Barclays warns that inflation could soar past five per cent April 13, 2011 INFLATION could still rise above five per cent this year, economists at Barclays claimed yesterday. The announcement surprised analysts after consumer price inflation sank to four per cent in March, from 4.4 per cent the previous month. However, strong upwards pressures in food and energy costs will drive inflation to a peak of 5.1 per [...]
FTSE rallies after banks and retailers deliver good news April 13, 2011 THE UK’s top share index closed higher yesterday, boosted by retailers and banks after a sell-off on Tuesday described as “overblown”. At the close, the FTSE 100 was up 45.97 points, or 0.8 per cent at 6,010.44, recouping half of Tuesday’s 1.5 per cent drop and recapturing the 6,000 level. Banks gained after better-than-expected results [...]
CRIME DOES PAY AS TV DETECTIVE TURNS £100K HEDGE FUND TRADER April 13, 2011 WHAT do a professional poker player, a former SAS soldier and actor Christopher Fox, otherwise known as DS Max Carter in The Bill, have in common? They are the stand-out contestants in a Trading Places-style experiment to find the hedge fund stars of the future, which has attracted 8,000 applications from every walk of life: [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 12, 2011 FUJITSU Duncan Tait has been promoted to the role of chief executive for the UK & Ireland at the IT services company, rising from managing director of Fujitsu’s private sector business. Tait succeeds Roger Gilbert, who steps down to executive chairman of the UK and Ireland, and his focus will be developing the company’s expertise [...]
Banks are off the hook – but customers will suffer April 11, 2011 WHEN? the coalition government launched the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) shortly after coming to power, it was clearly kicking party differences into the long grass. At the time, Vince Cable, a far more powerful figure before his “war on Murdoch” gaffe, would settle for nothing less than a full-scale separation of retail and investment [...]
Caution ahead of US results pulls FTSE 100 to a flat close April 11, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index closed flat yesterday, with caution from traders wary of turbulence during the US earnings season offset by strength in the banking sector following the ICB report on the future shape of UK banking. The FTSE 100 closed down 2.31 points, or 0.04 per cent, at 6,053.44 after trading in positive territory [...]
Banks told to “ring fence” retail arms April 11, 2011 Top banks should shield their retail operations from riskier investment banking activities and hold more capital to protect taxpayers in the event of another financial crisis, a report said. Radical shake-up proposals outlined appear harshest for Lloyds Banking Group, which may be forced to sell hundreds more branches in addition to the 600 already on [...]
VICKERS’ VERDICT: REFORM FOR BANKS April 11, 2011 BRITAIN’S banks will this morning find out what sort of shake-up the industry is facing as John Vickers publishes the Independent Commission on Banking’s (ICB) interim report into competition and stability in the financial sector. Banks have been given 90 minutes to read and respond to the report before markets open at 8am, with the [...]
Spotlight on famous five of the Commission April 10, 2011 The spotlight will today be on the “famous five” members of the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) as it presents its 200-page interim report. Two of the commission’s five members come from a banking background, which banks might hope will make them sympathetic to the difficult of running a major lender in current regulatory conditions. [...]
ICB has to strike a difficult balance April 10, 2011 With such a broad mandate to recommend how to promote greater financial stability and competition within UK banking, the Independent Commission on Banking has a wide range of options to choose from. And while the level of concern within UK-based banks is understandable, it is important to remember that the paper is merely an interim [...]