Barclays ends free banking for most SMEs January 23, 2014 BARCLAYS is moving more than 500,000 business customers onto a new set of accounts over this year, the bank said yesterday, to consolidate its SME (small and medium enterprise) operations. Around 60 per cent will be better off or pay no more than £1.50 per month extra, the bank said. But that leaves 40 per [...]
Jenkins warns global economy still at risk January 22, 2014 BARCLAYS chief executive Antony Jenkins yesterday warned global markets would remain at risk of a repeat of the global financial crisis until the end of the decade. “It’s very difficult to argue that the financial system is not safer than it was in 2008, but the question is how much safer is it,” he said [...]
Growth puts the UK on track to beat its budget deficit target January 22, 2014 THE BUDGET deficit narrowed marginally during December this year, dropping by £2.1bn to £12.1bn, compared to the same month of 2012, suggesting that the Treasury may meet its target on public finances after many revisions. Public borrowing for the financial year up to December hit £96.1bn, falling by almost five per cent compared to 2012-13’s [...]
Quercus puts itself up for sale as losses mount January 22, 2014 QUERCUS, the independent publisher behind Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, yesterday unexpectedly announced that it is up for sale. In a surprise stock market announcement, the Baker Street-based firm said that it had appointed mergers and acquisitions specialists Livingstone Partners to advise on the sale process. The firm said it believed it was “in the [...]
Slump in debt trading sends shockwaves across City firms January 20, 2014 BANK shares fell yesterday as fears mounted that global bond trading is facing a prolonged decline, after Deutsche Bank swung to a surprise loss in the final quarter of 2013. The German lender joined Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, who last week reported weak fixed income trading revenues. Deutsche Bank’s shares dived another 5.4 per cent, [...]
Warburg Pincus plants flag in ETF industry after buying stake from investment banks January 20, 2014 US PRIVATE equity giant Warburg Pincus made its first foray into the increasingly competitive world of exchange traded funds (ETF) yesterday by taking a majority stake in fund provider Source. The buyout house, which also owns half of Santander Asset Management, has bought a 51 per cent stake in the ETF business from its five [...]
Best of the Brokers for 21 January 2014 January 20, 2014 AB FOODS UBS has given Associated British Foods a buy rating and lifted its price target to 2,890p, based on a stellar performance from Primark. UBS said the low-priced “fast fashion” chain was being rolled out throughout Europe and its first French store opening was one of its best to date. RENTOKIL Peel Hunt has [...]
London Report: Deutsche’s loss knocks the FTSE and UK banks January 20, 2014 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 stalled near an eight-month high yesterday, held back by weak banking shares as a surprise loss at Germany’s Deutsche Bank was seen as a bad omen for UK lenders’ results. Britain’s main share index, however, was expected to resume its uptrend soon and hit highs not seen since 1999, boosted by a [...]
Barclays ends free banking for most SMEs January 20, 2014 BARCLAYS is moving more than 500,000 business customers onto a new set of accounts over this year, the bank said yesterday, to consolidate its SME (small and medium enterprise) operations. Around 60 per cent will be better off or pay no more than £1.50 per month extra, the bank said. But that leaves 40 per [...]
London Report: Unemployment near threshold for UK rate hike January 19, 2014 UNEMPLOYMENT figures due out this week look set to show further signs of the UK’s recovery, with November’s rate expected to have fallen. Alan Clarke, of ScotiaBank said: “The highlight of the UK economic calendar is going to be the labour report, where we see a very good chance that the unemployment rate falls by [...]