Lazards is set to join Royal Mail advisers February 25, 2013 THE GOVERNMENT is in the process of appointing the independent investment bank Lazards to help advise it on the possible flotation or trade sale of the Royal Mail. Yesterday a spokesman for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said that Lazard was about to be appointed alongside UBS to give advice. Although the Royal [...]
City Moves for 26 February 2013 | Who’s switching jobs February 25, 2013 Co-operative Group The mutual business has announced the appointment of Rebecca Skitt as human resources director. Skitt has over 20 years’ experience, most recently as head of human resources in Barclays’ global retail and business banking division. She has also held senior roles at Unilever. Jones Day Karim Mahmud has joined the law firm as [...]
BBA gives green light to Libor handover February 25, 2013 THE British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has approved the handing over of running Libor rates to a new operator, after it was stripped of overseeing the benchmark last year. The City watchdog stripped the banking lobby group from governing the benchmark last September. An independent body will be selected by open tender, run by Sarah [...]
FTSE shrugs off downgrade February 25, 2013 THE blue chip index rose this morning – led by headline mining and banking shares – on signs that the US and Japan would continue loose monetary policy for some time. The FTSE 100 was up 0.7 per cent in early deals, as the market brushed off Moody’s downgrade of the UK’s AAA credit rating, [...]
Barclays plans to issue more bail-in bonds February 24, 2013 BARCLAYS is preparing to issue more contingent convertible bonds – co-cos – in the coming months to shore up its balance sheet and satisfy regulators that it is following their orders around bail-in bonds, it emerged over the weekend. The bank raised £2bn in a groundbreaking co-co issuance before Christmas, seeing strong demand for the [...]
Letters to the editor February 24, 2013 Rising inflation [Re: Britain: a case study in low-growth economic mediocrity, Friday] Historically, inflation has followed an economic recovery – but not this time. British manufacturing (secondary sector) may be helped by a lower pound, but our economy now operates more in the tertiary sector. The real concern is not the manufacturing industry, but the [...]
Britain: a case study in low-growth economic mediocrity February 22, 2013 BRITAIN is stuck in a rut. No wonder that investors and credit rating agencies are losing patience: the coalition doesn’t have the guts or decisiveness needed to jolt the UK out of its present mediocrity, while the opposition is busy dreaming up new taxes, thinks that a slightly looser fiscal policy would transform our prospects [...]
Finance execs’ pay squeezed by regulations February 22, 2013 EXECUTIVE pay in financial services is barely creeping up this year and will come in well below inflation, according to new forecasts from Mercer. Average salaries will rise by just 2.2 per cent, they survey indicates, well down on the 2.9 per cent rise last year and firmly below consumer price inflation – currently running [...]
City Moves for 22 February 2013 | Who’s switching jobs February 22, 2013 Withers The law firm has announced the appointment of Matthew Feargrieve as a partner. Feargrieve will be responsible for establishing a pan-European investment funds practice. He joins from Appleby, where he was a partner and team leader for funds and investment services. He has also held senior positions at Mourant du Feu & Jeune and [...]
Watchdog backs Libor fine cuts February 21, 2013 BARCLAYS deserved a multi-million pound reduction in its Libor manipulation fine because it worked hard to cooperate with the investigation, the Financial Service Authority insisted today. Defending itself against questions from the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, the FSA said it is vital to encourage banks to be open with information. Barclays received a 30 [...]