Brent crude and WTI: Where big banks think the oil price is heading next April 8, 2016 Speculation about when the tarnished black gold will recover continues to swirl around financial markets. The chatter is growing louder as the world's major oil producers prepare for a crunch meeting due to take place in Doha next Sunday. They're widely expected to firm up a preliminary oil freeze deal in February between four countries – Saudi Arabia, [...]
The European Commission just refunded Societe Generale’s €218.6m of its Euribor rigging fine April 8, 2016 We're used to banks paying out multi-million pound fines for their various misdeeds when it comes to Libor/Euribor/FX rigging – but now one French bank has had a reprieve. Societe Generale said this morning that the European Commission had decided to refund €218.17m (£175.81m) of its €445.88m Euribor-rigging fine. Former employees of the bank, as [...]
Oh, he does like to be beside the seaside: Luke Johnson has just bought Brighton Pier for £18m April 8, 2016 He may be best known as the former owner of Pizza Express, but it seems Luke Johnson is more of a scream-if-you-want-to-go-faster man now: he's just splashed out (see what we did there?) on the company behind Brighton Pier. This morning Johnson's company, Aim-listed Eclectic Bar Group, said it had entered into an agreement with the [...]
Libor scandal: Top bosses must have known about rate rigging, alleges former Barclays trader April 7, 2016 A former Barclays banker who is currently standing trial accused of offences related to manipulating Libor has alleged that his bosses must have known about the rate-rigging scandal, a court was told today. Former Barclays traders Stylianos Contogoulas, Jay Merchant, Alex Pabon and Ryan Reich, along with one of Barclays' former Libor submitters Jonathan Mathew, [...]
Industry 4.0: How disruptive technology can rescue British manufacturing April 7, 2016 Industry 4.0 is revolutionising the way international manufacturers and construction companies approach business, but the UK has a long way to go if its industry is to keep pace with its European rivals. This new world is based on digitisation, which blurs the line between the virtual and the physical. Connected products and “smart” machines [...]
A drop in footfall means RBS, HSBC, and Barclays could all be about to close more branches around the country April 6, 2016 A continuing slide in the number of people using bank branches means three of Britain's biggest banks could be considering closing the doors on hundreds between them this year. RBS, HSBC, and Barclays have all said they are reviewing the number of branches they operate but were unable to comment on specific numbers. It was earlier reported by [...]
Blockchain just had two major firsts with new social payment app Circle, Barclays and Britain’s financial regulator April 6, 2016 London may be the centre of fintech innovation, but there’s one huge trend we’ve failed to jump on board with yet – social payment apps. Messaging your mate with that fiver you owe for last night’s round at the pub and a big smiley face emoji is pretty common in the US and China, especially [...]
Libor scandal: Those trading with Barclays would have felt cheated by accused bankers if they had heard about alleged actions April 6, 2016 Those trading with Barclays would have felt cheated if they had got wind of what the five accused bankers had allegedly done, said the lawyer for the fraud squad today. Former Barclays traders Stylianos Contogoulas, Jay Merchant, Alex Pabon and Ryan Reich, along with one of Barclays' former Libor submitters Jonathan Mathew, have been charged with conspiracy to [...]
Glencore share price falls after sale of agriculture stake disappoints April 6, 2016 Glencore shares fell today, after investors were left disappointed by the commodities miner and trader's sale of a minority stake its agriculture arm to Canada's largest pension fund. Glencore today confirmed it had sold a 40 per cent stake in its agriculture division to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) for $2.5bn (£1.8bn). The Swiss group's shares had popped at the [...]
The UK’s car buyers might be beginning to forgive Volkswagen April 6, 2016 Forget this month's Tesla mania. It seems the UK's car buyers finally forgiving and forgetting: after a tough(ish) few months for the marque in the UK, in March sales inched up – but only by a tiny bit. The figures, from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), suggested the brand sold 38,394 vehicles in March, 0.02 [...]