Goldman promises to cut costs to shore up profits July 17, 2012 GOLDMAN Sachs’ profits fell in the second quarter as the Eurozone crisis continued to drain confidence from the market and the bank lost money on an investment in a leading Chinese bank. But the earnings figures were better than analysts expected because of a major cost-cutting programme and a large share buyback. Revenues fell nine [...]
Somebody needs to guard the City of London’s guardians July 17, 2012 I HAVEN’T been a fan of all of the Treasury select committee’s recent outings. There have been some excellent moments and some dire ones. But Andrew Tyrie, the body’s chairman, did a great job yesterday. He pointed out that the removal of Bob Diamond raises serious questions about whether regulators should be given such arbitrary [...]
FSA encouraged banks to plan for euro exits July 17, 2012 BRITAIN’s biggest banks were told to perform internal stress tests to judge the impact of member states crashing out of the euro, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) chief Adair Turner said yesterday. The chance of countries leaving the single currency is only slight, Turner said, yet argued that banks should still be prompted into preparing [...]
Yahoo chief’s first day sees income drop July 17, 2012 YAHOO reported a fall in profits last night, the day after its new chief executive was appointed. The struggling internet giant hired Marissa Mayer – Yahoo’s third non-interim boss in a year – on Monday night as it attempts to turn around a decline in fortunes. Revenue for the three months to June was $1.08bn [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 17, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES M&S to charge for current accounts Marks and Spencer is set to become the first UK bank to shun free current accounts as it plans to charge all customers a monthly fee for banking services when it launches later this year. The retailer said it would offer two accounts, priced at £15 and [...]
G4S boss says Olympic affair is humiliating July 17, 2012 G4S chief executive Nick Buckles faced anger from MPs yesterday as he admitted his handling of the Olympic security fiasco was a “humiliating shambles”, but said the firm would not give up its £57m management fee from the contract. Buckles told the home affairs select committee he was “deeply sorry” and that he regretted signing [...]
DLA Piper gets revenue lift from overseas offices as UK stutters July 17, 2012 REVENUES at DLA Piper, the world’s largest law firm by headcount, grew by 14.6 per cent to £1.4bn last year, helping boost 2011 profits to £554.3m. In the year to 31 December 2011 profits climbed 14.3 per cent compared to 2010, despite a drop in revenues from the firm’s UK offices. Turnover across the UK [...]
Playing by the rules needs a strong referee July 17, 2012 COMPLIANCE jobs are the new growth sector in banking, but it’s not easy money. In March, a Thomson Reuters survey found over a third of respondents spent a day every week just keeping up to speed with the latest alterations to the rulebook. The survey saw just one in ten compliance officers expecting a budget [...]
Bernanke wary of slowdown yet drops no QE hint July 17, 2012 AMERICA’S sluggish economic recovery is worrying the Federal Reserve, its chairman Ben Bernanke told politicians in Washington DC yesterday, yet he remained guarded over prospects for more quantitative easing (QE3). Bernanke predicted that any reduction in the US unemployment rate – which remains above eight per cent – would be “frustratingly slow”. “Economic activity appears [...]
Christie’s sets record with booming sales July 17, 2012 CHRISTIE’S announced record first-half art sales of £2.2bn yesterday, a rise of 13 per cent over the same period of 2011 and further evidence of strength at the high end of the market. The world’s largest auctioneer reported auction sales of £1.8bn in the first six months of 2012, seven per cent up on a [...]
