Marriott and Starwood have finally sealed their $13bn deal September 23, 2016 Marriott International said today it has finally completed the $13bn (£9.9bn) acquisition of Starwood Hotels, creating a $36bn hotels giant with 1.1m rooms. The deal has been beset by delays, including an eleventh-hour bid by a Chinese consortium which nearly scuppered Marriott's bid altogether, and a 60-day delay imposed by the Chinese ministry of commerce. Starwood shareholders will receive [...]
Yahoo hack: Here’s everything we know, including how to protect yourself September 23, 2016 Yahoo's 2016 has been a rollercoaster ride of emotions: on one hand, all its dreams came true when Verizon swooped in to rescue it in a giant $4.8bn takeover. On the other, it's just become the recipient of the largest data breach in history. Ouch. The company admitted last night as many as 500m of its [...]
France set to bounce back from second quarter economic contraction September 23, 2016 The French economy contracted in the second quarter of the year, new figures have revealed, though a strong bounceback should help the economy avoid a recession. The size of the economy shrunk 0.1 per cent between April and June, French stats body Insee declared this morning. That was worse than earlier estimates, which suggested the economy flat-lined [...]
Wells Fargo CEO quits role as adviser to Federal Reserve September 23, 2016 The head of Wells Fargo has stepped down from his role as an adviser to the US Federal Reserve amid the ongoing scandal over its creation of unauthorised bank accounts. Chief executive John Stumpf resigned his position on the advisory council of the San Francisco Fed, which consists of banking chiefs and is designed to guide policymakers, [...]
Mike Ashley appointed Sports Direct CEO as Dave Forsey quits with immediate effect September 23, 2016 Mike Ashley has taken over as chief executive of Sports Direct after Dave Forsey quit his role at the top of the scandal-hit company yesterday. Shares in the company were up 4.5 per cent mid-morning. Ashley will take over the role with immediate effect, with Forsey set to sever all ties with the company after a short [...]
easyProperty lands biggest ever property deal for an online estate agent September 23, 2016 EasyProperty has landed the biggest ever property deal conducted by an online agent, acting for a private family trust. The property portal sold a £35m property portfolio that comprised 208 properties across east London and Essex; 114 of the assets were residential, 94 were commercial. Contracts between the parties were exchanged seven days after the off-market [...]
City finance jobs tumble after Brexit vote September 23, 2016 Job openings in the City dried up over the summer as finance firms put hiring on hold while they assess the damage of the UK's vote to leave the EU, according to new research. The number of advertised vacancies in financial services dropped by 13.6 per cent in the capital in July and August, according [...]
City Moves for 23 September 2016 | Who’s switching jobs September 23, 2016 London Market Group London Market Group has appointed Chris Beazley as its first permanent CEO. Chris will take over from Ben Reid, who was seconded from EY as interim CEO. Ben will return to EY where he has been promoted to become an executive director. Chris Beazley is currently head of strategy and global clients for MS [...]
Megabrew bubbly on ice: City faces nervous wait on SABMiller shareholder vote result September 23, 2016 The drinks could be flowing at SABMiller next week. The FTSE 100-listed beer giant agreed to be acquired by AB InBev last November for £44 per share, or £71bn, in one of the biggest deals of a bumper year for global mergers and acquisitions activity. After years of speculation in the City, the so-called Megabrew [...]
Return on equity for the top global investment banks is falling. Here’s how they’re dealing with it September 23, 2016 Delegates from firms making their way to Geneva next week for the 2016 financial services Sibos conference will undoubtedly have a lot on their minds. Over the past few years the industry has been facing challenges on many fronts: continued and increasing structural costs, fast-changing regulatory reform, conduct issues and capital requirements, to name but [...]