Small businesses face mammoth fines as government cracks down on fraud April 5, 2010 FROM today the Information Commissioner’s Office (IOC) will have the power to fine small businesses up to £500,000 for losing clients’ confidential data. The new measures, which fall under data protection rules, were passed in Parliament three months ago and are part of the Government’s latest attempt to crack down on fraud. Previously the IOC [...]
BarCap poaches veteran banker from Rothschild April 5, 2010 BARCLAYS Capital has poached the co-head of Rothschild’s investment banking division in the Middle East and North Africa to head up its financial institutions group (FIG) coverage, sources said yesterday. Michael Helou, 37, set up Rothschild’s Dubai office in 2006. In his new role, expected to begin in the middle of May, he will be [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS April 5, 2010 VODAFONE Collins Stewart has issued a “sell” recommendation on Vodafone after Ofcom’s mobile termination rate (MTR) proposals to bring down rates. Collins Stewart said that it could have a 20 per cent drag on Vodafone’s UK revenue by 2015. Over the four years Collins Stewart expect it will have a £330m impact on Vodafone profits. [...]
MPC to hold fire on rates and QE April 5, 2010 Inaction will be the name of the game this week at the April meeting of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), according to economists. The MPC is unlikely to either move the interest rate from its current 0.5 per cent or add to the £200bn already spent on quantitative easing, after all nine [...]
Macro funds falter in debt crises April 5, 2010 Hedge funds betting on macroeconomic trends have been wrong-footed by the Greek sovereign debt crisis and the plummeting values of sterling and the euro. The average macro hedge fund has kicked off 2010 with a 1.25 per cent loss, according to data from Hedge Fund Research, making suggestions of links between speculators and movements in [...]
Mattel chief’s pay cut to $7.9m April 5, 2010 Mattel’s chief executive and chairman received nearly $7.9m (£5.17m) in compensation for 2009, an eight per cent cut on his 2008 pay package. The toy maker handed Robert Eckert an unchanged base salary of $1.25m, plus a bonus of $2.5m and stock options worth $3.7m.
Oil futures hit $86 on strong jobs numbers April 5, 2010 CRUDE oil futures crossed an 18-month high yesterday, rising towards $86 per barrel after positive jobs data from the US boosted hopes of a speedy economic recovery. US crude futures for May delivery hit a session high of $85.89 as Asian traders responded to figures showing the fastest increase in North American job creation since [...]
Watch out as those bond yields drift upwards April 5, 2010 Something very interesting is happening in the bond market these days, and, yes, it has to do with the enormous amount of bonds that are being issued by governments. In one word, it can be described as distortion. For a very long time, even with the knowledge that budget deficits were ballooning from government overspending, [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 5, 2010 Threadneedle The asset management firm has hired George Gosden to join its Asian equities desk. Gosden spent the past eight years as a director at Insight Investment, where he was part of the international team. Prior to that, he was a director of Asian equities at Clerical Medical Investment Management. In his new role, he [...]
Microsoft phones on the way April 5, 2010 Microsoft is set to announce its long-awaited “Project Pink” phones early next week, sources familiar with the matter said on Monday, as the world’s largest software company attempts to gain traction in the growing market for young smartphone users. The mobile phones, to be sold by top U.S. mobile operator Verizon Wireless which is partly [...]
