Investment banks told to reform or die November 20, 2013 THE WORLD’S biggest investment banks need to fire thousands of workers and thoroughly shake up the way they do business if they want to become profitable again, consultants McKinsey warned yesterday. The capital markets giants often suffer from fragmented structures with units in different countries communicating poorly across borders, or sales teams too focused on [...]
Regulators hit innovation hardest in EU as costs rise November 20, 2013 THE WORLDWIDE cost of business regulation is set to hit $1.2 trillion (£742bn) across ten major economies this year, while a large portion of chief executives believe their innovative potential is being restrained. According to a report released by law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) today, UK firms alone estimate that regulation costs them $81bn [...]
America is slashing spending – but its economy is still growing November 20, 2013 IF you want to see what real austerity looks like, take a trip to the US. Real federal spending is set to slump by six per cent in the fourth quarter, compared with the same period a year ago, according to Goldman Sachs. That is a massive reduction, more than George Osborne wants to push [...]
Option for 2013 taper left open by Fed minutes November 20, 2013 THE RATE-setting Federal Open Market Committee left the possibility of tapering quantitative easing (QE) as soon as December on the table in its last meeting, according to minutes released yesterday. The US Fed’s FOMC said that continued improvements to the US job market would “warrant trimming the pace of purchases in coming months,” suggesting that the [...]
Negative rate talk prompts euro dive November 20, 2013 THE EURO took a dive yesterday after a report said that Brussels’ central bank is considering introducing negative interest rates on overnight deposits. The exchange rate for the euro against sterling fell from 83.7p to below 83.3p as word spread that banks may have to start paying to park excess cash at the European Central Bank [...]
Ikea staff probed on snooping claim November 20, 2013 TWO senior executives of Ikea France were put under formal investigation yesterday over allegations that they had snooped on employees and customers. The company confirmed that chief executive Stefan Vanoverbeke and chief financial officer Dariusz Rychert had been placed under such an investigation after being arrested on Monday and that they would cooperate fully with [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 21 November 2013 November 20, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Obama snubs Fannie-Freddie plan The White House came out against a proposal by a group of hedge funds to take over and recapitalise the core operations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the US mortgage finance giants, saying it risked creating two new “too big to fail” institutions. Gene Sperling, the White House [...]
Banks blame strike risk for low Royal Mail price November 20, 2013 INVESTMENT bankers yesterday defended the privatisation of Royal Mail shares, arguing risks like strikes at the firm could have ruined the sale if they had aimed for a higher float price. But MPs attacked the bankers, arguing they failed to get good value for money for the taxpayer from the sale of 70 per cent [...]
Former Barclays chairman Agius takes top job at PA Consulting November 20, 2013 BARCLAYS’ former chairman Marcus Agius is set to become non-executive chairman of PA consulting group in the new year, it was announced yesterday. Jon Moynihan, current executive chairman, is retiring at the end of the year, while Agius will begin in January 2014. It has been over a year since Agius left Barclays under the [...]
G4S and Serco sorry for contract failure November 20, 2013 OUTSOURCING groups G4S and Serco, which are under a criminal investigation after they overcharged the government on an electronic tagging contract, said yesterday they were working to clean up their act. Executives at the firms, as well as bosses from Capita and Atos, were speaking at a Public Accounts Committee hearing on the value of [...]
