlook comments will be closely analysed. Booking patterns for [...]
Gartmore gears up for acquisitions November 29, 2009 GARTMORE, the City investment house, plans to make strategic acquisitions after it has boosted its balance sheet through its expected £1bn stockmarket flotation. Chief executive Jeffrey Meyer said the firm would look to buy medium-size boutiques whose skill sets complemented Gartmore’s expertise in hedge funds and European equities. Gartmore’s initial public offering is due to [...]
WTO told to speed up talks November 29, 2009 European businesses are getting frustrated over the slow progress in the Doha Round of Trade talks and Businesseurope, the European Union business lobby, yesterday called on the World Trade Organisation (WTO)to speed up the negotiations. Eight years ago the WTO launched its first ever development round of trade talks in Qatar’s capital city. But the [...]
Property market bottoms out, Barclays Wealth says November 29, 2009 CONFIDENCE in both residential and commercial property is on the up, a report out from Barclays Wealth will show today. The survey, the tenth in a series from the global wealth manager and the Economist Intelligence Unit, will show that twice as many respondents (35 per cent) say they are planning to increase their property [...]
New guidelines released to counter soaring cash delivery vehicle robberies November 29, 2009 AN EXPECTED surge in attacks on cash delivery vehicles has prompted the British Retail Consortium (BRC) to publish fresh security guidelines today. The end of the year is regarded as a peak season for attacks, with most occuring in the final quarter of 2008. The first 10 months of 2009 have already seen 15 per [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 29, 2009 Norton RoseThe law firm has appointed Kate Alliott to its banking practice in London as a debt capital markets partner.Alliott joins from legal giant Clifford Chance, where she was a partner in the capital markets group. She has wide-ranging debt capital markets and structured finance experience, with a specialist focus on project bonds and infrastructure [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS November 29, 2009 BNP PARIBASAhead of an investor day, Evolution believes BNP shares are very cheap after it played a blinder with the acquisition of Fortis. Evo values Fortis at €22bn, while BNP paid just €6.5bn for 75 per cent. It expects the Belgium retail market to offer exceptional profitability as rivals give up market share due to [...]
Myners set to examine bank profitability November 29, 2009 CITY minister Lord Myners will delve deeper into how investment banks are generating a crop of bumper profits next month, after highlighting concerns that they may have been generated unfairly as a result of taxpayer bailouts or taking advantage of market chatter. Myners will stop short of launching a full-scale official investigation but will return [...]
Lords anxious over Brussels’ hold on City November 29, 2009 MEMBERS of the House of Lords have written to City minister Lord Myners to highlight the need for the government to take a tougher stance on negotiations with Brussels over the reform of financial supervision in the European Union. The Lords EU sub-committee on economic and financial affairs is concerned that under current proposals, the [...]