Barclays in rush to exit Protium March 15, 2011 REGULATORS could try to force Barclays to shift a raft of toxic assets back onto its balance sheet, the bank’s annual report revealed yesterday. In a section regarding the special purpose vehicle (SPV) Protium, which Barclays created last year for accounting purposes, the bank said: “The ongoing review of Barclays financial statements by regulators includes [...]
High street brands popular for legal advice March 15, 2011 WITH the implementation of the “Tesco law” looming, a new report from YouGov into the legal services sector provides positive news for big brands looking to diversify into this sector. It reveals that consumer willingness to seek legal advice from retailers or high street brands is high; 60 per cent of consumers would consider using [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 15, 2011 Jeffrey Green Russell The full service commercial law firm has promoted Kamran Rehman as partner to its banking and finance litigation team. With expertise in all core legal fields, the firm also boasts a number of leading industry-specific teams. Rehman’s work includes banking and commercial disputes including professional negligence claims and mortgage fraud claims. He [...]
ROBERT THE LIONHEART SERENADES SELFRIDGES March 14, 2011 ROBERT Tchenguiz will henceforth be known as Robert the Lionheart, after the billionaire property developer was spotted singing The Lion Sleeps Tonight from the film The Lion King in Selfridges. The sighting took place at 5.30pm on the evening of the now infamous yacht party at MIPIM in Cannes last Thursday, when a social contemporary [...]
3i mandate will be coup for BarCap’s Renwick March 14, 2011 IF, as seems likely, 3i decides to appoint Barclays Capital as its joint corporate broker at the end of the month it will be further proof that Barclays’s strategy of building up its equities business is bearing fruit. Since hiring Jim Renwick as head of UK Equity Capital Markets and corporate broking in April 2009, [...]
Touching distance March 13, 2011 ENGLAND (22) vs SCOTLAND (16) Grand Slam just one win away after England survive a scare to defeat tenacious Scotland ENGLAND manager Martin Johnson admits major improvement is needed if his side are to complete the Grand Slam in Dublin next weekend. Scotland put up brave resistance at Twickenham yesterday but eventually succumbed to Tom [...]
UK industrial growth set to thrive in 2011 March 10, 2011 BRITISH manufacturing started 2011 with a bang, growing at its fastest annualised rate for over 16 years, official data showed yesterday. The UK’s booming sector has now expanded for 12 months in a row, up 6.8 per cent in January, compared to the same time last year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). [...]
Triple dose of bad news sends FTSE downards March 10, 2011 A downgrade for Spain’s credit rating, violence in Libya and weak data from China and the US heaped pressure on Britain’s top share index yesterday, with traders speculating that there could be more woe to come. “It’s an unholy triumvirate of bad news,” Chris Purdy, trader at Spreadex, said. Purdy pointed to the three-month low [...]
PARTY HOPPING AS TCHENGUIZ TWO SAY THE CANNES SHOW MUST GO ON March 10, 2011 THE Capitalist was amused to see that the statement made on behalf of the Tchenguiz brothers following their release without charge on Wednesday night made it clear the pair are “free to travel”. Why so critical that the property tycoons, who were arrested by the Serious Fraud Office and held for 12 hours in connection [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 9, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BARCLAYS WINS SUIT OVER SALE RISK LEVEL Barclays has won a legal case brought against it by a small San Marino bank which alleged the UK bank sold it complex debt products which were “much riskier” than the triple A credit rating they had been given. Cassa di Risparmio della Repubblica di San [...]