Eurozone recession deepens as output in France plunges January 24, 2013 THE EUROZONE recession is getting deeper in most countries, with private sector output plunging in France, Spain’s unemployment soaring further and Italian retail sales dropping again, according to a raft of data published yesterday. But Germany is defying the trend, with businesses reporting strong growth in January, bouncing back from a weak December and raising [...]
Barclays staff in Libor probe named in court January 24, 2013 EMAILS from Barclays’ former top bosses including Bob Diamond were passed to regulators as part of the Libor fixing investigation, a court revealed yesterday, after a bid by those listed to remain anonymous failed. A total of 106 staff and former employees had wanted to go un-named, including 25 people identified in the regulatory filing. [...]
London Stock Exchange boosts data business as trading dips January 24, 2013 LONDON Stock Exchange (LSE) managed to boost its profits in the final three months of 2012, despite low trading volumes hitting its core capital markets business. Income from fees on UK share trades dropped by 13 per cent, while earnings from post-trade services – such as clearing – slumped from £58m to £49.6m. However total group income was up [...]
Knight Capital suffers huge profit loss after volume drop January 24, 2013 ELECTRONIC trading firm Knight Capital posted a dismal set of figures yesterday, with an 84 per cent drop in earnings and 16 per cent decline in revenue. The firm, which stood on the brink of collapse last summer after a trading glitch delivered a $460m (£291m) loss to the business, is currently being taken over [...]
Commerzbank set to cut 6,000 jobs in its latest savings drive January 24, 2013 GERMAN lender Commerzbank joined the flood of banks cutting jobs yesterday, telling staff that thousands will get the chop in its latest round of cost cutting. Up to 6,000 of its 56,000 staff will go from the end of 2013. Around three-quarters of its total headcount work in Germany, but London is one of its [...]
New guidance to stop future PPI scandals January 24, 2013 FINANCE firms looking to sell payment protection products in future should take care to properly identify their customers and check the product does what the customer thinks it does, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said yesterday. The new guidelines are intended to explain to firms how they can avoid [...]
Icap confirms probe over Libor January 24, 2013 ICAP confirmed yesterday it was being investigated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) over Libor setting, making the world’s largest broker the first non-bank to confirm it has been linked with the scandal over fixing the lending rate. As an inter-dealer broker, Icap acts as an intermediary between the world’s largest investment banks, many of [...]
Starbucks grinds out revenue increase but UK disappoints January 24, 2013 COFFEE chain Starbucks pleased investors yesterday posting a rise in earnings per share after releasing results in line with Wall Street’s expectations. The coffee brewer, which started in 1971 in Seattle, posted net revenue figures of $3.8bn (£2.4bn), up 11 per cent for the three months ending December. In the UK, the group said the [...]
Boss at Punch trades pints for Greggs pasties January 24, 2013 PUNCH TAVERNS boss Roger Whiteside will give up happy hours for elevenses when he becomes the new chief executive of bakery chain Greggs next month. Whiteside, who has been a non-executive director at Greggs since 2008, will succeed Ken McMeikan on 4 February, the firm said yesterday. McMeikan, who drove the government to retreat on [...]
Wandisco leads the way for UK technology flotations January 24, 2013 We have already seen the likes of Luxfer, Edwards and Manchester United list in New York when they might have been expected to grace the London flotation markets. Now there are rumblings that Intelligent Energy, a clean energy technology, might look overseas for a listing if it chooses to go for one. And my fellow [...]
