Pressure on Bob to deliver a miracle February 15, 2011 CHIEF executive Bob Diamond’s grand promise of a six per cent rise in returns in three years was greeted with incredulity in some circles yesterday. Evolution Securities’ Arturo de Frias decried the promise, saying: “We find all this way too bullish, and very difficult to believe… We don’t believe in ‘miracles.’” The plans rely on [...]
Pay down at Barclays despite rise in earnings February 15, 2011 BARCLAYS’ results revealed yesterday that pay declined seven per cent in 2010, falling by more at its investment banking division Barclays Capital, by 12 per cent. Overall, however, the bank’s compensation ratio of pay to revenues was up to 43 per cent, with average pay rising nearly £30,000 to £229,000. Chief executive Bob Diamond blamed [...]
HOW DO YOU RATE BARCLAYS RESULTS? February 15, 2011 DAVID BUIK | BGC PARTNERS The profits were quite a bit better than expected. The pre-tax profit was £6.07bn against expectations of £5.7bn. The net for year was £3.56bn against £3.2bn. Tier one capital came in at a pleasing 10.8 per cent up from 10 per cent. RICHARD HUNTER | HARGREAVES LANSDOWN Barclays has opened [...]
IHG raises its dividend as hotels boom February 15, 2011 InterContinental Hotels, the world’s biggest hotelier, showed confidence in economic recovery by lifting its final dividend for the first time in three years and set a target for opening more hotels. The British group, home to the InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn brands, met forecasts with a 22 per cent rise in 2010 profit, [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 15, 2011 Barclays Sally Bott has joined the bank as group human resources director and member of the executive committee. Bott will start her role in April, replacing Cathy Turner. She joins from BP, where she was HR director, and has also recently served as a non-exec board member at UBS. Before this, she was managing director [...]
Commodities dent FTSE 100 despite strong banking stocks February 15, 2011 BRITAIN’S s top share index closed lower yesterday as strength in banking stocks, inspired by forecast-busting results from Barclays, was outweighed by a broad retreat in the mining sector on commodity price wobbles. The FTSE 100 index closed down 23.01 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 6,037.08. The FTSE 250, FTSE 350 and AIM 100 [...]
CANADA’S STRONG ECONOMY OPENS ITSELF UP TO FOREIGN INVESTMENT February 15, 2011 HEAD OF PRODUCT, BARCLAYS STOCKBROKERS Last week, the London Stock Exchange struck a deal with TMX Group, the operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange. The deal looks likely to reduce costs for users, offer greater levels of liquidity and provide broader access to mining and natural resources stocks. For investors, this is particularly attractive at [...]
Disappointing economic data keeps markets in the red February 15, 2011 The FTSE has spent the day in the red and closed down 0.38 per cent at 6,037.08 after disappointing US economic data and news. Miners were also led down by news from China, where an above-target 4.9 per cent increase in inflation raised the prospect of further interest rate rises. Banks were buoyant, though, [...]
InterContinental raises dividend as recovery boosts growth February 15, 2011 InterContinental Hotels has put its confidence in the global economic recovery with a rise in its final dividend for the first time in three years and plans to open more hotels. The world’s biggest hotels group, home to the InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn brands, delivered full-year 2010 results in line with analysts’ forecasts [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 15, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BARCLAYS FORCED TO ADAPT COCOS BONUS PLAN Barclays has been forced to adapt its plans to pay bonuses for staff with a new financial instrument that has been hailed by regulators as a key tool for rebuilding the capital strength of banks. Bob Diamond, the UK bank’s new chief executive, had hoped to [...]