Thomson Reuters to replace chief exec in latest shake-up December 1, 2011 TOM Glocer, the chief executive of media group Thomson Reuters, will step down at the start of January, the company said yesterday. Glocer will be replaced by the group’s chief operating officer James Smith in the latest of several management reshuffles designed to raise the group’s performance after its crucial Markets business, its largest division, [...]
US senators attack MF Global watchdog for its poor policing December 1, 2011 US SENATORS laid into the chairman of one of the key regulators of collapsed brokerage MF Global yesterday, attacking its apparently poor policing of the firm’s risky behaviour and accounting. Gary Gensler, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, was one of the first regulators called to testify before the Senate Agriculture Committee about MF [...]
UBS risk chief goes 11 weeks after scandal December 1, 2011 SERGIO Ermotti has swiftly made his mark as the new UBS chief executive by ousting the chief risk officer barely 11 months after she took up the post. Maureen Miskovic left the bank abruptly yesterday, 11 weeks after she was embarrassed by the discovery of $2bn (£1.27bn) of “rogue” trades. Ermotti, who was confirmed as [...]
Ermotti shows the Swiss his inner steel December 1, 2011 WE knew Sergio Ermotti was a smooth operator, but now we have an early sight of the steeliness that has taken him to the top of UBS. In dumping Maureen Miskovic yesterday, two weeks after cutting another 400 jobs, Ermotti showed his determination to restore the reputation of UBS. The new boss will have to [...]
Hardy up for sale over Thai flood losses December 1, 2011 DEVASTATING floods sweeping Thailand caused Lloyd’s insurance group Hardy Underwriting far worse than expected losses, eating into its capital and causing the group to put itself up for sale. Hardy has been hammered by international catastrophes this year and said that the Thai floods would cause it £10m to £25m of losses on top of [...]
Omega investors angered by Byrne’s plans to lapse offer December 1, 2011 INVESTORS in Omega Insurance including Aviva, Toscafund, Crystal Amber and founder shareholder John Robinson, are up in arms over plans by tycoon Mark Byrne to allow his tender offer for 25 per cent of shares in the group to lapse even though it received more than the minimal number of acceptances. Robinson, speaking to City [...]
Bank-to-bank debt’s riskier than thought December 1, 2011 COMPLEX risk-weighting calculations make it difficult to assess how well prepared banks are to face a crisis, the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) warned yesterday. However, changes are on the way, the FPC’s report said. In particular, lending to financial institutions will be weighted more highly in future, as a result of recent [...]
The wages of finance to fall by a third as regulation bites December 1, 2011 SALARIES in European investment banks will have to fall by as much as a third as institutions fight to retain their level of return on equity in the face of harsh new regulation, analysts at JP Morgan said yesterday. Banks are likely to cut compensation levels drastically from 2012 as they see their return on [...]
Draghi speech soothes euro bond markets December 1, 2011 THE amount it costs European governments to borrow from the financial markets eased a little yesterday, after a pair of closely-watched debt auctions in Spain and France were more successful than expected. Bond traders also took succour from European Central Bank president Mario Draghi (pictured), who appeared to suggest he would be willing to expand [...]
Sarko pushes for new treaty December 1, 2011 FRENCH President Nicolas Sarkozy, under pressure from a spiralling Eurozone debt crisis five months before a presidential election, told France last night the euro bloc needs closer and stricter coordination of national budgets to survive. Seeking to reassure the public ahead of a Franco-German push to redraw the European Union’s founding treaty, Sarkozy promised that [...]
