French public deficit on the up March 9, 2011 France’s annual government deficit widened to €13.4bn (£11.5bn) in January, up from a deficit of €9.2bn at the same time last year, official data showed yesterday. However, the deficit for 2011 is still expected to fall to 5.9 per cent of GDP, down from 7.5 per cent of GDP in 2010, according to Laurence Boone [...]
THE PARTY’S OVER FOR TCHENGUIZ BROTHERS March 9, 2011 THEY came, they saw, they conquered – and then the Tchenguiz brothers were arrested by the Serious Fraud Office yesterday morning in connection with the collapse of the Kaupthing Icelandic bank. The dramatic raid at the property developers’ Mayfair HQ has been the talk of the MIPIM property fair at Cannes, where the brothers were [...]
The glass is half full for ISA investors in stocks and shares March 9, 2011 WITH the end of tax year deadline swiftly approaching, investors should make sure that they take advantage of the generous £10,200 allowance for individual savings accounts (ISA). This can either be used in its entirety for stocks and shares or up to £5,100 can be put into a cash ISA with the remainder in stocks [...]
Sports Direct in clear after fraud probe March 9, 2011 Sports Direct, Britain’s biggest sporting goods retailer, said none of its employees were under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office as it detailed a £220m refinancing. “We can confirm that no individuals connected to Sports Direct International are under investigation,” the firm, controlled by Newcastle United soccer club owner Mike Ashley, said on Wednesday. In [...]
BarCap set to gain broking mandate at 3i March 8, 2011 BARCLAYS Bank’s fast growing equities business BarCap was last night said to be close to winning an important new broking appointment at the international private equity group 3i. 3i has been conducting a regular review of its brokers, which are currently Bank of America Merrill Lynch and JP?Morgan. The group, whose chief executive is Michael [...]
BUSINESS AS USUAL AS BORIS BIKES TO CANNES March 8, 2011 IF you happened to be in Cannes yesterday afternoon, you would have been treated to the sight of a middle-aged, straw-haired man riding a Boris Bike into the centre of town. On closer inspection, you would have spotted that that figure was, in fact, the London Mayor Boris Johnson, who was livening up the MIPIM [...]
Goldman Sachs hawk steps into Sentance’s Bank role March 7, 2011 Goldman Sachs economist Ben Broadbent was appointed as the latest Bank of England rate setter yesterday, with many observers expecting him to support the move for higher rates. Broadbent will replace outgoing chief hawk Andrew Sentance in June. Sentance has consistently voted for higher interest rates since June 2010. Broadbent’s team of economists at Goldman [...]
Bonus row reignited as Barclays publishes pay March 7, 2011 BARCLAYS has revealed that it awarded its top five non-board executives total pay of £28m last year, with the heads of its investment bank Barclays Capital Jerry del Missier and Rich Ricci pocketing over £10m each. The bank also confirmed it will pay current chief executive Bob Diamond £6.5m in an all-share bonus in addition [...]
Ignorance is bliss for bank bonus critics March 7, 2011 THE Treasury might be wishing it could close the barn door today after Barclays’ revealed that the bank’s top executives are in line for pay-outs of up to £14m each, provided they meet performance targets. Jerry del Missier and Rich Ricci, the executives in question, run Barclays Capital, the bank’s investment banking division, and have [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 7, 2011 Nomura Holdings The Asian investment bank has made a number of changes to its management team. David Benson, Nomura’s former chief risk officer, will become vice chairman of Nomura Holdings. Wholesale president and COO Jesse Bhattal (pictured) will become deputy president of Nomura Holdings and CEO of the Wholesale division, and Yasuo Kashiwagi, currently senior [...]