Yorkshire to buy Egg units from Citi July 25, 2011 Mortgage lender Yorkshire Building Society is to buy the mortgage and savings business of Egg Banking from American bank Citigroup, as Citi continues to sell non-core assets after its bailout during the credit crisis. Yorkshire, owned by its customers, said the Egg businesses it was acquiring comprised of a £2.5bn savings book and a 430 [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 24, 2011 ASHCOURT ROWAN The wealth management group has appointed Jeremy Rance, its chief operating officer, as an executive director. Rance, 48, joined Ashcourt Rowan as director of planning in June last year. He led the negotiations on the acquisition of the Co-op Independent Financial Adviser business in October 2010. Rance was appointed as chief operating officer [...]
FTSE gains fuelled by Eurozone deal July 22, 2011 The FTSE 100 tracked other global markets upwards as the sealing of a second bailout for Greece produced a collective sigh of relief from investors, governments and financial institutions. Leaders of the Eurozone threw a lifeline to debt-stricken Greece that includes an extra €109bn of government money as well as a significant contribution from private [...]
Nervous FTSE ends higher as EU solution for Greece looms July 21, 2011 FINANCIALS drove gains on Britain’s top share index yesterday, as hopes a solution could be found to Europe’s sovereign debt crisis boosted investor sentiment. The UK’s benchmark index closed up 46.07 points or 0.8 per cent at 5,899.89, having endured a choppy session, trading in a 137 point range as nervous investors jostled positions awaiting [...]
FTSE steadied by Greek breakthrough July 21, 2011 The FTSE 100 started solidly this morning as it emerged that France and Germany had reached an agreement on a second bailout for Greece. Banks led the way as investors gained confidence in stocks recently buffeted by fears of exposure to the debt crisis which has engulfed the Eurozone. Leaders of the 16-country bloc will [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 20, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BLACKSTONE STRIKES €700M DEAL TO BUY GERMANY’S JACK WOLFSKIN Blackstone has agreed to take over outdoor clothing company Jack Wolfskin in a €700m ($995m) deal that underlined the rapid transformation of the sector from local businesses to international brands. The US buy-out group will announce on Thursday that it will acquire the German [...]
BEHIND THE LINES | WHAT THE TREASURY COMMITTEE REPORT MEANS July 20, 2011 Sir John Vickers should consider whether an enhanced divestment is really necessary and whether by calling for such a step the ICB is treating the symptom of inadequate competition rather than the cause. It should also confirm whether it has examined the case for further divestments of branches from other banks. The ICB places the [...]
Soaring tech stocks burnish banking rally to send FTSE up July 20, 2011 BANKING stocks led Britain’s top shares higher yesterday on strong corporate earnings and optimism over a deal in Washington to increase the US debt ceiling and avoid default. The UK benchmark index closed up 63.83 points, or 1.1 per cent, at 5,853.82, building on the previous session’s 0.7 per cent advance. Solid US earnings, including [...]
RICE KING’S SHARWOODS BID GOES OFF THE BOIL July 19, 2011 THE RETAIL industry has been on tenterhooks over the last month to see whether rice tycoon Moni Varma, the chairman of Veetee Food Group, would succeed in expanding his processed foods empire by buying Sharwoods from Premier Foods. However, The Capitalist can reveal that Varma’s audacious bid for the sauces manufacturer is no longer likely [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 19, 2011 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Freshfields has appointed corporate partner Julian Long as head of its London corporate practice for a three-year term. Long, who succeeds Mark Rawlinson, newly elected as London managing partner, is an M&A specialist who also runs the law firm’s consumer and healthcare sector group. He recently advised on Petrochina’s venture with Ineos [...]