Barclays among 10 banks fined for abusing research to win deals December 11, 2014 TEN GLOBAL banks were fined a total of $43.5m (£27.7m) by US regulators yesterday for their attempts to misuse analysts’ research to gain lucrative jobs on Toys R Us’ attempted stock market flotation in 2010. Analysts’ research is supposed to be a neutral assessment of a floating stock’s value. But the Financial Industry Regulation Authority (Finra) said [...]
City firms dominate Stonewall’s Star Performers list December 11, 2014 City firms including Barclays and Goldman Sachs have dominated the "Star Performers" list published by Stonewall today. The group said the eight companies on the list have been "consistently ranked as top 10 gay-friendly workplaces" in its annual Workplace Equality Index. Other star performers included consultant Accenture, law firm Simmons & Simmons, tech giant IBM, [...]
Investec “I can’t breathe” research note comparing Eric Garner’s death to bank’s regulatory woes provokes angry reaction December 10, 2014 The dying words of Eric Garner, whose untimely death has sparked a wave of protests across the US, have become a rallying cry for millions of Americans protesting against US police tactics. But it is not a phrase that banks should be using to discuss corporate research, brand and marketing professionals said yesterday. “I can’t breathe,” [...]
FCA chiefs Martin Wheatley and David Lawton cling on despite damning Davis report on insurance market fiasco December 10, 2014 City watchdog Martin Wheatley came in for criticism yesterday as the £3.8m Davis report on the regulator’s handling of media briefings was released to the public. The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) chief executive will forgo his bonus for 2013-14 as a result of the findings, as will David Lawton, director of markets, Zitah McMillan, director [...]
City Moves for 11 December 2014 | Who’s switching jobs December 10, 2014 Baringa James Belmont joins the management consultancy as director of its new risk analytics service. Belmont has over 15 years’ experience in consultancy and industry, and has held senior positions at Barclays, Alliance & Leicester and PA Consulting. Linklaters The law firm has appointed Scott Campbell as managing partner for the United Arab Emirates. The [...]
Dow plunges 268 points but airlines climb – New York Report December 10, 2014 US STOCKS lost more than one per cent yesterday in the S&P 500’s biggest decline since 13 October as another big drop in oil prices hammered energy shares. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 268.05 points, or 1.51 per cent, to 17,533.15, the S&P 500 lost 33.68 points, or 1.64 per cent, to 2,026.14 while [...]
Snap presidential election prompts Greek stock dive December 9, 2014 Political instability in Greece has prompted the biggest one-day stock market fall in the country since the 1980s, amid fears that radical left-wing party Syriza could swoop into political office and lead the country out of the Eurozone. Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has announced that a presidential election will be brought forward by two months, [...]
FTSE tumbles on Tesco share price turmoil as banks take a hit – London Report December 9, 2014 Britain’s main equity index yesterday fell to one-month lows, hit by supermarket retailer Tesco’s fourth profit warning this year. Shares in Tesco at one stage fell as much as 17 per cent to their lowest in around 14 years, wiping some £2.6bn off the firm’s market capitalisation. It later regained some ground to close 6.6 [...]
No banking unit safe from probes December 4, 2014 EVERY part of Britain’s banks will be open to scrutiny by the new Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), its chief executive Alex Chisholm said yesterday. He denied the body was swayed by politicians and their focus on retail banking. Chisholm insisted his mandate covered any type of anti-competitive behaviour across the whole sector. So far, retail [...]
City Moves for 05 December 2014 | Who’s switching jobs December 4, 2014 Three Crowns The global arbitration law firm has appointed Carmen Martinez Lopez as a partner in its London office. She joins from Covington & Burling, where she was an arbitration partner. Martinez Lopez has particular expertise in the Latin American and Spanish language markets. Armstrong Investment Managers Christopher Sullivan has been appointed director and head [...]