Hollande snaps up Bank of America’s Boone June 10, 2014 CHIEF European economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Laurence Boone, has been snapped up by French President Francois Hollande to be his new economic adviser after Emmanuel Macron stepped down. Boone was previously an economist at Barclays in Paris.
Barclays fears tech firms could replace banks June 10, 2014 BANKS must continue to invest in new technologies and customer service if they want to avoid being replaced by firms such as PayPal and Amazon, Barclays’ boss said yesterday. Chief executive Antony Jenkins said customers were increasingly happy to manage their finance online and banks must give them a reason to stay with traditional lenders [...]
Barclays fears Amazon and Google threaten traditional banks June 10, 2014 Customers will soon use tech firms like Amazon, Google and PayPal instead of banks, Barclays’ chief Antony Jenkins said today, promising to innovate more to compete with digital giants. The sector is already being shaken up by new banks being established, and big firms like Tesco offering current accounts. But Jenkins believes the [...]
Cinven clinches €510m fibre broadband move June 9, 2014 PRIVATE equity group Cinven has won a hotly contested auction to buy a Spanish fibre broadband company and take advantage of sector’s blossoming role in Europe and emerging markets. The group, based in Paternoster Square, will pay €510m (£413m) to carve out the telecoms unit of Gas Natural Fenosa, a Spanish utility company. The unit, [...]
Best of the Brokers for 10 June 2014 June 9, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com 3I GROUP Barclays has kept its “overweight” rating for 3i Group, while increasing the target price to 485p. The broker thinks there is a chance of higher capital returns and a pipeline for asset management expansion at the firm. COCA COLA HBC Deutsche [...]
Barclays rolling out contactless payment wristband next month June 9, 2014 BARCLAYS will launch a contactless payments wristband for consumers in 2015, called bPay, with trials of the wearable technology starting at sponsored events this year. The company hopes that the device will encourage cash-free payments as consumers increasingly turn to card and contactless payments. The British Summer Time music festival in Hyde Park will be [...]
London verges towards record share issuance June 9, 2014 LONDON’S booming stock market is on track for its biggest fundraising haul in a decade, after the first five months of this year outpaced the same period in 2007, figures show. A total of 40 companies have raised £5.7bn since the start of the year, according to Thomson Reuters, topping the £4.93bn raised in the [...]
GDP to jump as measurement changes made June 9, 2014 MAJOR changes to the way that the UK economy is measured are set to come into force this week, which will likely make the economy significantly larger than previously thought. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) will tomorrow bring in changes to the country’s national accounts which could boost GDP by around five per cent. [...]
Barclays rolling out contactless payment wristband next month June 9, 2014 BARCLAYS will launch a contactless payments wristband for consumers in 2015, called bPay, with trials of the wearable technology starting at sponsored events this year. The company hopes that the device will encourage cash-free payments as consumers increasingly turn to card and contactless payments. The British Summer Time music festival in Hyde Park will be [...]
TBC Bank prices London listing at lower price June 6, 2014 GEORGIA’S TBC Bank has set the price for an initial public offering (IPO) of global depositary receipts to be traded in London at $13 (£7.74), valuing the company at around $640m. In a statement yesterday the bank said the total size of the transaction was $238.7m excluding shares offered as part of an over-allotment option. [...]