Gordon fights on but his time is ticking away September 29, 2009 BEFORE stepping out to address what seems destined to be his last party conference as leader, Gordon Brown had been urged to make the “speech of his life” by the woman some are tipping to be his successor, Harriet Harman. The embattled Prime Minister certainly came out swinging, using the word “fight” no less than [...]
Kroes repeats need for Lloyds to sell divisions September 29, 2009 LLOYDS Banking Group will need to dispose of assets in areas where it is currently dominant as a condition of EU approval of state aid, the European Commission’s top competition watchdog warned yesterday. Competition commissioner Neelie Kroes, who has repeatedly warned that part-nationalised banks Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland will be forced to shrink, [...]
Fund assets in UK decline by 12pc in 2008 September 29, 2009 THE LEVEL of assets being managed in the UK fell by 12 per cent last year to £3.7 trillion as the financial crisis took its toll. The annual fund management report from International Financial Services London (IFSL) said asset levels declined due to rocky stock markets and a surge in the number of clients withdrawing [...]
Barclays buys Citi unit September 29, 2009 Barclays yesterday announced that it had reached agreement with Wall Street bank Citigroup to buy the US firm’s Portuguese credit card business, as it prepares for a Western European spending spree. The transaction, believed to be worth around £50m, will see Barclays take on around 400,000 credit card accounts, with gross assets of approximately €644m [...]
Imperial Wharf station opens September 29, 2009 Mayor Boris Johnson opened a new £7.8m Imperial Wharf station yesterday, which will serve Fulham, Chelsea, and West Brompton. The station plan was in limbo for more than 15 years before Hammersmith and Fulham and Kensington and Chelsea councils agreed funding with developers St George and Transport for London last year. Boris says the new [...]
Petra discovers massive diamond September 29, 2009 Mining group Petra Diamonds has discovered a 507 carat stone, which could be worth over $20m (£12.5m), the group announced yesterday. It was found with three other large diamonds at the famous Cullinan mine. Last year, a 480 carat diamond made the firm $18m. Yesterday’s discovery is one of the 20 biggest diamond finds in [...]
Hester: Cost savings and asset sales are going well September 29, 2009 ROYAL Bank of Scotland (RBS) chief executive Stephen Hester’s mission to sell off non-core assets is going well, he said yesterday, confirming that the bank’s aircraft leasing operation was for sale. “We will sell all the things in non-core or wind them down, and the things in core will stay in the bank unless someone [...]
Profits slump at Close Bros on bad debts September 29, 2009 MERCHANT bank Close Brothers has reported a 25 per cent drop in its pre-tax annual operating profits, although the fall was less severe than expected. The firm said a strong performance from its Winterflood brokerage helped ease its losses, which were largely caused by bad debts in the financial crisis. It said profits fell to [...]
CITY ELECTS NEW LORD MAYOR September 29, 2009 NICK Anstee, a senior director of law firm SJ Berwin, was yesterday elected as the 682nd Lord Mayor of the City of London. Anstee, who officially takes office in November, said the City should “continue to engage in debate to ensure any reforms are well-directed, effective, proportionate and maintain the City’s competitiveness”.
Voser and Marchionne to leave board of UBS, bank announces September 29, 2009 FIAT boss Sergio Marchionne and Shell chief executive Peter Voser are to step down from the board of UBS, the Swiss bank said yesterday. Marchionne, the bank’s senior independent director, and fellow board member Voser, said they would stand down at the company’s general assembly in April next year, to spend more time on their [...]
