German bank lobby warns new rules will choke profits and hurt growth September 20, 2010 NEW banking rules and levies aimed at preventing future financial crises will choke profits and may threaten economic growth, the trade lobby for Germany’s big banks said yesterday. The Basel III changes to banking capital rules adopted this month went in the right direction but, taken in context with a raft of other proposed taxes [...]
BP confirms the Macondo well killed off September 20, 2010 BP has “effectively killed” the leaking Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico 153 days after the explosion that caused the death of 11 oil rig workers. The group confirmed that it had sealed and killed the blown out well, which leaked over four million barrels of oil into the Gulf. The five month spill, [...]
Employers ignore staff needs September 20, 2010 Employers do not properly understand what motivates their staff to continue working for them, according to a report by one of the world’s largest recruitment and HR services companies. Randstad ranked the main factors driving people to stay at UK companies as their brand, culture and the benefits packages on offer. This was in sharp [...]
Brit Insurance shares rocket after it recommends CVC and Apollo takeover September 20, 2010 SHARES in Brit Insurance roared upwards yesterday after it advised shareholders to accept an £850m joint offer from buyout firm CVC Capital Partners and original bidder Apollo. Brit closed up 4.1 per cent at £10.28 yesterday as the markets reacted to news of the joint bid on Friday. The price values the listed element of [...]
Partners at Magic Circle law firms push rates up September 20, 2010 HOURLY rates charged by partners at the UK’s elite law firms have soared to £700, according to new research. An annual survey conducted by City costs lawyer, Jim Diamond, shows that rates charged by the top five Magic Circle law firms – Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Slaughter and May, and Linklaters [...]
Creditsafe launches identity theft alert service as company fraud increases September 20, 2010 CREDITSAFE has teamed up with the Metropolitan Police to develop an online service, which notifies companies of possible identity fraud. Businesses fearing identity fraud can now receive free email alerts every time changes are made to their information on Companies House. The group has developed the fraud alert service after several months of consultation with [...]
SEX AND A DIFFERENT CITY September 20, 2010 Fashion lovers focused their attention away from London Fashion week briefly as crowds gathered at St Paul’s Cathedral to commemorate the death of Alexander McQueen. Sarah Jessica Parker, star of Sex and the City, paid her respects and flaunted her much admired style, this time in a City slightly closer to our hearts. Models Kate [...]
Unilateral rule making will harm City September 20, 2010 PERCHED at a regulatory crossroads, the government is on the verge of decisions that will shape the UK economy’s competitiveness for generations to come. That much was clear from the opening day of the City Week financial services forum yesterday, where financial services doyens united in a call to policymakers to think long and hard [...]
BHP will stick to $39bn bid for Potash September 20, 2010 BHP Billiton chief executive Marius Kloppers said yesterday the company has no intention of changing its $39bn (£25bn) takeover offer for Potash, the world’s biggest fertiliser producer. During a visit to the home base of its takeover target intended to build political support in Canada, Kloppers brushed aside rumours that China, through its state-owned companies, [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 20, 2010 Matrix Group The financial services group has taken on Peter Bax as head of property asset management. Bax was most recently a portfolio manager at Citi Property Investors for nine years, having previously held the position of vice president of global real estate investment origination at Citi’s private banking arm. He also formerly worked for [...]
