Balanced debate is needed on future of banking January 10, 2010 As people from across the City brave the wintry conditions let us hope that policy makers can help provide a brighter forecast for the financial services industry over the coming year. The past 12 months have seen the business environment in a state of almost constant flux. A series of measures – most notably the [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 10, 2010 Office of Fair Trading The consumer watchdog has appointed Sheldon Mills, a senior associate at law firm SJ Berwin, as its new director of mergers, effective from 15 February. Mills joined SJ Berwin in 2006 from rival Jones Day. Simon Holmes, head of EU and competition at SJ Berwin, said: “While we will miss him, [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 10, 2010 TED BAKER Singer Capital maintains a “buy” rating for Ted Baker after strong trading from 1 November to 24 December. Retail sales growth for this period was 19.1 per cent and trading was up 14.3 per cent year-on-year. It says Ted Baker’s collections are doing well and has revised its target price from 505p to [...]
UBS whistleblower begins jail sentence January 10, 2010 The chief whistleblower in the UBS tax secrecy probe has entered prison to serve a sentence he considered unfair, hours after a Swiss court ruled the bank should not have been forced to turn over client files to investigators. Bradley Birkenfeld, a former UBS banker, entered a federal prison in Pennsylvania to serve a 40-month [...]
E-book readers, 3D TVs and tablet PCs compete to be top dog of 2010 January 10, 2010 HYPE and prototypes dominated the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas last week. From the Ford car that lets you send Twitter messages while driving, to the scuba diving mask that can shoot high definition video at depths of 130 feet, the vast majority of products on display will not hit the mainstream. The [...]
RBS confirms Aberdeen deal January 8, 2010 The Royal Bank of Scotland has agreed to sell part of its asset management business to Aberdeen Asset Management for nearly £85m. The move is part of the restructuring plan hatched after RBS was bailed out by the government. Aberdeen is taking over £13.5bn worth of assets and said it will issue new shares to [...]
Virgin Money moves into retail banking January 8, 2010 VIRGIN Money has moved into the retail banking sector after taking over a small private bank in a £50m deal. The move to buy Church House comes two years after the company failed to win control of Northern Rock. Virgin Money will pay £12.3m for the bank while pumping in a further £37.3m of capital [...]
Bank of America elite in line for record bonuses January 8, 2010 AN elite of Bank of America investment bankers are likely to receive record bonuses this year, the company has admitted. The bank, which repaid $45bn (£28bn) to the US government after being bailed out, had been limited to how big a bonus pot could be offered. But now the lender has moved to restore substantial [...]
Ecclestone in bid to buy Saab January 8, 2010 FORMULA 1 tycoon Bernie Ecclestone has been revealed as a major player in a bid to take over beleaguered Swedish car maker Saab. The billionaire has teamed up with Luxembourg-based investment company Genii Capital to look at a potential offer. Saab has been put up for sale by owner GM as part of a major [...]
Factory prices rise January 8, 2010 THE prices of goods leaving UK factories rose at a faster pace than expected in December, according to official figures. UK producer prices rose by 0.5 per cent last month the data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed. It took the annual rate of output price inflation to 3.5 per cent – the [...]