CNBC Comment: Is fixed income dying or just sickly? May 12, 2014 SHOULD investment banks cut off the tail before it infects the body, or nurse it back to health? This is the conundrum confronting banks with fixed income divisions. Once bread and butter for bank profits, the industry is now left fighting over stale crumbs. Barclays’s restructure of its investment bank has sparked fresh debate about [...]
City vacancies jump 67pc but financial transaction tax trauma looms May 12, 2014 Vacancies in London’s financial services companies leapt 67 per cent last month, as employers looked for workers to manage increasing compliance demands from regulators, according to recruitment consultancy Morgan McKinley. 8,955 jobs were advertised in the City and across the capital. In April 2013, the figures stood at 5,355. 41 per cent more people are [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 12 May 2014 May 11, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Fraud office steps up Barclays probe Bob Diamond, John Varley and other senior members of Barclays’ former management are set to be questioned under caution by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office, in an acceleration of its probe into alleged corrupt arrangements in Qatar as part of the bank’s emergency cash call in 2008. [...]
Barclays resigned to shrink investment arm May 11, 2014 BARCLAYS has to focus on a smaller, more profitable investment bank, rather than aiming to be a giant player, boss Antony Jenkins admitted yesterday. “Investment banking has changed significantly – size itself is not really the objective,” he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr.
City Moves for 12 May 2014 | Who’s switching jobs May 11, 2014 Shepherd and Wedderburn Financial The financial advisory firm has announced the appointment of Sarah Tory as a financial adviser. She joins from Origen Private Client Solutions, where she was a consultant. KPMG The professional services firm has made two appointments. Richard Gostling joins its executive management team as head of sectors. He was most recently [...]
Best of the Brokers for 12 May 2014 May 11, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com ARROW GLOBAL Numis thinks the debt purchaser could be a big beneficiary of Barclays’ decision to create a “bad bank”, with the potential for big acquisitions across Europe. The broker has upgraded its recommendation from “add” to “buy” and keeps a target price [...]
Letters to the Editor – 12/05 – Astrazeneca board, City jobs, Best of Twitter May 11, 2014 Astrazeneca board [Re: Why the government doesn’t need to protect Astrazeneca, Friday] A sound and balanced piece by Roger Barker. I am somewhat impressed by the integrity shown by the Astrazeneca board so far in this bid. I sense that they have real belief in their strategy now that they are seeing evidence of recovery [...]
Barclays cuts investment bank jobs in major overhaul May 8, 2014 BARCLAYS yesterday abandoned former chief executive Bob Diamond’s dream of becoming a top global investment bank in every market, revealing plans to lay off 7,000 more staff. As part of his long-awaited strategic overhaul of the bank, chief executive Antony Jenkins also announced plans to focus only on areas where the bank has strong returns [...]
Job cuts in the City: A case study in political double standards May 8, 2014 IT’S amazing how fashions change. Just a few years ago, prior to the financial crisis, Big Pharma was demonised. It could do nothing right, and was blamed for many of the world’s ills. At the very same time, banks were lionised and lauded as the new saviours of the economy, with Alex Salmond, the leader [...]
Bottom Line: Barclays is moving to the post-crisis age May 8, 2014 BARCLAYS came through the 2007-08 global financial crisis in relatively good shape, tapping up investors across the world to stay afloat rather than sinking like RBS or Lloyds. But there was no way it could keep on playing as it did in the boom years – weak markets hit profits and investors became more aware [...]