European companies could face upsurge in activist raids February 10, 2020 European companies could face an upsurge in activity from activist investors, analysis released today showed. One in 20 European companies with a market capitalisation of over $250m (£193m) have been targeted by activist investors in the past five years. This is half the rate (one in 10) for similar size companies in the US. The [...]
Barclays braces for pressure from activist investor and climate campaigners February 9, 2020 Barclays is facing intense scrutiny on two fronts as the bank prepares to release its annual results on Thursday, as the bank tries to shake off an activist investor and address campaigners’ concerns over its financing of fossil fuels. Barclays came under pressure last year from activist investor Edward Bramson to reduce the size of [...]
City Moves for 7 February – Who’s switching jobs at Ceres Power, Acin and BDO? February 7, 2020 Today’s City Moves includes Ceres Power, Acin and BDO Ceres Power UK-based engineering firm Ceres Power has announced the appointment of Warren Finegold as non-executive director. Warren has more than 30 years’ experience in the industry. As head of the technology team at UBS Investment Bank, Warren was one of Vodafone’s principal mergers and acquisitions [...]
Faltering England face a tough test of their mettle in feisty Six Nations clash with Scotland at Murrayfield February 6, 2020 England face Scotland in the Six Nations on Saturday in a match which carries huge significance, both historically and for the tournament. Eddie Jones has opted to make five changes as England attempt to wrestle back momentum following their disappointing 24-17 defeat against France in the opening game. They were poor in Paris, but I [...]
Barclays under pressure from second investor group over fossil fuel financing February 5, 2020 Barclays is facing increased pressure over its financing of fossil fuel producers, as it emerged that a second influential shareholder group is pushing the bank to adopt stricter climate change policies. The Investor Forum, whose 50 members control £18.5 trillion assets, has held discussions with the British lender over its climate policies, the Financial Times [...]
City Moves for 4 February – Who’s switching jobs at Saatchi & Saatchi, Barkby and Superunion? February 4, 2020 Today’s City Moves includes Saatchi & Saatchi, Barkby and Superunion Saatchi & Saatchi Saatchi & Saatchi London has announced the appointment of Andrew Kay as managing partner on its prominent BT account. Andrew takes on the new role after three years as managing director at BETC. He began his career with account management roles at [...]
Women problem looms as PM’s reshuffle set for next week February 3, 2020 Boris Johnson has earmarked 13th February for his reshuffle, City A.M. has learned. The Prime Minister is hoping to make his move just before MPs go into recess, to allow sacked ministers time to lick their wounds, according to one senior parliamentary source who has been put on standby for next Thursday. What had initially [...]
RBS finalising plans for bonus pot of £305m for 2019 February 1, 2020 Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is set to pay out a reduced bonus pot of just over £300m for 2019. RBS and its majority shareholder, which is the government with a 62 per cent stake, has agreed a bonus pool worth around £305m for last year, according to Sky News. It would be the lowest [...]
Brexit day is here – but does the rest of the world even care? January 31, 2020 Today is the day that many have dreaded, many have dreamed of and a lot thought might never come. At 11pm, just as the first pubs begin to close, the United Kingdom will quietly slip out of a side door to exit the European Union, ending our membership of a club we’ve been in for [...]
French and Italian economies shrink as Eurozone slows January 31, 2020 The French and Italian economies both unexpectedly contracted in the final quarter of the year as the struggling Eurozone caps off a year of weak growth. France’s economy – the second-biggest in Europe – shrank 0.1 per cent quarter on quarter in the final three months of the year, according to official statistics. Economists had [...]