Asos’ profit takes a hit as retailer announces £2.5bn sales goal April 2, 2014 Asos has announced a 22 per cent fall in profit before tax to £20.1m the six months to February, as heavy investment in customer proposition, infrastructure, personnel and capacity takes its toll. But expansion costs were expected by and for the fashion retailer, and Numis has described it as “loaded with investment for growth” this morning. [...]
Exova valuation could reach as high as £650m April 1, 2014 EXOVA, a laboratory-based testing company, has said its valuation might be as high as £650m, according to the advisers to its forthcoming London flotation. The indicative price range for the Edinburgh-based company, which works mainly for oil and gas, aerospace and other transport industries, is 210p to 260p. The management team is led by Ian [...]
Banks’ fines undermine capital April 1, 2014 THE BANKING sector could be weaker than it claims, because banks face growing conduct and legal bills, top regulator Andrew Bailey warned yesterday. Bailey runs the Bank of England’s prudential regulation authority (PRA) which has focused on pushing banks to increase their capital buffers and improve their leverage positions. In the wake of its study of the market [...]
City Moves for 02 April 2014 | Who’s switching jobs April 1, 2014 Baringa Partners The management consultancy has announced the appointment of Simon Anderson as a partner in its markets and trading team. He joins from Deutsche Bank, where he was a director and senior business architect in its corporate banking and securities division. Coutts The bank has appointed Sophie Chapuisat as head of products and services [...]
Britain’s biggest bosses see bonuses fall for third year March 31, 2014 BRITAIN’S top executives saw their bonuses fall and their overall pay rise by less than the rate of inflation last year, according to a PwC study out today. Despite perceptions that bosses’ pay has kept on soaring throughout the financial crisis and subsequent slump, the figures show chief executives’ bonuses have in fact fallen in [...]
Diamond buys African bank March 31, 2014 EX-BARCLAYS boss Bob Diamond yesterday bought his way back into the banking sector in a $265m (£192.3m) deal to buy an African bank. Diamond’s shell firm Atlas Mara snapped up a majority stake in BancABC, a Botswana-based lender with operations across the continent. It is also buying the ADC African Development Corporation. “Our objective is to [...]
Regulators step up probes into currency fixing March 31, 2014 COMPETITION authorities in Switzerland yesterday took their probe into alleged foreign exchange market manipulation to the next level, opening investigations into eight banks. The banks are spread across Switzerland, the UK and US, and the move represents the latest step by a range of global regulators to get to the bottom of claims of market [...]
Burford starts to reap rewards as earnings rise higher again March 31, 2014 BURFORD Capital, the litigation finance firm chaired by former Barclays chair Sir Peter Middleton, yesterday said surging investment returns helped deliver better profits last year. The group, which primarily provides financial funding for litigation, said pre-tax profits rose 25 per cent for the year ending December 2013 to $42.5m. “We’ve hit a point in our [...]
UK Bitcoin exchange shuts up shop | City A.M. March 31, 2014 Bit121 a UK-based Bitcoin exchange has suspended trading and will be closing temporarily from today. The exchange has not confirmed when it will reopen. Bit121’s site functionality was removed on the 26 March. However, the site did provide the following exceptions: 1. Users will be able to view their account balance and account statement2. Users [...]
UK Bitcoin exchange shuts up shop March 31, 2014 Bit121 a UK-based Bitcoin exchange has suspended trading and will be closing temporarily from today. The exchange has not confirmed when it will reopen. Bit121's site functionality was removed on the 26 March. However, the site did provide the following exceptions: 1. Users will be able to view their account balance and account statement2. Users [...]