What will happen to UK equities if we leave the European Union? June 21, 2016 The pound and the FTSE soared yesterday, as the Remain camp wrestled back its lead in the polls. But the outcome of Thursday’s EU referendum is far from clear, with pundits saying that voter turnout will be pivotal in determining whether the UK stays or leaves. If Article 50 is triggered and sterling dives, what should [...]
Say what? EU referendum week gets off to a stonking start as sterling and FTSE close higher – pushed up by banking and housebuilding shares June 20, 2016 Investors may have been bracing themselves for a disastrous pre-referendum week – but things got off to a pretty good start today, with sterling hitting its highest since May, and banking shares bouncing back after a less-than-impressive performance last week. The FTSE 100 closed three per cent per cent higher – soaring above 6,000 points to hit 6,204. Meanwhile, the pound [...]
Tech beats FTSE for female bosses (but there’s still work to do) June 20, 2016 Technology businesses are beating the FTSE when it comes to the number of female bosses, as the startup sector sets an example to the rest of the business world for gender equality. A fifth of tech firms in the UK are run by women, compared to just five per cent of FTSE 100 companies and only four per [...]
City Moves for 20 June 2016 | Who’s switching jobs June 20, 2016 Burford Capital Burford Capital, a global finance firm focused on law, has expanded its team in London. Leeor Cohen has been appointed vice president. Most recently a director in the leveraged finance business at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Leeor joins Burford’s global investment team with a broad range of experience as a lawyer, investment [...]
FTSE 100 bosses will this week issue a last minute rallying cry for the Remain campaign ahead of Thursday’s referendum June 19, 2016 FTSE 100 bosses are preparing to provide last-minute backing for a Remain vote ahead of this week's referendum. Remain campaigners are this week preparing to publish a letter from chief executives lending their support to the EU. City A.M. understands that signatories will include RSA chief executive Stephen Hester, while the Sunday Times has reported [...]
Sterling soars and markets jump as EU referendum campaigns on hold June 17, 2016 Sterling has risen against the dollar and the FTSE 100 is back above 6,000 points this morning, as the markets respond to the death of Jo Cox, and the EU referendum campaign takes a pause. The pound climbed to $1.4301, up 0.7 per cent overnight, as market chatter and hearsay suggested traders believe the suspension [...]
City Moves for 17 June 2016 | Who’s switching jobs June 17, 2016 PwC Andrew Kail has been appointed as leader of PwC’s UK financial services practice, succeeding Kevin Burrowes who is joining PwC’s executive board as head of clients & markets. Andrew has over 25 years of experience with PwC, having operated in a variety of financial services roles, most recently as head of the FS Assurance [...]
Barclays brands financier Amanda Staveley’s $1bn claim as “misconceived” June 16, 2016 Barclays has branded a lawsuit brought by Amanda Staveley, a financier who helped the bank avoid a taxpayer bailout in 2008, as "fundamentally misconceived". In a 44-page court document filed by the bank, Barclays denied allegations made by Staveley's firm PCP Capital Partners over a fundraising that took place amid 2008's financial crisis. At the time, Stavely's firm was advising Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed [...]
European banking shares take a hammering as Deutsche Bank falls to its lowest ever June 16, 2016 European banking shares dropped today – with Deutsche Bank's share price falling to its lowest-ever in early trading. Deutsche shares fell as low as €12.94 , 2.5 per cent lower, while the UK's big four lenders were also hit, with HSBC dipping 1.1 per cent to 420.95p, Barclays falling 2.5 per cent to 157p, Royal [...]
Court told: Failure to spot fixing is like missing nudists on a beach June 15, 2016 The possibility that Barclays bosses did not notice the manipulation of Libor submissions is the equivalent of them failing to spot nudists on a beach, a lawyer said yesterday. Adrian Darbishire, a lawyer for ex-trader Ryan Reich, said in his closing arguments that it was more likely executives didn’t think anything was wrong with what was going [...]