Stunned Goldman is forced to fight for its reputation March 14, 2012 NOTORIOUSLY private investment bank Goldman Sachs was last night forced to make public an internal email reassuring its 30,000 employees, after a tumultuous day saw a disgruntled ex-employee write a scathing attack on the firm in the New York Times newspaper, after he had resigned. The employee’s critique of the bank, in which it was [...]
Rating blow must act as wake-up call March 14, 2012 FIRST it was Moody’s, now it is Fitch’s turn. Ahead of next week’s Budget, the decision by the credit rating agency to put the UK on negative credit watch last night is another blow to George Osborne, the chancellor, who had made retaining Britain’s AAA-rating a key priority. Fitch’s decision puts the chance of a [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 14, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES FINANCIAL AUTHORITY URGED TO DROP OPAQUE CHARGES The new Financial Conduct Authority should use its powers to remove opaque banking charges and make it cheaper for new lenders to enter the market, a panel that represents the interests of retail customers has urged. In a paper to be published today, the Financial Services [...]
Facebook traders charged by SEC March 14, 2012 Two private funds established specifically to acquire Facebook shares have been charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission for “misleading investors and pocketing undisclosed fees.” The SEC claims the fund managers – Frank Mazzola and Laurence Albukerk – collectively raised more than $70m. The Commission also charged online trading platform SharesPost, which has been facilitating private [...]
Tube stops to have Wi-Fi March 14, 2012 London’s commuters will be able to connect to the internet while underground from July when a Wi-Fi network is rolled out across the Tube. Virgin Media will sponsor free Wi-Fi during the Olympics at 80 of the London Underground’s 270 stops. A further 40 stations will be added to the network after the summer, when [...]
Jobs rise as confidence boosts hiring March 14, 2012 JOBLESSNESS fell again from its November peak, new data showed yesterday, but youth unemployment hit a new high. Unemployment stood at 2.666m in the three months to January, down 5,000 on the same period to December and 19,000 a month earlier, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed, though the changes are small [...]
City bonuses tumble as price rises keep outstripping wages March 14, 2012 FINANCIAL services workers saw weekly pay fall in January as bonuses came in far lower than last year, data showed yesterday. Wages in the industry fell to an average of £592 per week, down one per cent on the same month of 2011 figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed. January was the [...]
Stunning new concourse at King’s Cross opens March 14, 2012 THE NEW concourse at King’s Cross station was unveiled yesterday, marking the end of a five-year makeover at the central London station. The steel and glass dome, which weighs 1,700 tonnes, was designed by architect John McAslan to complement the rest of the Grade I listed station. Commuters will be able to walk through the [...]
Heron appoints Savills for City tower mandate March 14, 2012 HERON has appointed Savills as the leasing agent for the Heron Tower in the City as the company kicks off a new marketing campaign in May to lease the remaining floors of the skyscraper. Savills has won the prized mandate after Heron decided last month to shake-up its leasing teams as part of a new [...]
UKFI clashes with MPs over top level pay at state-owned banks March 14, 2012 MPs told government agency UK Financial Investments (UKFI) that it is wrong to protect high pay at state-owned banks RBS and Lloyds in a treasury committee hearing yesterday. But executives at UKFI, which manages taxpayers’ stakes in the bailed-out lenders, declared that it is precisely their role to provide a “nuclear deterrent” against such political [...]
