CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 8, 2010 Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Nick Booth has joined the wealth management firm as a business development director within the Merrill Lynch Portfolio Managers division. Booth, who will be based in Jersey, will focus on ultra high net worth clients and trust companies in the Channel Islands, working closely with the wealth structuring and advisory teams. [...]
BAILOUT CHIEFS FACE HOLLYWOOD PARADE April 8, 2010 HERE’S betting that the key players in the downfall and rescue of the US banking system never believed they’d have it so good. After countless sleepless nights and stress-soaked days, it’s probably fair to say that policymakers and bank bosses weren’t looking their best when they emerged, battered and bruised, on the other side of [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS April 8, 2010 SALAMANDER ENERGY Oriel Securities has maintained a “buy” rating on Salamander Energy after calling it one of the most active drillers in its peer group this year. Despite the announcement that Salamander was to close its Phu Kheng-1 exploration well in Thailand, Oriel says the move is broadly immaterial as it will be followed by [...]
BG Group confirms light oil field potential off Brazil April 8, 2010 BG Group, the gas exploration firm, completed drilling at its Tupi field offshore from Brazil and estimated that recoverable reserves top 5bn barrels of light crude oil and natural gas. BG Group and its partners, Brazil’s Petrobas and Portugal’s GALP, said yesterday the appraisal well, designed to test the outer limits of the expected reservoir [...]
City accountants paid more than peers April 8, 2010 CITY based accountants enjoy higher salaries than their counterparts elsewhere in the country, according to new research. Accountants based in London received a basic salary of £87,100 last year, marking an £11,000 leg up on accountants based outside of the capital, who received a £74,200 salary. Research conducted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in [...]
CITY EYE April 8, 2010 Sunlight glints off the glass facades lining the water at Canary Wharf yesterday, as financial workers strolled along in the balmy air with a taste of spring in their step
Bank of England freezes interest rates again April 8, 2010 THE Bank of England has kept the interest rate on hold at 0.5 per cent. No change of monetary policy – including an extension of quantitative easy – was announced in the bank’s monthly update. Interest rates have been frozen at 0.5 per cent since March 2009. The UK officially came out of recession in [...]
UK house prices bounce back April 8, 2010 HOUSE prices increased for the eighth time in nine months in March, but experts warns more property being put up for sale could dampen further inflation. The latest house price index shows prices rose by 1.1 per cent during March, partly offsetting February’s 1.6 per cent fall. The rise means prices during the first three [...]
M&S staff to get £80m bonus pot after sales rise April 8, 2010 MARKS & SPENCER sales rose by 5.1 percent in the 13 weeks to 27. The hike was driven by sales of formalwear and knitwear and the figures outstripped analysts’ forecasts of a 1.7 per cent rise M&S said full-year pre-tax profit would be around £630m, in its trading statement. The first day of the Christmas [...]
BA and Iberia agree merger April 8, 2010 BRITISH Airways and Spanish carrier Iberia have signed a deal to merge if shareholders and regulators give the green light. The merger, which was provisionally agreed in November last year, is expected to be completed by the end of the year. In a statement the two companies said the deal would be a boost for [...]