Carnwath gives up senior role after decade May 26, 2011 ALISON Carnwath yesterday announced she was standing down as Man Group’s senior independent director after 10 years in the role. She will be replaced by Patrick O’Sullivan. Carnwath, who is also a director of Barclays and chairman of Land Securities, is staying on the board at Man. Under best practice in corporate governance, directors that [...]
Italian business morale takes a dip May 26, 2011 Italian business confidence sank by more than expected this month, according to data from the ISTAT office released yesterday. The index measured 101.3 in May, from a downwardly revised 102.6 in April. “It is important for Italy that foreign orders stay on an upward trajectory,” said Fabio Fois of Barclays Capital. “The economic recovery has [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 26, 2011 JP Morgan Asset Management Professor Paul Sweeting has been appointed as European head of the Strategic Investment Advisory Group for JP Morgan Asset Management. Based in London, Sweeting will advise the firm’s European institutional clients on asset allocation, risk management and investment strategies. Sweeting previously held positions at Munich Reinsurance Company and Fidelity Investments International. [...]
…yet American house prices fall May 25, 2011 Prices of US homes plummeted in the first quarter of the year, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said yesterday. Prices were down 2.5 per cent compared to the final three months of 2010, and 5.5 per cent lower than the same time last year. Yet the fall in March (0.3 per cent) was less severe [...]
Banks lead the FTSE to small gains as traders eye Eurozone May 25, 2011 BRITAIN’S top shares edged higher yesterday, led by banks on bargain hunting, but the prevailing mood was cautious with some analysts and traders pessimistic about the long-term prospects for equities. The FTSE 100 ended up 11.73 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 5,870.14 helped by some sense of relief that there was no deterioration in [...]
Banks bolster FTSE at the close May 25, 2011 London stocks struggled to gain ground today as poor economic data on both sides of the Atlantic dismayed investors. A rally led by banking stocks late in the afternoon helped push the FTSE back into the black, with the FTSE 100 just 0.2 per cent higher at 5,870.14 at the close. Miners made muted gains [...]
FTSE dips on eurozone fears and slipping commodities May 25, 2011 The FTSE 100 dipped today as jittery investors lost confidence in commodities and remained nervous over the eurozone debt crisis. With raw material prices dropping amid concerns over a slowdown in China, riskier assets were being shunned. Shares in commodities giant Glencore fell as much as three per cent on their Hong Kong trading debut [...]
Nationwide in profit surge May 25, 2011 Nationwide, the country’s biggest customer-owned financial services group, posted higher underlying profits on Wednesday, helped by lower bad debt charges, and said it was well-placed for future growth. Nationwide said its underlying profits had risen 30 per cent from last year to £276m, and that charges for loans that have gone sour fell 35 per [...]
Moody’s puts 14 UK banks on negative rating outlook May 24, 2011 MOODY’S has put 14 of the UK’s biggest banks on review for a ratings downgrade due to regulatory efforts to resolve the “too big to fail” problem. The move could significantly increase borrowing costs for banks as regulators draw up plans to reduce the likelihood that taxpayers will have to bail out failing banks in [...]
GLENCORE BOSS’S BRIEF ENCOUNTER AT CHELSEA May 24, 2011 IT WAS unseasonably cold at the preview of this week’s Chelsea Flower Show – so the Queen, mindful of her constitution, didn’t stop to admire every single show garden. However, she did manage to drop in on the Royal Bank of Canada’s New Wild Garden, designed by Nigel Dunnett of The Landscape Agency, where Lynn [...]