Ex-L&G chief Tim Breedon ups Barclays’ reforming credentials October 15, 2012 FORMER Legal & General boss Tim Breedon was yesterday appointed as a non-executive director of Barclays. The first such appointment under new chairman Sir David Walker represents another attempt to restore the bank’s tarnished reputation, as Breedon has a reputation as a critic of excessive executive pay, and has publicly looked into ways to boost [...]
City Moves | Who’s switching jobs October 15, 2012 Alvarez & Marsal Taxand The tax advisory firm has appointed Stephen Labrum as a managing director and global head of transfer pricing. He joins after 13 years at Ernst & Young, where was a transfer pricing partner. Allianz Global Investors The asset management firm has appointed Andy Wiggins to the newly-created role of head of [...]
UK shares lifted by banking gains on hopes for Spanish bailout soon October 15, 2012 UK shares rose yesterday, buoyed by gains for heavyweight banks as the sector tracked continental peers on expectations Spain was moving closer to asking for a bailout. A 12.29 point, or 0.2 per cent, move higher to 5,805.61 points was not enough to take the FTSE 100 out of its recent tight trading range, however, [...]
The Tipster | Builder to cement profits October 15, 2012 HOUSE builder Bellway reports today, and traders expect to see profits up as it capitalises on a turnaround in UK housing. The company has focused heavily on homes with renewable energy sources, which has proven to be lucrative. Shares are towards the top of its 52-week range and have risen 40 per cent in the [...]
Defensive stocks up on FTSE 100 October 15, 2012 The leading share index opened up this morning, helped by gains in defensive stocks. The markets have rallied since central banks took new stimulus measures to shore up the global economy, with the FTSE 100 up six per cent since late July. Medical retinal imaging firm Optos added 7.18 per cent in early deals today, [...]
RBS calls Virgin for deal rescue October 14, 2012 VIRGIN Money and two other institutions are in the running to take 316 branches from RBS, it emerged yesterday, two days after the planned sale to Santander collapsed. The sale was forced on RBS by the European Commission as part of the approval of its 2008 bailout, and must be completed by the end of [...]
FTSE 100 weighed down by engineering stocks October 12, 2012 The leading blue chip index opened modestly down this morning, as enthusiasm over positive US jobs data was pared back by weak UK construction data. Engineering companies felt the pressure on the FTSE All-Share this morning. Materials group Morgan Crucible dropped 12.51 per cent this morning. It warned on profits across its businesses, with Europe [...]
Burberry leads FTSE 100 up October 11, 2012 The blue chip index was up in early trading, led by fashion retailer Burberry and UK banking shares. The collapse of the merger talks between BAE and EADS and Direct Line’s £2.62bn float were the main talking points this morning. Nat Rothschild’s Bumi rose 15.35 per cent in early trading on the mid-cap index, as [...]
City welcomes relaxing of banking rules October 10, 2012 THE CITY reacted positively to the Financial Services Authority (FSA)’s easing of banking rules yesterday, sending shares in Britain’s major banks up, although experts warned that the moves could prove risky. The FSA has been relaxing rules on capital and liquidity in recent months to encourage banks to lend. Banks are now set a fixed level [...]
August boost to wholesaling a boon to US recovery ambitions October 10, 2012 SALES of wholesale goods climbed in August, data from the US Census Bureau revealed yesterday, driven by increasing inventories. Overall sales were $450.4bn (£281.4bn), up 0.9 per cent on July’s figure, and up 2.1 per cent on August 2011. However this came mainly from building up inventories, which rose 0.5 per cent on the month, putting them some [...]