Runners and riders in the race to take King’s throne April 11, 2012 STANDARD Chartered chief executive Peter Sands yesterday became the first candidate to definitively rule himself out of the race to succeed Mervyn King, Bank of England governor. His appearance on the scene and exit leaves only two bankers as possible successors to King, whose final term as governor ends in June 2013. The timeline leaves [...]
BEST of the BROKERS April 11, 2012 BT GROUP JP Morgan Cazenove has downgraded the telecoms group from “overweight” to “neutral” following a strong share price performance that has seen it rise by 20 per cent over six months, compared to a drop of five per cent across the European telecoms sector. The broker sees revenue risk in both the full year [...]
Banks lead FTSE to a rebound in spite of jitters over the Eurozone April 11, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index rebounded from a three-session slide yesterday as a rise in banking stocks following a positive broker comment and gains in mining shares boosted the index. The FTSE 100 index closed up 39.19 points, or 0.7 per cent at 5,634.74, reversing a downward spiral when the index surrendered almost all its remaining [...]
FTSE steadied by banks and miners April 11, 2012 The FTSE 100 steadied this morning but fears over world growth and in particular the continuing Eurozone debt crisis cast a shadow over markets. Having fallen back to its weakest point this year the blue chip index was given a boost by miners and banks but the market was effectively flat. The sector had been [...]
ABI warns on Barclays pay April 10, 2012 THE ASSOCIATION of British Insurers has voiced concerns about executive pay at Barclays, raising the pressure on the bank over chief executive Bob Diamond’s recent £17m pay award. The ABI, whose members own 20 per cent of the FTSE All-Share index, has issued an “amber top” warning over the pay, one step down from its [...]
JP Morgan and Merrill hang on to top spots April 10, 2012 BANK of America Merrill Lynch has held on to its second place spot in a global league table of investment banks, Thomson Reuters data showed yesterday. Despite management troubles in its European business this year that have seen star banker Andrea Orcel decamp to UBS, BAML is still at the top end of the table, [...]
Hargreaves seals refinancing April 10, 2012 Energy company Hargreaves Services has re-financed its core UK banking facilities and increased them from £115m to £175m. The firm’s facilities are made up of a £125m revolving credit facility and a £50m invoice finance facility. The deal to extend the debt to 2015 has been done with a five bank syndicate that includes RBS, [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 10, 2012 OpCapita Stephen Alexander has been appointed operating partner at the private investment firm, which over the past six months has acquired Comet, the electricals retailer, and Game UK, the video games retailer. Alexander has more than thirty years’ experience in European consumer businesses. He began his career with Imperial Foods, before moving to Allied Domecq, [...]
FTSE loses almost all its 2012 gains on renewed fears for the Eurozone April 10, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index plunged yesterday to surrender almost all its remaining 2012 gains, led by falls in risk-sensitive miners, oils, and banking stocks after last Friday’s weak US jobs data undermined global economic expectations. The FTSE 100 index closed down 128.12 points, or 2.2 per cent, at 5,595.55, its second biggest percentage fall of [...]
US jobs blow dents markets April 10, 2012 The FTSE 100 tracked losses in Asia this morning as bleak US jobs data took its toll on investor sentiment with miners and banks hit. On Friday the US Labour Department reported that the number of unemployed workers was almost 13m and hiring slowed, raising the alarm over the state of the country’s economic recovery. [...]