Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger plan special Berkshire Hathaway letters to celebrate golden anniversary February 3, 2015 He may have admitted to getting it wrong as far as Tesco is concerned, but Warren Buffett still holds legendary status as the most successful investor of the 20th century. His annual letter to investors is always an event and this year will be even bigger than usual as Buffett and his business partner [...]
No time for ties as finance chief tours London February 2, 2015 GREEK finance minister Yanis Varoufakis looked liked a rock star as he trundled into Downing Street to meet George Osborne. Most male politicians that tread a similar path to the home of British political power wear the uniform of suit and tie. But Yanis came instead tieless and wearing a wax jacket. “We are both [...]
City Moves for 03 February 2015 | Who’s switching jobs February 2, 2015 HIG Capital Riccardo Dallolio has been appointed managing director and co-head of European real estate at the private equity investment firm. He previously worked at Axa RE, where he was head of alternatives and special situations, and has also held roles at JP Morgan and Grove International Partners. Coutts The private bank has announced the [...]
Chinese banks’ brands overtake HSBC and Santander by value February 1, 2015 CHINESE banks are leaping up the league tables of valuable brands, overtaking western titans according to a study out today from Brand Finance and The Banker magazine. ICBC’s valuation rose by 20 per cent on the year, climbing from sixth place to second, overtaking HSBC and threatening number one brand Wells Fargo. Agricultural Bank of [...]
New director to join Moneycorp January 29, 2015 FOREIGN exchange specialist Moneycorp has appointed Andy Reid as managing director of global payments. Reid was previously on the executive committee at Barclays Corporate, and has also worked at JP Morgan and HSBC. Moneycorp was bought by private equity firm Bridgepoint last August.
City Moves for 30 January 2015 | Who’s switching jobs January 29, 2015 Standard Chartered Aaron Russell-Davison has been appointed head of debt capital markets at the bank. He joined Standard Chartered in 2009, and has worked as head of Asian bond syndicate, global head, bond syndicate, and most recently as head of capital markets, ASEAN. UBS Global Asset Management Rachel Hill has been appointed UK business development [...]
John Laing float eyes £865m valuation January 29, 2015 Infrastructure investment group John Laing is eyeing a valuation of £865m from its initial public offering, in what would be the first major flotation on the London Stock Exchange this year. The group, which has been owned by fund manager Henderson since 2006, has set its indicative price range between 195p-245p per share, giving it a market [...]
Greek debt fear makes banks drag FTSE down – London Report January 27, 2015 BANKS led the FTSE 100 index lower yesterday as they slipped on concerns the Greek crisis could spread while miners fell with weaker metals prices. It ended the blue-chip index’s eight-session run to a four-month high on Monday. Mid-cap oil producer Afren plunged 71 per cent after saying it was in talks with its largest [...]
GrandVision IPO: Global optician eyes €1.3bn for float January 26, 2015 HAL Trust, the owner of global optician GrandVision, is looking to raise as much as €1.3bn (£971m) through the company’s initial public offering on Euronext, it emerged yesterday. GrandVision is the world’s largest optical retailer and operates under a gamut of national brands, including Vision Express in the UK. It owns over 5,600 stores across [...]
Over-70s most enthusiastic online bankers January 26, 2015 More than two million over-70s use online banking, and almost half a million over-60s have downloaded mobile banking apps, according to the British Bankers’ Association. Despite common perceptions that modern technologies are mainly adopted by the young, older customers are among the most enthusiastic users, according to the figures from RBS Group, Lloyds Banking Group, [...]