Fed QE taper fears on hold for now October 21, 2013 But a subsequent rally in global equities may be short-lived given the lingering uncertainties Global equities traded close to five-year highs yesterday, in part buoyed by expectations of a delay to the Federal Reserve’s tapering of its quantitative easing (QE) programme. The MSCI world index rose 0.7 per cent before dropping slightly, and the FTSE [...]
Becker raises doubts over Federer’s Olympic ambition October 21, 2013 LONDON 2012 silver medallist Roger Federer hopes to play at the Rio Olympics in 2016, but former world No1 Boris Becker believes that ambition is “far fetched”. Federer reached the Swiss Indoors second round yesterday to maintain his charge towards the World Tour finals at the O2 Arena. But after a forgettable year for the [...]
Hands’ Terra Firma set for £1bn flotation of Infinis October 21, 2013 TERRA Firma, the private equity firm controlled by seasoned investor Guy Hands, is today expected to lay out plans to float wind power firm Infinis on the London stock exchange, valuing its equity stake at £1bn. Infinis, the country’s biggest independent generator of renewable power, was snapped up by Hands’ group 10 years ago using [...]
Barclays in SME loan bid October 20, 2013 BARCLAYS will offer small firms pre-approved loans, the bank said today, making it easier to access credit. More than 60 per cent of firms with a turnover of more than £10,000 will qualify automatically for the loans of up to £15,500 when the service is launched this month. Banks have been under pressure from regulators [...]
Confirmation of high Chinese growth lifts European markets October 18, 2013 The Chinese economy has posted a thumping 7.8 per cent annual growth for the third quarter of 2013. That's in-line with consensus forecasts, and an acceleration from the 7.5 per cent growth posted last quarter. Unless the fourth quarter sees a ghastly GDP number, China will hit the government's target of 7.5 per cent growth [...]
New Libor claims hit Barclays October 17, 2013 BARCLAYS’ Libor crisis came back to haunt the bank yesterday as senior managers were accused of knowing that traders tried to manipulate the key inter-bank lending rate. In a Court of Appeal hearing lawyers claimed board-level managers knew of the manipulation, but still let borrowers take out products based on Libor. Guardian Care Homes (GCH) [...]
Fraud squad prepares for first Libor trial October 17, 2013 FORMER UBS and Citigroup trader Tom Hayes will appear in court on Monday to answer charges related to the Libor-rigging scandal. The Serious Fraud Office has asked more than 20 other people set to be named on the indictment against Hayes to apply for injunctions to protect their anonymity if they wish. Tom Hayes is [...]
Banks’ PPI crisis eases at last as complaints fall October 16, 2013 THE WORST of the payments protection insurance (PPI) crisis appears to be over for Britain’s banks as the City watchdog yesterday published numbers showing a fall in complaints. A total of 2.9m complaints were made in the first six months of 2013, according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), down 500,000 on the previous six-month [...]
Banker bashing and job cuts are piling stress on financial workers October 16, 2013 FEARS of job cuts and “banker bashing” are taking a toll on the health of bank workers of all levels, according to an international study published yesterday that follows a trail of burnouts and tragedies in the world of finance. The study by Swiss-based UNI Global Union found more than 80 per cent of banking [...]
City Moves for 17 October 2013 | Who’s switching jobs October 16, 2013 Colliers International The property company has announced the appointment of Michael Hawkins as a partner in its national offices team. He was most recently at WHR Property Consultants, where he was a partner advising property and development companies, funds, and investors. Prior to that, he spent ten years at Lambert Smith Hampton. Balderton The European venture [...]