Best of the Brokers for 30 October 2015 October 30, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT Barclays maintained its “equal weight” rating, but lowered its target price for Aberdeen Asset Management to 350p from 400p as it projects a “painful quarter” leading up to its final results at the end of next month. The broker [...]
Corporates to bond at spooky fetish parties October 29, 2015 Halloween is nearly upon us, and if you still haven’t found a house party to crash, the City has pulled out all the stops (along with some whips and chains) for some swanky celebrations. Top of any Square Mile grandee’s list must surely be the Barbican Halloween Ball taking place in the Guildhall’s crypts on [...]
Blythe Masters’ Digital Asset Holdings just bought blockchain start-up Blockstack.io October 29, 2015 Blythe Masters’ Digital Asset Holdings just bought a blockchain start-up. The company announced it would be buying Blockstack.io, a cloud-based blockchain system that offers "blockchain-as-a-service" for financial players. Masters, the former JPMorgan Chase executive, confirmed the takeover today: Blockstack’s solutions will enhance the existing Digital Asset technology stack and Miron, a renowned pioneer in the [...]
Barclays’ share price falls as it reports a 10 per cent slide in adjusted pre-tax profits for the third quarter October 29, 2015 Barclays reported adjusted pre-tax profits to have fallen, missing expectations. Barclays' share price fell 3.34 per cent in early morning trading on the news. The figures Barclays reported a 10 per cent fall in adjusted pre-tax profit to £1.43bn for the third quarter, from £1.85bn last quarter and £1.59bn for the same period a year ago. [...]
Business ethics doesn’t need to be greeted with cynicism: Stop using abstract terms and start telling stories October 29, 2015 In a memo to Barclays staff, incoming chief executive Jes Staley laid out his ethical vision for the bank. “There can be no retreat from becoming a values driven organisation which conducts itself with integrity at all times,” he said. Unfortunately for Staley, company values can often fall on deaf ears, especially when you’re [...]
Who is Jes Staley? Former J P Morgan chief executive takes reins at Barclays October 28, 2015 It was widely rumoured for days before but this morning Barclays finally confirmed Jes Staley would be taking the reins at the bank. He'll have plenty of work in his inbox when he arrives on 1 December. But what is his background and what are the key priorities? Who is Jes Staley? The 58-year-old is a banking [...]
Barclays confirms Jes Staley as new chief executive October 28, 2015 Barclays has confirmed Jes Staley as its new group chief executive. The bank said this morning that Staley will take up his new job on 1 December. Barclays chairman John McFarlane said: “Barclays is an incredibly important, broad and complex business. Appointing an individual with the business scope, seasoning and track record is a difficult challenge. "In [...]
Littlewoods owner Shop Direct posts record profits thanks to mobile sales boom October 27, 2015 Shop Direct has posted a 78 per cent leap in full-year profits thanks to booming mobile sales and a surge in customers flocking to its main website Very.co.uk. The online retailer, which pulled the shutters down on its catalogue business this year, said pre-tax profits reached a record £71.7m in the year to 30 June [...]
India’s biggest airline IndiGo launches $465m IPO October 27, 2015 IndiGo, India's biggest airline, has begun proceedings for a $465m (£302m) initial public offering. The budget airline is India's largest by passenger numbers – in one of the world's fastest-growing aviation markets. Read more: AirAsia inks £11bn deal with Airbus "They have figured out that people are more focused on getting to their destination on time than anything else. And they [...]
City Moves for 26 October 2015 | Who’s switching jobs October 25, 2015 KPMG Catherine Grum has been appointed head of the professional services firm’s family office. She joins from Salamanca Group, where she was head of the private office. Grum has also previously worked as head of wealth advisory, for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, at Barclays Wealth & Investment Management, and for the private client [...]