Barclays in key hiring from rival February 29, 2012 BARCLAYS Capital has demonstrated its ambition to become a leading player in UK investment banking, hiring Mark Astaire, head of corporate broking, from rival Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Astaire, who is now on three months’ gardening leave, joins his former colleague Richard Taylor at BarCap, where he will be charged with driving the team [...]
Nasdaq hits 3,000 at last February 29, 2012 THE NASDAQ Composite index skimmed the 3,000 mark yesterday for the first time in over a decade, propelled by Apple’s surge, before sinking back below the line. In a hopeful hint that investor faith could be returning to a pre-dotcom level – the Nasdaq was last above 3,000 as the shutters closed on the internet [...]
Entrepreneurs finally fighting back February 29, 2012 BUSINESS people have a tendency to run scared of political debate. They rarely want to criticise politicians on the record (though they are often extremely outspoken in private). They very rarely agree to give interviews to discuss controversial subjects. This is a great tragedy: capitalists are failing to speak up for capitalism, allowing those who [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 29, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES ATTARA CAPITAL TO LIQUIDATE OPERATIONS Attara Capital, the hedge fund co-chaired and founded by Nat Rothschild and the successor to the now-defunct activist fund Atticus Capital, is to liquidate its operations. Attara, which is run by David Slager, a former Atticus partner, is shutting as a result of adverse trading conditions and difficulty [...]
Calls to cut 50p tax rate February 29, 2012 HUNDREDS of business owners and entrepreneurs have called on the chancellor to scrap the 50p tax rate in his Budget this month, claiming the levy is an “unfair, politically motivated tax”. The business owners and directors said the top rate introduced by Labour is “penalising high earners” and cutting it would “contribute to the government’s [...]
More Lehman clients to get refund February 29, 2012 Britain’s highest court yesterday ruled that billions of dollars earmarked as belonging to clients when Lehman Brothers collapsed should be divided up among all its clients, including those whose cash the investment bank had mixed with its own. By law, firms must keep money they trade on clients’ behalf separately to their own, keeping it [...]
Wall Street bonuses in fresh fall February 29, 2012 Wall Street cash bonuses for 2011 fell to their lowest level in three years as volatile trading and stiffer regulations took a toll on profits, said New York State’s comptroller yesterday. The securities industry’s bonus pool was expected to total $19.7bn, comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said. That would be down 14 per cent from 2010 but [...]
Banks lap up massive ECB cash injection February 29, 2012 EUROPE’S banks borrowed another half-trillion euros at rock bottom interest rates yesterday as the European Central Bank (ECB) again pumped the system full of cheap cash. Bank stocks rose after 800 firms took part in the second three-year long-term refinancing operation (LTRO), borrowing €529bn (£443.3bn) at one per cent interest rates, taking the total lent [...]
Game Group could be left on the shelf as EA refuses to send top new games February 29, 2012 GAME GROUP’S shares plunged 16 per cent yesterday and its future looked more uncertain after the chain admitted that one of the biggest video game makers was refusing to forward several new releases. The ailing retailer said in a statement that, after approaching its suppliers for support, it had been unable to agree terms over [...]
Francois Hollande hits the election trail in London February 29, 2012 FRANCOIS Hollande met with fellow left wing leader Ed Miliband in London yesterday after Cameron, who publicly backs Sarkozy, denied him a meeting. The French socialist presidential candidate touched down in the city ahead of the election, scheduled for 22 April and 6 May, to woo the 400,000 or so French citizens who live in [...]
