Consumers win as UK inflation continues to fall – London Report October 12, 2014 Consumers are winning out as low petrol prices and the continuing supermarket price war drive inflation down. Data out tomorrow is expected to show consumer price inflation for September fell to a five-year low of 1.4 per cent – well below the Bank of England’s target rate of two per cent. However, weak earnings growth [...]
Exclusive: Barclays recruits staff to complement digital growth October 9, 2014 Barclays is hiring more staff to advise small businesses and exporters, in a change to its plan to automate every service possible, City A.M. has learned. Chief executive Antony Jenkins is pushing to use cutting-edge technology wherever possible to automate processes and cut down on the need to retain an enormous workforce. But the bank [...]
Tourists flocking to UK as 10m visitors make it a bumper year October 9, 2014 Tourism provided a welcome boost to the UK economy over the last year with more than 10m overseas visitors opting for a British holiday. The number of tourists visiting the UK was up six per cent for the year-to-date, according to figures released yesterday by the Office for National Statistics. Meanwhile, the beaches of Brighton [...]
Barclays’ Sam Dean makes speedy return to bank as chairman of global finance and risk solutions October 8, 2014 When Barclays’ head of equity capital markets Sam Dean announced he was taking a sabbatical last December it raised a number of eyebrows in the City. Dean, a highly popular and well-respected part of the Barclays team, cited family reasons for his break, but that didn’t stop the bank’s rivals from gossiping about whether the [...]
City Moves for 9 October 2014 | Who’s switching jobs October 8, 2014 Fidelity Worldwide Investment Peter Horrell has been appointed managing director of the investment firm’s UK business. He has spent the past 24 years at Barclays, where he was most recently chief executive of wealth and investment management. Sovereign Land The retail and leisure developer and asset management firm has appointed Luke Winstanley as senior analyst. [...]
Victory for Fraud Office as British banker pleads guilty in Libor case October 7, 2014 THE BRITISH authorities have claimed victory in the first of at least 12 prosecutions against bankers and financiers accused of trying to manipulate the key inter-bank interest rate benchmark, Libor. One banker pleaded guilty on Friday, but cannot yet be named for legal reasons. The High Court believes that revealing the identity of the banker could affect [...]
City Moves for 7 October 2014 | Who’s switching jobs October 6, 2014 Brooks Macdonald International (BMI) The investment manager has appointed Darren Zaman as chief executive of its offshore business. He was chief executive of DPZ Capital, a wealth management firm acquired by BMI in April. Zaman has also held roles at HSBC Investments and Le Masurier James and Chinn. BTMU Masato Miyachi has been promoted to [...]
Banks lead the pack as FTSE bounces back – London Report October 6, 2014 GAINS in major bank stocks led Britain’s benchmark equity index higher yesterday, and troubled supermarket group Tesco rose after new board appointments. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index, which fell to its lowest closing level in nearly a year last week, closed up by 0.6 per cent, or 35.74 points, at 6,563.65 points. Among the financials, [...]
Mobilising the best of British: How the City can get behind the new-look armed forces October 6, 2014 The Olympics, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the annual Lord Mayor’s Show have all showcased the very best of Britain and London. And at the centre of each of these events have been our armed forces. As military operations in Afghanistan draw to a close, our armed forces are changing. We are expanding the role [...]
Virgin Money IPO: Retail investors denied place in yet another float October 2, 2014 Virgin Money defended its choice to sell its shares exclusively to institutional investors – as revealed yesterday in City A. M. – arguing it made for a smoother flotation. Small investors have missed the chance to invest in the majority of IPOs over the past year – the last very large float with a [...]