The number of UK businesses breaks 3m mark November 16, 2014 The number of active firms in the UK has broken through the 3m level for the first time, as a surge in entrepreneurship takes hold, according to Barclays and the Business Growth Fund (BGF). School leavers setting up firms have been joined by a growing number of older workers who find themselves out of a [...]
City Moves for 14 November 2014 | Who’s switching jobs November 13, 2014 Spencer Ogden Lord Smith of Finsbury has been appointed non-executive director at the energy recruitment consultancy. He is a former secretary of state for culture, and shadow secretary of state for the environment, and was chairman of the Environment Agency. Simmons & Simmons The law firm has announced the appointment of Paul Bugingo as a partner [...]
Forex rigging scandal: RBS, UBS, HSBC, JP Morgan and Citi set for lawsuit storm after £2bn FCA fine November 12, 2014 Funds, companies and other traders hurt by banks manipulating the foreign exchange markets could make claims totalling many billions of pounds, lawyers said yesterday. Five banks were fined a total of £2bn by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission authorities because their traders fiddled key currency benchmarks. But the [...]
Forex rigging scandal: Record fines doled out to banks but Barclays refuses to play ball November 12, 2014 Five global banks were fined yesterday by UK and US regulators, in a record £2bn punishment for traders fiddling crucial foreign exchange benchmarks from 2008 to 2013. The fines were particularly stiff because some of the manipulation took place after attempts at Libor fiddling had already been exposed. Barclays stood out yesterday, having not yet [...]
Forex rigging scandal – a timeline of the banking probe November 12, 2014 Spring 2008 Bank of England’s foreign exchange joint standing committee’s (chief dealers sub-group) starts to raise concerns about the capacity to fix FX benchmarks June 2013 The Financial Conduct Authority launches a preliminary investigation into claims banks were rigging the FX rate to benefit at the expense of clients October 2013 The Financial [...]
City Moves for 13 November 2014 | Who’s switching jobs November 12, 2014 Pinsent Masons The law firm has announced the appointment of Meriam Alrashid as an international arbitration partner in its global construction practice in London. A fluent Arabic speaker, she joins from Crowell & Moring and has particular experience in the Middle East and North Africa. Hermes Investment Management Vincent Nobel has been appointed head of [...]
FTSE declines after banks fined over forex manipulation – London Report November 12, 2014 BRITAIN’S top equity index fell yesterday, hit by disappointing corporate updates and a decline in bank shares, after regulators imposed fines to settle allegations of foreign exchange malpractice. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index, which had risen for the last five sessions in a row, closed down 0.3 per cent at 6,611.04 points. The index held [...]
FCA hits RBS, HSBC, UBS, JPMorgan and Citi with record £1.1bn fine in forex rigging scandal November 12, 2014 Some of Britain's biggest banks have been slapped with a fine of £1.1bn by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for "failing to control business practices" in their foreign exchange trading operations. After a year-long investigation into allegations of rate-rigging in their spot forex trading businesses, the UK's financial watchdog said the actions of the five [...]
Banks brace for record forex settlement fine November 11, 2014 BANKS in the UK will today be told how much they have to pay the banking regulator in fines, following a year-long investigation into the manipulation of foreign exchange markets. Six banks, including three based in the UK, will face record fines this morning as part of the forex probe. The combined penalty to be [...]
Better Capital’s Jon Moulton goes on £20m Walkabout with purchase of Australian-themed pub chain November 10, 2014 Better Capital, the turnaround fund owned by veteran venture capitalist Jon Moulton, yesterday announced it had bought Australian-themed pub chain Walkabout in a deal worth £20m. The fund said in a statement it had successfully acquired Walkabout’s parent company iNTERTAIN. The company had been controlled by creditors since 2009. It was formed out of the [...]