FTSE sticks above 6,000 after volatile day February 2, 2011 The FTSE’s mainstay miners and banks pushed the benchmark index to close just above 6,000 points – but profit taking and uncertainty over violent clashes in Egypt caused a turbulent day’s trading. The FTSE 100 closed up 42.25 points, or 0.7 per cent, at 6000.07, extending Tuesday’s 1.6 per cent rise. The index has recovered [...]
Ocado losses narrow after shaky float February 1, 2011 ONLINE grocery delivery company Ocado yesterday said its losses had narrowed in 2010 – after it weathered the storm following a controversial stock market float. The internet retailer halved its pre-tax loss to £12.2m. Meanwhile it made pre-tax profit of £300,000 for the final quarter – the first profit it has recorded. Ocado chief executive [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 1, 2011 Financial Risk Management Anthony Simpson (pictured) has joined the hedge fund specialist as co-head of global business development. He will be based in London working in partnership with Akio Shimazu and will also join FRM’s executive committee. Formerly, Simpson has worked in a similar role for Ramius, the alternative investment management business of Cowen Group. [...]
AS RECOVERY GROWS, THESE THREE EUROPEAN STOCKS SHOULD BENEFIT February 1, 2011 EQUITY STRATEGIST, BARCLAYS WEALTH Key investment themes in Europe include the likely increase in investment as the global recovery gathers steam, and the probable revival in mergers and acquisitions. These three stocks – in the technology, oil field services and electronics and engineering sectors – look particularly well placed to benefit from these two trends. [...]
French banks have highest exposure to turmoil, sparking worries over losses January 31, 2011 France’s banks are more exposed to Egypt than European and US peers and may see losses on bad loans rise as the country is plunged into political crisis, analysts said yesterday. Protests against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule have led to the closure of the country’s banks and rattled European financial markets. “It is [...]
Consumer spending up in the US January 31, 2011 American consumer spending jumped higher than expected in December, official data showed yesterday. Spending was up 0.7 per cent, while personal income grew by 0.4 per cent. “This represents a very solid end to the year,” commented Peter Newland of Barclays Capital. With spending increasing at a greater rate than income, the savings rate fell [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 31, 2011 HSBC HSBC today announces the appointment of Richard Jablonowski as managing director and head of investment counsellors to its private banking division. Based in London, he will report to Daniel Ellis, managing director and head of the investment group at HSBC private bank. Jablonowski joins from Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management where he spent 11 [...]
Desert sands blowing into the gears of the economy January 31, 2011 THE LAST time Egypt unsettled international markets this badly was in 1973. On 6 October of that year, the Egyptian army mounted a shock assault on the Israeli occupied Sinai Peninsula. After initially losing ground, the Israeli army rapidly recovered, fighting back until a ceasefire was agreed on 25 October. The war, though relatively small, [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 30, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BANKS WATCH BARCLAYS’ COCO PLANS Big banks on both sides of the Atlantic are weighing whether to follow Barclays as it pushes ahead with a plan to pay bonuses with innovative bonds, dubbed cocos. According to several banks present at last week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, the idea of using contingent convertible [...]
Barclays boss Diamond coached by Mandelson January 30, 2011 LABOUR peer Lord Mandelson coached Bob Diamond, chief executive of Barclays, ahead of a high-profile public hearing earlier this month. Mandelson, who once said Diamond was the “unacceptable face of banking”, is understood to have offered only “informal advice” and did not receive any payments for his services. Diamond made waves at the Treasury select [...]