Don’t write off the big guns of corporate broking yet September 27, 2012 WHEN Bob Diamond quit Barclays in July, there were many, myself included, who predicted that the bank’s investment business would struggle here on in. Longer-term that may indeed be the case, but the message so far from the world of UK corporate broking is showing a different story. Two big broking mandates, that of Severn [...]
WANdisco eyes new investment after landmark technology IPO September 27, 2012 BRITISH software firm WANdisco said yesterday that it would spend the cash from its summer initial public offering (IPO) on “significantly expanding” its staff as the company invests in the fast growing big data market. Sheffield-based WANdisco has pocketed $26m (£16m) from its float on Aim in June and has seen its shares rise 75 [...]
FTSE edges up as banks and mining shares find favour with investors September 27, 2012 GAINS by bank and mining stocks helped lift Britain’s benchmark share index yesterday, although investors said worries over the Eurozone could limit further moves higher and favour more defensive sectors such as food or health stocks. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index, which fell 1.6 per cent on Wednesday to a three-week low, recovered slightly to [...]
FTSE 100 up on fresh China stimulus hopes September 27, 2012 The blue chip index jumped in early trading, as headline mining shares such as Anglo American, Rio Tinto and Glencore rose, bolstered by expectations of market-boosting measures from China. On the FTSE All-Share, insurer CPP Group topped the leaderboard, adding 14.29 per cent. It has been weighing up a turnaround plan after the City watchdog [...]
Growth concerns drive FTSE 100 to lowest close since early September September 26, 2012 Britain’s top stock index hit a three-week low yesterday, with banks and miners hardest-hit on concern that the Eurozone’s problems, highlighted by protests in Spain and Greece, posed a threat to global growth. Growing talk of secession in Spain’s Catalonia region, a sharp fall in the country’s GDP, clashes at an anti-austerity protest in Greece [...]
FTSE 100 down following losses in Asia and US September 26, 2012 The leading share index was firmly lower this morning, consolidating losses in the US and Asia as investors worried about global growth amid signs that Spain’s economy is worsening. Miners and insurers dragged the index down. CPP Group was a loser once again, shedding 7.14 per cent in early deals. Fellow insurer RSA Insurance lost [...]
Banks give up Libor control September 25, 2012 KEY interbank lending rate Libor will no longer be run by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), the industry body announced yesterday, with regulators set to take control in the wake of the rate-fixing scandal. Libor – which banks use as a benchmark interest rate and indicates whether lending conditions are good or bad – has [...]
UK banks are facing a battle with diminishing returns September 25, 2012 AS LONDON’S top bankers meet for their annual Merrill Lynch conference, upbeat public pronouncements can’t conceal the cloud hanging over the sector’s future. The news that Singapore investment fund Temasek is mulling offloading its £6bn stake in Standard Chartered is a typically gloomy indicator. Standard Chartered, after all, thanks to its exposure to Asian growth, [...]
Bank: Funding plan might not bolster lending September 25, 2012 NOT ALL banks in the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) will increase lending, a top Bank of England official conceded yesterday, arguing instead that lending may simply fall by a smaller amount thanks to the cheap funds being offered. The government is offering an initial £60bn to the 13 participating banks, with the aim of [...]
BBA to give up Libor supervision September 25, 2012 The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) is poised to give up its responsibility for setting Libor should the Financial Services Authority propose a move. Martin Wheatley, managing director at the City watchdog, will unveil changes to the way the interbank lending rate is supervised on Friday, which is expected to see the BBA relieved of its [...]