BofA case wins class-action status February 6, 2012 Shareholders suing Bank of America have won class-action status for their lawsuit, which accuses the bank and various executives of fraudulently misleading them about the 2008 takeover of Merrill Lynch and the size of Merrill’s losses and bonus payouts.
Ferragamo pays record UK rent February 6, 2012 Italian luxury shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo has agreed a deal to pay a record UK rent at its Bond Street store that will break the £1,000 per square foot mark for the first time. The retailer will extend the lease of its store at 24 Old Bond with landlord NFU Mutual.
Arabian bank falls in London as boss held February 6, 2012 SHARES in EFG-Hermes, the London-listed Arab bank, dropped four per cent yesterday after Egyptian authorities banned its co-chief executive from leaving the country. Yasser el-Mallawany (pictured) was prevented from catching a flight to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday night amid allegations of links to last week’s football riot in which 74 people were killed. [...]
THE QUEEN CELEBRATES DIAMOND JUBILEE February 6, 2012 Sixty years after ascending the throne, Queen Elizabeth celebrated her reign with a royal visit to see children in King’s Lynn, Norfolk. The Queen, 85, will enjoy four days of more lavish events in July, including a 1,000-ship pageant on the River Thames and a concert at Buckingham Palace. Yesterday she vowed to “dedicate myself [...]
Lazard bonus payments wipe out its profits February 6, 2012 LAZARD was pushed into the red in its fourth-quarter of last year due to a slowdown in trading and a decision not to defer bonus pay-outs, the US investment bank revealed yesterday. It reported a pre-tax loss of $3.4m (£2.15m) in the fourth quarter, compared to a profit of $134m during the equivalent period in 2010. [...]
Balls warns Osborne over Bank powers February 6, 2012 CHANCELLOR George Osborne is creating a “dangerous” concentration of power and information in the Bank of England, according to opposition critics of his new financial regulation bill. Shadow chancellor Ed Balls said that it was a mistake to channel information only through the BoE governor in the event of a crisis. He complained that the heads [...]
Sants: we will coordinate legion of new regulators February 6, 2012 FSA chief Hector Sants has sought to reassure firms that the government’s new regulatory regime would not produce duplication. In a briefing to bankers, Sants said the new bodies supervising financial firms will “be able to act independently as they will be pursuing different goals” but stressed that “this approach is one of ‘independent but [...]
New extremes for investment bank bonuses February 6, 2012 INVESTMENT banks are paying out unequal pay packets on an unprecedented scale, according to industry experts. Recruiters who have been in the business for decades say they have never seen such a disparity between those being amply rewarded to keep them and those whose bonus has been scrapped entirely – often in an attempt to [...]
Boris wants to control every railway in London February 6, 2012 BORIS Johnson has made a bid to control every rail service in London as part of an ambitious plan to simplify ticket structures and improve reliability and service frequency. Johnson said the current “Byzantine fares-setting policy” will be abolished and that his plan could save up to £100m over 20 years by removing the need [...]
Foreign cash flows to City February 6, 2012 THE UK’S financial services sector is deeply attractive to foreign investors, a study by TheCityUK claimed yesterday. Over a quarter of the 50,000 firms in the sector are owned overseas, rising to 33 per cent for companies valued between £25m and £100m, and 45 per cent for businesses firms worth over £100m. Of that investment, [...]
