Wheatley leads shortlist for consumer watchdog January 6, 2011 MARTIN Wheatley is considered frontrunner in the list of candidates to lead the new UK consumer protection agency to be established next year. Wheatley, the current head of Hong Kong’s financial regulator, is considered a leading candidate to head the new Consumer Protection and Markets Authority, which will be spun out from the Financial Services [...]
Tchenguiz trust to cede Peverel stake January 6, 2011 THE Tchenguiz family trust is finalising a debt-for-equity swap with Bank of America Merrill Lynch that will see the bank take a major stake in UK property management firm Peverel. The US lender, which owns an estimated £100m of Peverel debt, may acquire a controlling stake. The stake size and deal structure have been under [...]
Tesco names incoming UK team January 6, 2011 RETAIL giant Tesco yesterday named the eight-man team to lead its UK operation from March, reporting to new UK chief executive, Richard Brasher. Noel Robbins becomes chief operating officer, alongside new commercial directors Per Bank, and Laura Wade-Gery. Kevin Grace becomes property director; David North will become corporate affairs director and Judith Nelson personnel director. [...]
Asia bank fees trump Europe January 6, 2011 ASIAN financial services have continued to grow on the global stage, showing a 22.2 per cent lift in investment banking fees taken in the region over the last year, as payments to European banks fell. Companies in Asia surged to contribute £12.8bn last year, as fees taken globally by investment banks jumped nine per cent [...]
Greater disclosure of risk needed, says governance body January 6, 2011 DIRECTORS should be clearer about the risks facing their business in annual reports, the UK’s governance watchdog said today. Statements from chairmen and chief executives should be balanced and discuss the biggest risks to the business in more detail, according to new recommendations from the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). Audit committee reports should also disclose [...]
London wins as the location of choice for company flotations January 6, 2011 LONDON was at the centre of a European upsurge in initial public offerings (IPOs) during the final quarter of last year, according to data compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The capital led the number of transactions by volume, securing 49 of the 130 European listings in the fourth quarter. The value of IPOs was also dominated by [...]
LinkedIn eyes public listing plan for 2011 January 6, 2011 LINKEDIN, the social networking site for professionals, plans to go public in 2011 and has selected its financial underwriters, according to sources familiar with the situation. Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and JPMorgan are among the book runners. Bankers made their pitches to the privately-held company in November. “An IPO is just one of many [...]
Investors rush to buy Facebook shares January 6, 2011 GOLDMAN Sachs stopped taking orders for shares in Facebook yesterday, with analysts saying the firm was inundated with offers from investors wanting a piece of the action. Some said that would-be investors were prepared to subscribe for $3bn (£1.9m) of equity in the social networking site, twice as much as is likely to be required. [...]
City views: have you used Linkedin? January 6, 2011 THOMAS LANE | AON “No, I haven’t. I don’t see any real need to network online – I’d rather meet clients in person.” GRANT MORROW | JUBILEE INSURANCE “Yes, I have. I use LinkedIn to keep in touch with past clients and colleagues.” NICK HOCKING | PRICE FORBES “I signed up a while ago but [...]
Arm surges on Microsoft partnership January 6, 2011 ARM Holdings was the stand out winner at the Consumer Electronics Show yesterday, after Microsoft announced its processors would be used in a new, low-powered version of the Windows operating system. Microsoft signalled it will work with UK-based ARM on the next version of its platform in a bid to gain traction in the next [...]