No rebound from finance cuts, says S&P December 18, 2012 INVESTMENT banks will not bounce back from the deep cuts in staff and the closure of some operating units, credit ratings agency Standard and Poor’s warned yesterday, arguing tough new regulations are forcing a permanent strict cap on costs. Banks typically cut back staff in lean years and increase hiring when times improve. But this [...]
US fiscal cliff hopes lift FTSE 100 December 18, 2012 The markets were cheered this morning – the headline share index rose 0.25 per cent in early deals – on signs of progress in negotiations to avoid the imminent fiscal cliff in the US. Investors reacted positively to Obama’s counter-offer for Republicans yesterday, which included a major change in position on tax hikes for the [...]
Ritz accused of paying no corporation tax in 17 years December 17, 2012 The Ritz hotel has not paid corporation tax since 1995 thanks to its use of legal loopholes, according to last night’s episode of the BBC’s Panorama programme. The landmark building is owned by an offshore trust set up by the Monaco-based Barclay brothers, who yesterday said they do not have any direct involvement in the [...]
Aggreko fails to light up FTSE 100 December 17, 2012 Temporary power solutions provider Aggreko weighed heavily on the blue chip index in early trading, sinking more than 17 per cent. This morning it warned of a slowdown in 2013, following a strong current year of trading. Paul Jones, analyst at Panmure Gordon, said this morning that 2013 has “stronger headwinds than expected, and previous [...]
City Moves | Who’s switching jobs December 16, 2012 Ashcourt Rowan Emily Morris has been appointed group head of marketing at the wealth management company. She has held a number of senior marketing roles in similar firms, and was marketing director at Rathbone Brothers for six years. Morris has additionally worked for Barclays Wealth. Peverel Group The property services group has appointed Nigel Howell [...]
FTSE 100 creeps up on improved Chinese data December 14, 2012 The leading share index was broadly flat in early deals, edging up slightly after improved manufacturing data from China raised hopes for the global economy. Of the blue chips, Bunzl and Johnson Matthey added 1.13 per cent and one per cent respectively this morning, while miner Xstrata topped the leader board, increasing 1.15 per cent. [...]
UBS set for $1bn fine next week over Libor fiddling accusations December 13, 2012 SWISS bank UBS is set to be fined early next week for its role in fiddling Libor submissions. It is expected to be hit by a $1bn (£621m) fine, divided between four regulators across the UK, US and Switzerland. That is more than double the £290m charge Barclays attracted earlier this year, and represents a [...]
2,000 staff to go in Barclays’ major review December 13, 2012 BARCLAYS is preparing to cut up to 2,000 investment banking jobs under a major review of how it does business, it emerged yesterday, joining the flood of investment banks cutting costs and closing down sub-scale businesses. The major British bank is expected to cut back its Asian and European operations as it focuses on its [...]
Olympic and Paralympic Games fail to boost UK visitor numbers December 13, 2012 VISITS to the UK crept lower in 2012, despite London hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games. A total of 26.2m visits have been made to the UK in the first ten months of 2012, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics yesterday. This is one per cent below the level in 2011, [...]
FTSE 100 down as Eurozone outlines banking supervision rules December 13, 2012 The leading share index was trading around 0.2 per cent down this morning, as Europe finance ministers clinched a deal to give the European Central Bank new powers to supervise Eurozone banks from 2014. Energy services firm Wood Group was the biggest blue chip faller, sinking more than 2.5 per cent in early deals. In [...]