HSBC boss Alan Thomson quits and bankers mutiny over jail threat October 7, 2014 Top bankers are quitting the industry in protest at new rules which mean senior staff in failed banks could face jail unless they prove themselves innocent, with one HSBC boss leaving and another threatening to go yesterday. Their actions prompted a swathe of bankers and lawyers to warn that plans to reverse the burden of [...]
Daniel Stewart Securities’ Champagne Odyssey Christmas party invites sent on same day as suspension of shares statement October 7, 2014 It was a busy day for Daniel Stewart Securities yesterday. A hectic morning at the City-based investment bank involved sending out invitations to its lavish Christmas party – dubbed A Champagne Odyssey to be held at Brown’s on Old Jewry. Three hours later the bank, founded in 1989, was rushing out a statement regarding its [...]
London’s firms fume over poor mobile service October 7, 2014 Coventry, Manchester and Birmingham are beating the capital for mobile network performance, with faster data speeds and fewer dropped calls, leaving London trailing in fifth place according to new research published today. The data, from leading mobile analytics firm RootMetrics, will disappoint businesses that rely on robust mobile networks in London to power commerce and [...]
Glencore knocked back but not giving up October 7, 2014 Multinational mining company Glencore has said that it is no longer actively considering a £100bn merger with larger rival Rio Tinto, despite talks between its bosses. In a statement yesterday afternoon, however, Glencore kept the door open for a future offer – even hinting that this could come within the six-month waiting period imposed by [...]
British MEPs confident that Lord Hill will win finance brief in EU October 7, 2014 LORD Hill is unlikely to be stripped of his banking union brief despite reports to the contrary, a senior UK member of the European parliament told City A.M. last night. Following a day of uncertainty for Hill, the UK’s new man in the EU, British MEPs are confident that he has done enough to secure [...]
IAG and Carnival share prices hit as deadly Ebola virus arrives in Europe October 7, 2014 News that the deadly Ebola virus has reached Europe gave UK travel companies a rocky ride yesterday, with share prices falling across the board. Some of the biggest losers on the news that a nurse in Spain had been infected on EU soil were British Airways parent group IAG and cruise operator Carnival. Both companies [...]
Clegg: Lib Dem policy on airport expansion makes no sense to me October 7, 2014 LIBERAL Democrat leader Nick Clegg has admitted that his party’s decision not to back airport expansion in the south of England doesn’t make sense. His comments came after the decision, reached after a vote at the party’s annual conference in Glasgow, received fierce criticism from business groups, which wrote it off as damaging. John Cridland, [...]
Victory for Fraud Office as British banker pleads guilty in Libor case October 7, 2014 THE BRITISH authorities have claimed victory in the first of at least 12 prosecutions against bankers and financiers accused of trying to manipulate the key inter-bank interest rate benchmark, Libor. One banker pleaded guilty on Friday, but cannot yet be named for legal reasons. The High Court believes that revealing the identity of the banker could affect [...]
London Underground’s Tuesday Tube strike could be called off as mediators move in October 7, 2014 Talks are going ahead this morning between Transport for London (TfL) and the RMT Union, which has asked its members to down tools next Tuesday for 48 hours in protest against Tube ticket office closures. Mediator Acas, which has a 94 per cent success rate in resolving disputes, became involved yesterday after transport chiefs blasted [...]
Tesco suspends Kevin Grace: Fifth executive leaves over £250m profit miss October 7, 2014 Tesco has suspended a fifth director over a shock discovery last month of an error in its accounts which meant first half profits were overstated by £250m. Kevin Grace, Tesco’s group commercial director, was asked on Monday to step aside as Deloitte and Freshfields carry out their investigation into what went wrong in Tesco’s accounts. [...]