Walker’s fury at bad incentives ruining banks September 12, 2012 QUARTERLY reporting, the growth of sales-based commission and the increasing use of new technologies all contributed to a damaging culture of short-termism which led in part to the financial crisis and the mis-selling scandals, incoming Barclays chairman Sir David Walker said yesterday. The City grandee told the new Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards (PCBS) that [...]
Petrofac agrees credit facility September 12, 2012 ■ FTSE 100-listed Petrofac yesterday agreed a $1.2bn (£746m) five-year revolving credit facility, to be used for general corporate purposes. Barclays and Standard Chartered acted as coordinators for the facility. The miner had initially estimated it would require around $1bn, but this was increased given the “significant level of subscription” from banks.
Banks must change sales incentives, says incoming Barclays chairman September 12, 2012 Banks must curb their focus on incentives and open themselves up to more scrutiny, the incoming Barclays chairman said this morning. Speaking to MPs this morning as a witness in an inquiry into banking standards, sir David Walker said banks should be forced to disclose how many staff earn a salary of more than £1m [...]
FTSE 100 jumps on German court ruling September 12, 2012 The leading share index was up in early trading, as investors reacted positively to news that German judges ruled in favour of the Eurozone’s rescue fund. Meanwhile, holding company Chesnara led the fallers on the FTSE All-Share, down 6.87 per cent. Embattled platinum miner Lonmin shed 5.56 per cent, as strikes continued at its Marikana [...]
China Falters September 11, 2012 ■ Growth forecasts slashed on weak global economy ■ Burberry shares slump on falling Chinese demand ■ Leader-in-waiting goes missing for key meetings ECONOMISTS have slashed China’s GDP growth forecasts as the emerging giant stumbles on the twin pressures of the global economic slump and bad domestic investments. Premier Wen Jiabao was forced to hint [...]
PPI complaints soar as banks struggle under weight of claims September 11, 2012 COMPLAINTS over banks’ slow or unsatisfactory responses to PPI complaints soared over the first six months of 2012, according to data published yesterday by the financial ombudsman service (FOS). The mis-selling scandal has seen banks and other financial institutions pay billions in compensation to customers, and shows little signs of slowing down. The FOS received [...]
French perfume maker Coty buys time on flotation plans September 11, 2012 COTY, the perfume maker behind the Calvin Klein and Marc Jacobs fragrance brands, is understood to have postponed plans to float in New York later this year. The French company, which filed documents with American regulators at the end of June for an initial public offering, is reconsidering the float to give Michele Scannavini, who [...]
FTSE 100 down as blue chip Burberry leads fallers September 11, 2012 The leading share index opened down this morning, tracking falls in the US and Asia, as investors waited for key decisions over European Central Bank bond buying and US quantitative easing. Fashion retailer Burberry led the fallers, down almost 19 per cent as the firm warned of a sales slowdown. It said annual profit would [...]
New Barclays boss Jenkins vows to review every unit in the bank September 10, 2012 NEW BARCLAYS boss Antony Jenkins yesterday committed himself to keeping the universal banking model and maintaining a strong investment bank, but told analysts that every individual unit would need to prove its worth or could be scrapped. His tough review of the bank’s operations will be “granular and comprehensive” and will see units without a [...]
Nasdaq vows to stand by its Facebook plan September 10, 2012 NASDAQ yesterday vowed to stand by it $62m (£39m) compensation plan for firms harmed by a glitch in Facebook’s market debut and defend itself against any related lawsuits. The news came as Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz hampered the firm’s share price further by selling off more than $108m-worth of stock. Lee Shavel, Nasdaq’s chief financial [...]