New York Report: Strong US auto sales set to lift retail figures September 7, 2014 RETAIL sales figures are the most keenly-awaited data this week. The Commerce Department is expected to report on Friday that they increased 0.6 per cent in August, driven by robust automobile sales, after being flat in July. Core retail sales, a gauge of consumer spending, are expected to have risen 0.3 per cent after July’s [...]
EU bonus cap: UK’s challenge reaches final stage in court September 7, 2014 The UK's challenge to the European Union's bonus cap plan will be heard in the European Court of Justice tomorrow. This will be the final stage in the case opened by the UK Treasury last September. The new rule, which is supposed to be imposed on all bonuses awarded from 2014 onwards, caps bankers' [...]
Bob Diamond’s fund Atlas Mara increases stake in Union Bank of Nigeria September 5, 2014 Former Barclays chief Bob Diamond's African investment vehicle has increased its stake in a Nigerian banking group by nearly 30 per cent as it bets on the success of the country's economy. Atlas Mara exercised an option to buy a 20.9 per cent stake in Union Bank of Nigeria from the Asset Management Corporation of [...]
Standard Life share price rockets on £2.2bn deal with Manulife September 4, 2014 Standard Life received a bullish response yesterday from markets and analysts to the sale of its Canadian business for C$4bn (£2.2bn), as shares sky-rocketed and analysts upgraded forecasts after the mega deal. Shares in the huge FTSE 100 listed insurance and investment firm surged by nearly 11 per cent in early trading, before finishing [...]
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 [...]