HSBC expansion curtailed by China slowdown January 18, 2016 London based HSBC has had its expansion plans throughout Asia dashed by slowing economic growth in China and increased market volatility throughout the region, according to Moody's Investors Service. The bank, which is still considering whether to move its headquarters to Hong Kong or possibly the US, pulled in around 60 per cent of pre-tax [...]
Metro Bank IPO could be hit by Clydesdale flop January 18, 2016 The cut price flotation of Clydesdale Bank could deal a blow to fellow challenger Metro Bank’s IPO plans, experts have warned. National Australia Bank revealed Clydesdale would be valued £500m below expectations today, setting a price range for its London listed shares at 175p to 235p, valuing the bank between £1.54bn and £2.07bn. The lowest end of [...]
Accounting watchdog meeting to decide on KPMG investigation into the auditor’s role over HBOS collapse January 18, 2016 The accountancy watchdog could decide as soon as tomorrow whether to launch a formal investigation into the role of big four accountancy giant KPMG in the collapse of HBOS in 2008. The Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) conduct committee is set to meet tomorrow to make its decision, Sky News has reported. The conduct committee will [...]
Panmure storms into the top five London advisors January 18, 2016 Small cap specialist broker Panmure Gordon has broken into the top five City advisers chart this morning as financial data publisher Adviser Rankings unveiled its tenth annual corporate advisers rankings for 2015. The firm soared five places up the table, jumping from tenth in 2014. Panmure also managed to hold onto its third place position [...]
Wall Street braced for a drop in earnings from investment banks January 17, 2016 Two of the world’s biggest banks, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, are releasing their annual results this week, and are expected to report a fall in annual earnings after a tough year. Goldman Sachs is forecast to report earnings of $33bn (£23bn), $1.5bn down from last year, while Morgan Stanley is slated to post a [...]
Londoners don’t want students to be classed as immigrants January 17, 2016 The majority of Londoners don’t see foreign students studying in London as immigrants although they are counted as such in official immigration numbers, a survey for lobby group London First has found. Polling, revealed exclusively by City A.M., shows 17 per cent of people think of non-EU international students studying in Britain as immigrants, while only [...]
Standard Chartered garners a rare analyst “buy” rating January 14, 2016 Analysts at Berenberg have upgraded their recommendation on troubled emerging markets focused bank Standard Chartered to “buy”, due to a strategy switch to return and risk. Standard Chartered has previously focused on growth alongside fast growing emerging markets. General analyst consensus has been moving against Standard Chartered in recent months, with the latest survey of [...]
Government on the defensive as North Sea suffers through another oil price slump January 13, 2016 The government was forced to defend its efforts to shore up the British oil industry yesterday, as record US stocks sent the price of Brent crude oil falling below $30 a barrel in late evening trading. During Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs), Sir Alan Duncan, a former oil trader, asked Prime Minister David Cameron to launch an [...]
Petrol prices will fall throughout January to catch up with the latest slump in the oil price January 13, 2016 The supermarket petrol price war is set to intensify, as the "lower for much longer" mantra sweeps through global oil markets. Oil has fallen around 15 per cent since all big four supermarkets – Sainsbury's, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons – slashed diesel prices to below £1 earlier this month. "It takes two to three weeks [...]
Think tanks urge people to be able to choose for themselves on sugar January 13, 2016 Controversial sugar tax proposals have been slammed by an economic think tank, following hints by Prime Minister David Cameron last week that the government could introduce a tax on sugary drinks this year. The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has today published a report sharply criticising the plans, labelling them “regressive, inefficient and unpopular”. Lobby [...]
