SUSTAINABLE BANKING IS WAY FORWARD June 17, 2009 MOORAD CHOUDRYHEAD OF TREASURY, EUROPE ARAB BANK THE financial crash of 2007-2008 was caused by the interaction of several different factors, some of which had been building for years. Since then markets have entered a period of restructuring that reflects the realities of the crash: key to this is an awareness that much of the [...]
Land Secs director walks out on firm June 16, 2009 BRITAIN’S largest property firm Land Securities yesterday said that its managing director Mike Hussey will leave the firm at the end of this month after rumours of boardroom tensions. The firm last year abandoned a plan to split into three companies, one specialising in London property, one in shops and the other in outsourcing. Hussey, who [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 16, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES NATIONAL EXPRESS IN DEBT TALKSNational Express is in talks with bankers to renegotiate terms on part of its £1.2bn debt amid fears that the bus and rail operator will breach loan conditions in December. The group is expected to pass a key test of whether it is meeting the terms of its debt [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS June 15, 2009 ETF SecuritiesThe exchange-traded commodities and funds provider has hired Mark Weeks as chief executive of the ETF Exchange, its third-generation exchange-traded fund platform. Weeks joins from UBS, where he ran the highly successful securities lending franchise in Zurich. Prior to that, he spent seven years at Goldman Sachs, where he was a managing director responsible [...]
London retailers get a capital boost while rest of UK drops June 14, 2009 DESPITE recovery in the UK retail sector slowing in May, London continued to outperform the rest of the country, according to fresh data out today from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Like-for-like sales for May were 1.6 per cent higher in London than a year earlier, compared with a 0.8 per cent fall across the [...]
Supervisory breakdown at fault for crisis June 14, 2009 THE financial crisis was caused by lack of supervision of the financial sector, rather than bankers breaking the rules, according to the influential Adam Smith Institute. Director of the free-market think-tank Eamonn Butler likens recent financial troubles to the parliamentary expenses scandal – with everyone sticking to the rules, but without proper supervision of the [...]
Ashley’s new bargain basement June 14, 2009 Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has set up a £1 shop in the former Burberry headquarters in London’s West End, despite budget retailer TK Maxx being blocked from opening nearby. The former up-market building is now plastered with “sports clearance” signs. It is believed Ashley’s Sports Direct chain is using the store to clear old [...]
Crude rises to an eight-month high on hopes the global downturn is easing June 11, 2009 OIL climbed above $72 a barrel yesterday, an eight-month high, after research body the International Energy Agency (IEA) raised its global forecast on rising hopes the economic recession is easing. Paris-based IEA, which advises 28 nations, boosted its global estimate for daily oil demand by 120,000 barrels to 83.3 million barrels in its monthly report. [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS June 11, 2009 Augusta & CoThe independent merchant banking group has appointed Rachael Luxton to strengthen its debt advisory and restructuring capabilities. Luxton joins as a director from the international corporate finance team at Citigroup. She is a specialist in restructuring and managing distressed debt situations, having previously advised firms including MyTravel, Fiat, Yukos and Alstom. Mercer Jerry [...]
Never again must banks ask for handouts June 9, 2009 IT is great news that 10 US banks have been given the green light to reprivatise themselves by paying back $68bn in Tarp bailout money. This is a milestone in the financial crisis; not only are banks raising their own equity privately again but they are also issuing long-term debt that isn’t guaranteed by the [...]