Iran in threat over oil supply January 29, 2012 IRAN vowed to stop oil exports to EU countries yesterday, stepping up its row with the west over its nuclear energy policies. However, it called off a parliamentary debate on oil sales to the EU, which Brussels is already in the process of banning itself. Lawmaker Mohammed Karim Abedi said a bill to cut supplies [...]
This sorry RBS saga isn’t over yet January 29, 2012 THERE can be no doubt that the worst decision Stephen Hester ever made was to join a bankrupt and freshly nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland in November 2008. On the face of it, the mission he was given by the Labour government was exciting and vitally important: to turn around, drastically downsize and prepare for [...]
£1.6m for Goldman exec January 29, 2012 GOLDMAN Sachs has awarded a $2.5m (£1.59m) bonus to its top City of London banker. The package handed to Michael Sherwood, head of Goldman’s London operation and chairman of its partnership committee, was related to performance shares from 2009 and 2010 that were deferred. Sherwood, 45, is one of several executives seen as a possible [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 29, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES DEUTSCHE BANK TARGETS FORCED SALES OF HEDGE FUNDS’ PROBLEM ASSETS Deutsche Bank is preparing to launch a fund to snap up investors’ illiquid or damaged holdings in hedge funds that have failed to recover since the financial crisis. The bank estimates that, three years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, investors are sitting [...]
Syrian troops clash with rebels January 29, 2012 Around 2,000 Syrian troops backed by tanks launched an assault to retake Damascus suburbs from rebels yesterday, activists said, a day after the Arab League suspended its monitoring mission in Syria because of worsening violence. They said 19 civilians and rebel fighters were killed as the soldiers in armoured personnel carriers moved in at dawn, [...]
China’s Wen calls debt level “safe” January 29, 2012 China’s Premier Wen Jiabao has said the nation’s government debt is at an “overall safe and controllable” level, that funding for key projects would be ensured and that applying the brakes to the economy would be done in a way to avoid systemic risks. Wen’s comments, reported in the People’s Daily, were made in a [...]
Jefferies on brink of RBS broker deal January 29, 2012 US INVESTMENT bank Jefferies could close a deal for legendary stockbroker Hoare Govett as soon as today as its owner Royal Bank of Scotland continues to cut the size of its balance sheet. Jefferies is expected to pay only a nominal sum for Hoare Govett, whose staff had feared the business would be closed amid [...]
Last of the old guard leaves Lloyds as Tate to step down January 29, 2012 ONE of the City’s most respected bankers is expected to retire from his role as head of Lloyds’ wholesale division this week, City A.M. has learned. Truett Tate is the only top board executive remaining from the reign of previous chief Eric Daniels. His departure will form part of a broader shake-up of Lloyds’ management [...]
Fraud level hit a record high last year amid economic downturn January 29, 2012 THE level of fraud reached an all-time high last year, and the economic downturn is likely to trigger more financial crime, according to KPMG’s Fraud Barometer. Research published today shows fraudsters stole a record £3.5bn last year, with a huge surge in the second half, when £2.5bn of fraud was recorded. The figure was pushed [...]
LSE set to join the auction for £1bn LME January 29, 2012 THE London Stock Exchange (LSE) is set to join the bidding process for the £1bn-rated London Metal Exchange. Xavier Rolet, chief executive of the LSE, is said to be ready to battle America’s IntercontinentalExchange, one of the parties to first express an interest in buying the LME last year. Rolet wants to diversify the LSE [...]
