MARKETING CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR August 6, 2012 A SUCCESSFUL campaign has the power to become one with the company it advertises, to end up as iconic as the brand it represents. The final shortlist for City A.M.’s marketing campaign of the year award attempts to portray a snapshot of advertising in the last year, showcasing a range of themes, designs, products and [...]
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FIRM OF THE YEAR August 6, 2012 TODAY’s shortlists for the third annual City A.M. awards kick off with our nominations for professional services firm of the year. The UK and EU may be planning significant shake-ups to the industry, but the firms on our shortlist aren’t letting that worry them, continuing to win bluechip clients, pursue global expansion and pioneer employment [...]
Citi to sell Diners Club card issuing UK, Ireland business August 6, 2012 Citigroup agreed to sell its Diners Club card issuing businesses in the UK and Ireland to private investor group Affiniture Cards as the bank continues to shed assets held in Citi Holdings. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The third largest US bank is still feeling pain from Citi Holdings, a unit set up [...]
Eurozone sentiment falls for fifth straight month August 6, 2012 Eurozone sentiment fell for a fifth straight month in August to touch its lowest level in over three years amid ongoing worries about the bloc’s debt crisis, an index from the Sentix research group showed today. Sentix said its monthly index tracking investor sentiment in the 17-nation currency bloc dipped to -30.3 in August, down [...]
Car sales rise by annual 9.3 per cent in July August 6, 2012 Car sales showed their strongest annual increase in two years, rising by 9.3 per cent to 143,884 vehicles, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said today. Car sales so far this year are 3.5 per cent up on last year’s level, showing resilience in the face of recession, and the SMMT said it [...]
Peregrine CEO asset hunt reveals few luxuries August 6, 2012 The hunt for the assets of Peregrine Financial Group CEO Russell Wasendorf Sr. has yielded a backyard pool, 2,000 bottles of wine, pickup trucks and some high-end photography equipment. But a receiver appointed for Wasendorf’s assets in the firm’s bankruptcy says that so far there is little to suggest that the CEO, who in July [...]
Insurer Catlin back in profit as catastrophes ease August 6, 2012 Bermuda-based insurer Catlin swung back to profit in the first six months of 2012, helped by a sharp drop in natural catastrophe-related claims relative to last year. Catlin, operator of the biggest syndicate in the Lloyd’s of London market, made a pretax profit of $231m (£148m) in the six months to 30 June, compared with [...]
Knight in for $400 million lifeline after trading debacle August 6, 2012 Knight Capital Group looks set to enter into a $400m (£256m) financing deal with a group of investors, allowing the trading firm to open its doors today after a crippling $440 million loss. But it will come at a steep cost to shareholders, sources familiar with the situation said. Such a deal would help Knight [...]
ECB’s Coeure calls for more targeted liquidity operations August 6, 2012 The European Central Bank should consider ways to ensure that the cash it lays out in its liquidity operations reaches smaller firms and consumers, executive board member Benoit Coeure said today. Coeure told Slovakian newspaper Hospodarske Noviny in an interview that the ECB would not allow sovereign bond yields to rise due to investors betting [...]
SIGNS OF LIFE AFTER SHOPPERS RETURN August 5, 2012 LONDON’S retailers were handed a welcome boost over the weekend as shoppers flocked back to stores, though figures released today show Britain’s high streets have seen their worst monthly sales in almost a year. Footfall picked up in the second half of last week and over the weekend, with the capital’s retailers reporting a leap [...]