London Report: House prices set for high point as market surges October 6, 2013 HOUSE prices will be in the spotlight today, as the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) house price index is released and the Help To Buy scheme kicks off nationally. Last month saw a seven-year high for the survey, leading RICS to call on the Bank of England to cap house price inflation at five [...]
Bank of England appoints new finance director from Barclays October 4, 2013 The Bank of England has appointed Ralph Coates as its new finance director. Ralph succeeds Warwick Jones, who retired from the Bank in June. He'll start the job on 4 November. Charlotte Hogg, chief operating officer said: I am delighted to announce the appointment of Ralph Coates as the Bank’s new Finance Director. Ralph will [...]
Barclays raises 95 per cent of £6bn rights issue October 4, 2013 Barclays has announced a 94.63 per cent take-up of a £6bn rights issue. (Release) The books closed last night with the bank raising £5.8bn in the sale of New Ordinary Shares. Underwriters are picking up the remainder today following trading starting on the London Stock Exchange. The bank may blame local trading laws in China, [...]
Barclays rights issue rump to be sold today October 3, 2013 THE RUMP of Barclays’ rights issue could come in at around £300m, it emerged last night, after at least five per cent of investors declined to take up the offer of new discount shares. The £5.8bn issuance will support the bank’s capital position, and each existing investor was offered one new share for each four [...]
Best of the Brokers for 3 October 2013 October 2, 2013 SCHRODERS Numis has cut its rating on the investmentfirm from “add” to “hold” with a target of 2,632p for its voting shares. The broker now has just one “buy” rating in the sector – on Aberdeen – but still views equity managers, especially those in emerging markets, as good long-term value. OPHIR ENERGY Nomura has [...]
CVC seals deal to sell Campbell soup in Europe October 1, 2013 CAMPBELL Soup is selling some of its European canned soups and meals brands to private equity firm CVC Capital Partners for €400m, the firm announced yesterday. Campbell said in August that it was in talks to sell some brands to CVC Capital as it focuses on its core North American soup and meal business and [...]
Higher capital demands for banks under new stress test says BoE October 1, 2013 The Bank of England has released the record of a Financial Policy Committee Meeting which discloses plans for British banks to hold more capital than foreign competitors. Annual stress tests are set to start next year, with Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Co-op, Standard Chartered and RBS all being tested. The Bank stresses its "key overarching priority would [...]
Aquis targets November launch date September 30, 2013 AQUIS Exchange, the trading platform which has attracted the attention former Barclays boss Bob Diamond, has told prospective clients it hopes to launch the exchange next month. The company, which has been set up by former Chi-X chief executive Alasdair Haynes, wrote to potential customers last week telling them it hoped the trading platform would [...]
Borrowers set for small cut in interest rates September 29, 2013 MORTGAGE borrowers who use the government’s new guarantee scheme could see interest rates fall by up to one percentage point, City A.M. understands. Banks lending under the scheme will have to pay the government a fee for each mortgage given out, a cost that will be passed on to borrowers. But the fee will only [...]
Ex-Barclays boss Martin Taylor lined up as possible Lloyds chair September 29, 2013 VETERAN financier and corporate chairman Martin Taylor could take over from Sir Win Bischoff as the chairman of Lloyds Banking Group, it emerged over the weekend. Taylor was chief executive of Barclays in the 1990s, followed by a stint as chairman of high street giant WH Smith as well as six years spent as an [...]