ROWLING AWARDED FREEDOM OF CITY May 8, 2012 JK Rowling, the author who penned the blockbuster Harry Potter novels, was awarded the Freedom of the City yesterday for her services to children’s literature. Rowling was presented with the distinction at Mansion House, the Lord Mayor’s official residence. “I am prouder than I can say to be given the Freedom of the City,” she [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 8, 2012 Barclays Sharon Quinlan has been appointed head of structured property, London within Barclays’s debt finance team. She joins from Bank of Ireland, where she was head of business banking and responsible for running its UK commercial banking franchise. She takes over from Richard Payne, who will stay on as a consultant. PMB Holdings Ed Jones [...]
BEST of the BROKERS May 8, 2012 BALFOUR BEATTY Investec rates the construction firm “sell” but has raised its target price from 185p to 210p. While trading remains weak, and the broker expects earnings “significantly below” last year’s results, Investec has revised its cash and pension deficit forecasts, giving the shares a higher fair value. AIR FRANCE-KLM UBS rates the airline “neutral” [...]
Late recovery on Wall Street May 8, 2012 US stocks ended lower yesterdayafter political developments in Greece fanned concerns about Europe’s fiscal health, but a late rally helped cut losses to close above lows. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 76.44 points, or 0.59 per cent, at 12,932.09. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was down 5.86 points, or 0.43 per cent, [...]
FTSE slumps to fresh 2012 low May 8, 2012 A slump in heavyweight mining stocks drove Britain’s benchmark share index down to its lowest level since the start of 2012 yesterday, after Greece’s commitment to bailout pledges was put into question – and dealers said further falls were likely. The FTSE 100 index ended down 100.51 points, or 1.8 per cent, at 5,554.55 points [...]
Spain is heading for a bailout that the rest of the continent will fund May 8, 2012 ANOTHER day, another U-turn in the Eurozone – although this time it may mark the Spanish government’s acceptance of the huge problems in the country’s banking system. The Spanish government announced on Monday that it will be injecting Bankia, the country’s third largest bank, with up to €10bn (£8bn) in capital, using the state-backed FROB [...]
It’s hard to make a deal when democracy keeps on changing the rules May 8, 2012 WHAT’S the deal? That is what any sensible person wants to know before investing or otherwise transacting. The terms may be stated but that is not enough. People also need to know that these terms won’t change on them. Between private parties, including businesses, this confidence is created by enforceable contracts and by reputation. A [...]
A Bank of Britain is the best way to build a Big Society May 8, 2012 HARD economic times call for bold measures. With evidence that the UK is back in a technical recession, we propose the creation of a Bank of Britain. This would be a citizen-focused bank, designed to advance the Big Society. The government has already launched Big Society Capital, with capital mostly provided by the big four [...]
How will Francois Hollande’s victory in the French presidential election affect the City? May 8, 2012 WELL Syed Kamall His greatest enemy is finance and his strategy for defeating it is taxing it to death. Francois Hollande has made quite clear how he detests bankers. He has also been shouting loudly about his plans to introduce a 75 per cent tax rate on all income above €1m and a unilateral financial [...]
RAPID RESPONSES May 8, 2012 King ducks charges [Re: Was Mervyn King powerless to stop the financial crisis?, Friday] Mervyn King is no lame duck regulator, but his arguments are certainly lame. The King-led Monetary Policy Committee set interest rates that were far too low for far too long. One key turning point was in August 2005. The housing market [...]
