A major insurance firm just joined this blockchain consortium August 31, 2016 The blockchain consortium R3 has signed up yet another new member, this time the major US insurance firm MetLife. The addition brings the number of members to more than 60 and it joins the likes of the biggest banks such as Barclays, HSBC and Goldman Sachs. The insurer will work with the other financial services [...]
Banks lead the FTSE 100, with some lenders setting new monthly highs August 31, 2016 Banks are helping to bolster a reasonably flat FTSE 100 today. Banking mainstays Barclays and HSBC are both among the five greatest risers this morning, while shares in Lloyds, RBS and Standard Chartered are up as well. Barclays is currently up 2.4 per cent at 173.25p, HSBC is up 1.8 per cent at 567.7p, Lloyds is up 1.5 per [...]
Barclays continues to shed its non-core assets and says arrivederci to retail in Italy with sale to CheBanca! August 30, 2016 Banking giant Barclays today revealed it has completed the sale of its Italian retail network to CheBanca!, as it continues in its quest to ditch its non-core business. "I would like to take this opportunity to thank our colleagues in the Italian retail network and wish them well for the future," said Jes Staley, Barclays group chief executive. "Their [...]
House price growth is driving up prosperity outside London – here are the cities that beat the capital August 30, 2016 London remains the most prosperous city in the UK – but rising house prices are creating wealth hot-spots in areas outside the capital. House prices have grown faster in both Bristol and Cambridge, up by 14 per cent and 13 per cent respectively over the past year, according to Barclays. In London, prices have increased [...]
Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Luke Donald tipped to be handed Europe’s Ryder Cup wild cards August 29, 2016 England's Luke Donald has emerged as a surprise contender for one of Darren Clarke’s three wild-card picks as the European captain prepares to name his final Ryder Cup team on Tuesday. Clarke is expected to select an experienced trio to join a rookie-heavy line-up of nine automatic qualifiers, with stalwarts Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer [...]
City Moves for 26 August 2016 | Who’s switching jobs August 26, 2016 JLT Employee Benefits JLT Employee Benefits, a pension and benefit consultancy, has hired Tony Pike as head of sales for the investment consulting business. Tony joins with a remit to develop JLT’s investment and delegated consulting services to both new and existing JLT clients. Tony joins from Willis Towers Watson where he was head of UK sales [...]
Staycation spending on the up as Britons opt for home-bound holidays August 26, 2016 Domestic holidaymakers are shelling out more on their UK staycations, new research from Barclays Business shows. The average spend on trips in the UK has grown six per cent in the last year to £22.1bn, at £613 per party, up from £575 in 2015. Londoners were willing to fork out more to stay in the [...]
UK banks’ share prices set new post-referendum highs August 24, 2016 Shares in UK banks are standing at a post-referendum high after a string of encouraging economic data has restored confidence in the health of the sector. Lenders with big domestic footprints were hit hard in the days after the 23 June referendum. Share prices fell by as much 40 per cent. Both Barclays and RBS suffered the [...]
Barclays becomes the latest bank to get on the CoCo bond bandwagon August 23, 2016 Barclays has today become the latest lender to launch a CoCo bond. The transaction for the bonds, which will be denominated in US dollars, has not been priced yet and is expected to launch in the near future, depending on market conditions. Contingent Convertible capital notes – or CoCos for short – are a type of [...]
Oil prices slide on Iraq and China production boosts and rise in US rig count August 22, 2016 Oil prices slid on Monday on concerns about increased exports from China, Iraq and Nigeria, as well as a rising US rig count. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell $1.34, around 2.6 per cent, to $49.54 per barrel in mid-afternoon trading. West Texas Intermediate crude was down as much as $1.43, 2.95 per cent, to $47.09 per barrel. Read more: Global oil [...]