Victory for the City as EU backs down on banker bonuses December 13, 2013 The European Banking Authority has revised its position on capping banker bonuses. Bankers earning over €500,000 (£420,000) a year could be exempted from the cap if they are deemed not be major risk takers. Institutions will need to seek the permission of the EBA to exempt staff members from the cap. The original restriction sought [...]
Inside Track: Bank of America Merrill Lynch closes 2013 with a flurry December 12, 2013 THE timing appeared so impeccable, you almost felt it must have been staged. Just as Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s head of equity capital markets was running through a presentation on how the bank has gained market share over the year, one of the mobiles on the desk in front of him rang. With that [...]
As Barclays backs out of bike deal, here are 4 ways TfL can attract greater sponsorship December 11, 2013 In the wake of the announcement that Barclays will not renew its sponsorship of the London bike hire scheme, here are four ways that Transport for London (TfL) could attract greater commercial investment. 1. TfL should be more active in seeking sponsorship In a report for GLA Conservatives, Gareth Bacon suggested TfL should be more [...]
Barclays to end its sponsorship of Boris Bikes December 10, 2013 BARCLAYS will not renew its sponsorship of the London bicycle hire scheme when it ends in 2015, it confirmed last night. The bank signed a deal worth £50m to sponsor the bikes, named colloquially after London mayor Boris Johnson, in 2010. But in a joint statement with Transport for London, Barclays said it will not [...]
Barclays make non-US stocks their top pick for 2014. Here’s why December 10, 2013 Barclays say that the big story of 2013 was the re-pricing of equities versus bonds, as equities soared against a background of plunging bond values. Now a mixed global outlook for 2014 gives opportunities to seize advantage of cheap European and emerging market equities, according to Barclay's head of equity research, Stu Linde. Marco Outlook [...]
Barclays equity boss Dean to take sabbatical December 9, 2013 BARCLAYS announced unexpectedly yesterday that Sam Dean, its highly popular and experienced head of equity capital markets in Europe, is taking a sabbatical for family reasons. The news comes at the end of a year during which Dean’s team enjoyed prominence in a number of transactions, acting in the privatisation of Royal Mail and on [...]
Kentz’s shares surge on £266m US acquisition December 9, 2013 ENGINEERING firm Kentz saw its share price soar by nearly 13 per cent yesterday after it unveiled a $435m (£265.6m) acquisition of US firm Valerus. Kentz, which was the subject of a failed takeover approach earlier this year, had long said it wanted to grow its engineering arm in order to bid for more engineering, [...]
Barclays sees European oil sector bounce in 2014 December 9, 2013 The European oil sector will bounce back from its 10-year low against the FTEU300, according to Barclays. The sector has underperformed the wider European market by 25 per cent since 2012. Following five years of massive capital expenditure Barclays see a turning point for the sector both operationally and financially. The bank forecasts aggregate production [...]
Ex Barclays chief Bob Diamond returns December 9, 2013 Former Barclays chief executive plans his City comeback BOB DIAMOND is launching a new investment vehicle in London to fund a venture into African banking, his first big move since leaving Barclays in last year’s Libor scandal. City commentators welcomed the investment banker’s return, 18 months after he bore the brunt of the blame for [...]
Investors set to bankroll firms’ recovery plans December 8, 2013 BRITAIN’S recovery will prompt a surge in firms asking investors for more money to fund growth, Capita Asset Services predicted today. Since the crisis companies have increased the amount of cash they return to investors on the basis that this was a better use of the funds than investing them in a low-growth period. From [...]