Inside Track: Crystal Methodist could jeopardise Co-op Bank’s rescue November 20, 2013 SAYING it with Flowers has just assumed an entirely new meaning. The debacle at the Co-op – fuelled by revelations about former bank chairman Paul Flowers’ extra-curricular behaviour – raises profound questions for regulators, government and bank boards alike. Lord Myners, the former Labour city minister, was right to raise the possibility that this week’s [...]
Barclays cuts Christmas hours for IT and account contractors November 20, 2013 HUNDREDS of contract workers at Barclays are to lose 10 days’ work before the end of the year, City A.M. understands, in a move which surprised staff. The contractors in Barclays Finance were told this week that they would have to take off 10 unpaid days by the end of the year. “The bank has [...]
Chrysler adds four bookrunners as it eyes early December float November 20, 2013 CHRYSLER Group has added four banks to help underwrite its proposed initial public offering (IPO), as the US carmaker looks to launch the deal as soon as early December, according to people familiar with the matter. Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS have been appointed as bookrunners in the offering, which is being led [...]
City Moves for 21 November 2013 | Who’s switching jobs November 20, 2013 Barclays The bank has announced the appointment of James Brincat to its Beyond Benefits business. He has over 12 years’ experience working in financial services. Brincat was most recently at Thomsons Online Benefits, where he was an account director and head of partnerships. ING The financial services group has hired Leo Greve as head of [...]
UBS downgrades Royal Mail to “sell” as panel of MPs begin grilling bankers on sale November 20, 2013 UBS analysts have downgraded their recommendation for the Royal Mail, advising clients to "sell" shares in the postal service. UBS, one of the banks that ran the flotation of the company, recommends selling on valuation grounds, with a target of 450p. Shares have surged over 60 per cent since they were sold, but UBS now [...]
Best of the Brokers for 20 November 2013 November 19, 2013 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com QUINTAIN Barclays keeps its overweight rating on the London property developer but has trimmed its target price by 2p to 130p following the sale of its Greenwich project. The broker thinks the growing demand for homes in the city will play in Quintain’s [...]
London Report: Intertek caution drags FTSE to a sub-6,700 close November 19, 2013 B RITAIN’S top share index slipped yesterday, hurt by testing firm Intertek on worries over a slowdown in its business, though analysts were confident that technical support would cap any weakness in the broader market. Intertek, a company specialising in safety and quality tests, fell 2.5 per cent after saying headwinds experienced in the first [...]
We should applaud the corporate contrarians who reveal misconduct November 19, 2013 THE PUBLIC has lost faith in key parts of the business sector. It has endured the mis-selling of payment protection insurance, the rigging of Libor, insider trading, and an ongoing probe into the forex markets. Something has gone badly wrong. But why do so few in business have the courage to speak out about wrongdoing [...]
Dividends and insurance claims to be paid via smartphone app November 18, 2013 INSURANCE claims, dividends and refunds from firms can be paid via smartphone app PingIt, Barclays announced today, in the latest phase of its mobile payments war with other lenders and cross-bank offering Zapp. Previously PingIt has been used for person-to-person payments and customer-to-company transfers, and is on offer to customers of any bank. But now [...]
Aberdeen set to win £500m bid battle for Swip November 18, 2013 ABERDEEN Asset Management is poised to sign a £500m deal to buy Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (Swip) after beating a rival bidder to land the company. The all share deal – which would give Lloyds just under a 10 per cent stake in Aberdeen – is set to be unveiled this morning after the other [...]