Burford Capital almost doubles earnings after stronger returns September 4, 2014 BURFORD Capital yesterday announced promising half-year financial results after a bond issue and new semi-annual dividend. The litigation finance firm, chaired by former Barclays chief Sir Peter Middleton, said pre-tax profits rose 89 per cent for the six months ending June to $18.2m (£11.1m). “This period has been a transformative one for the business with [...]
Bank of England MPC votes to keep interest rates at record low September 4, 2014 The Bank of England's monetary policy committee has done just what everyone was expecting, and held rates where they are at 0.5 per cent. The minutes of last month's meeting revealed the nine-person panel had been split seven to two in favour of leaving rates at their historic lows, and it is considered unlikely that [...]
Services surge ahead yet UK’s industry slows September 3, 2014 BRITISH services are reporting the fastest growth this year so far, even as the country’s manufacturers report a slowdown, suggesting that the recent expansion may be unbalancing. The August survey of the services sector conducted by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS) and Markit came in at 60.5 – the strongest since November [...]
City Moves for 04 September 2014 | Who’s switching jobs September 3, 2014 Savills The real estate adviser has announced the appointment of Andrew D Thompson as a director in its London-based building and project consultancy team. He joins from his own independent practice, and has previously held roles at CBRE, Drivers Jonas, and Wilks Head & Eve. Aviva Investors David Lis has been appointed chief investment officer, [...]
City Moves for 03 September 2014 | Who’s switching jobs September 2, 2014 Alvarez & Marsal Senthil Alagar has been appointed managing director in the professional services firm’s restructuring and turnaround team in London. He joins from Barclays, where he headed its UK & Ireland business support restructuring team. Alagar has also held roles at Bank of Scotland, PwC and EY. M&G Real Estate Steven Hollands has been [...]
Barclays’ Spanish sell-off gets positive response despite loss September 1, 2014 BARCLAYS was given a generally positive response from analysts and shareholders yesterday to the sale of most of its Spanish arm, as the bank pursues a major restructuring including disposal of non-core assets. Spain’s third largest bank Caixabank will pay €800m for parts of Barclays Spanish business, but Barclays revealed it will make a £500m [...]
Barclays to make a £500m loss on its Spanish arm as it agrees sale to CaixaBank September 1, 2014 Barclays has agreed to sell its Spanish business to CaixaBank, Spain's third-largest lender, for €800m (£630m). The bank will make a £500m loss on the deal to sell its Spanish retail banking, wealth and investment management, and corporate banking businesses, but leverage exposure will be trimmed to the tune of £15bn. Shares in Barclays were [...]
Dreary Eurozone outlook raises pressure on Draghi August 31, 2014 The policymakers of the European Central Bank (ECB) will meet again this week, faced with an increasingly dismal economic outlook and a growing chorus of disapproval. Grim figures released on Friday confirmed that consumer price inflation in the euro area dropped to just 0.3 per cent in August, the lowest level in nearly five years. [...]
RAC drives on with Rake amid flotation boom August 31, 2014 RAC has appointed CBI president Sir Michael Rake as its chairman today, as the major UK roadside breakdown recovery and car insurance firm considers whether to go ahead with a potential float this month, with the possibility of a retail offering. Rake has a wealth of board experience, also currently serving as chairman of major [...]
BBC Trust go for Rona Fairhead – its first female chair August 31, 2014 Former Financial Times Group boss Rona Fairhead will become the new chairman of the BBC Trust, the government announced yesterday. Yesterday culture secretary Sajid Javid announced Fairhead was the preferred candidate to replace Lord Patten, who stepped down in May due to ill health after three turbulent years overseeing the broadcaster. Fairhead, 53 [...]