Shareholders expect banking giant HSBC to keep its headquarters in London January 12, 2016 Major investors in HSBC think the bank is more likely to remain headquartered in London following changes to the political and regulatory landscape since the bank announced a review nine months ago. Richard Buxton, chief executive of HSBC shareholder Old Mutual Global Investors, told City A.M.: “I do think the mood music changed materially after the [...]
Insider trading trial to get underway after six year delay January 12, 2016 The jury in a six-year legal case over insider trading will be sworn in today, after years of delays. The case concerns five former finance professionals accused of conspiring to trade securities with inside information between 2006 and 2010. It has become one of the UK’s most complex cases and has faced delays since the [...]
Shell and BG shareholders defend £36bn deal after Standard Life says it will vote against the move January 11, 2016 Royal Dutch Shell and its supporters have insisted the £36bn acquisition of BG Group will go through after a major shareholder said he would vote against the tie-up. Standard Life Investments' head of equities David Cumming told the BBC he would be voting against the deal on 27 January, calling the acquisition "destructive" for Shell shareholders. [...]
Top Tory tells business: Wake up to threat of cyber crime January 11, 2016 Businesses should be doing more to defend themselves from cyber security threats, a former defence secretary will warn today. In a speech to the The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), influential Conservative Dr Liam Fox will call for laws forcing companies to disclose hacks to shareholders, as well as banning any company that doesn’t meet [...]
UK legal costs hit $700m for Nortel January 10, 2016 The ongoing row over bankrupt Canadian tech giant Nortel Networks has racked up legal costs in the UK of over $700m (£482m), sources close to the proceedings tell City A.M. Three groups of creditors, including 33,000 UK pensioners, Canadian pensioners and US bondholders, have been unable to agree who gets what from the $7.3bn to [...]
FCA launches probe over alleged bond market rigging by trader at Lloyds Banking Group January 6, 2016 The City’s watchdog has launched a probe into whether the UK government bond market was manipulated by a trader at Lloyds Banking Group. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is looking into whether at least one Lloyds trader sought to increase profits by driving down the price of the bonds or by inflating their prices when [...]
China meddling causes investor concern as markets manage to regain some ground January 6, 2016 Markets in China have recovered some of their lost ground as the government’s control measures kicked in, furthering concerns that increased Chinese government meddling is creating an artificial market. State-run Chinese media has reported that a ban on institutional investors selling more than five percent of shares would remain in place indefinitely. It’s thought the [...]
The Treasury could be about to return £17bn of Bradford and Bingley assets to private ownership January 6, 2016 A sizable part of the Bradford and Bingley (B&B) mortgage book could be about to be sold off in what could be the biggest ever sale of financial assets by a British government. The government is reportedly working on plans to offload a £17bn tranche of the bailed out mortgage lender. A spokesperson for UK [...]
Opec oil output dips but market labels it a blip January 5, 2016 The global oil supply was eased slightly in December, according to a Reuters survey. The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) supply of oil fell in December to 31.6m barrels per day, down from 31.8m in November. The dip in supply is not thought to be the beginning of a trend however, with analysts expecting [...]
State postpones fears of a sell-off in China markets January 5, 2016 Chinese authorities gave the country's stock and currency markets a boost yesterday when they resumed buying shares, despite vowing not to at the tail end of 2015. State controlled financial institutions, known as the “national team”, were widely credited with buying up shares by analysts and traders, many of which were critical of the government’s intervention [...]
