High street sales jump September 28, 2010 THE British high street enjoyed a surprisingly healthy September, according to the CBI’s distributive trades survey with the balance of retailers reporting that sales were higher compared to a year earlier rising to the highest level since May 2004. A net 49 per cent said that sales volumes were greater than a year earlier thanks [...]
FTSE led lower as Smiths Group and banks fall despite gains by Unilever September 27, 2010 THE FTSE 100 closed down 25.06 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 5,573.42, after gaining 1.6 per cent last week, with Smiths Group out of favour while Unilever rose after a US acquisition. Broker recommendation and target price changes were behind some of the individual equity moves. Smiths shed 1.6 per cent after Bank of [...]
GOVERNANCE TRAINSPOTTERS GET KNICKERS IN A TWIST OVER FLINT September 27, 2010 IT’S been a tiring week for HSBC, which is currently juggling the handling of a full-scale management game of musical chairs, the fallout from its leaky succession-planning AND a band of disgruntled sticklers for corporate governance among its shareholder base. So it’ll come as a welcome surprise for the bank to learn that a conservative [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 27, 2010 London Stock Exchange The exchange has named Paolo Scaroni (pictured), the chief executive of Italian oil and gas group Eni and one of its non-executive directors, as its new deputy chairman. The LSE also said Massimo Tononi has joined the board as a non-executive director. Tononi was a partner at Goldman Sachs until July this [...]
September was golden but cooler days are due September 27, 2010 SEPTEMBER’S prodigious rally in the American S&P 500 index has taken many investors rather by surprise. Despite falling yields on US Treasuries and gold rallying, the index is on track for its third-best monthly performance in the past decade. The S&P 500 has been driven higher by tech stocks, which have risen 12.71 per cent [...]
Hester to join commission’s public debate September 26, 2010 STEPHEN Hester, the chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland, at the weekend became the first of the UK’s biggest bank bosses to commit to playing a role in the independent banking commission’s upcoming public debates. The debates, five of which will be held before the New Year, are designed to engage the general [...]
Banks threatening to quit UK over new plans September 26, 2010 FOR SOME time now, the City of London has warned of a “tipping point” – a point in time where the benefits of being based in the UK no longer outweigh the tax and regulatory burden. Many commentators have dismissed this warning as an empty threat from an industry looking for a return to the [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 26, 2010 Barclays Leigh Clifford, the chairman of Qantas Airways, is to step down from his role as a non-executive on the Barclays board at the end of the month. Clifford joined the bank’s board in October 2004. In addition to his position at Qantas, he is also a director of engineering giant Bechtel Group and a [...]
The City boys offering a cut above | City A.M. September 24, 2010 IF YOU can find it in the medieval maze between Lombard Street and Cornhill, tailoring shop Cad & the Dandy is a delightful place to get yourself togged up. It mixes old-fashioned charm – an antique mahogany cutting table, an old leather sofa for those waiting to be measured up, a Union Jack across one [...]
FTSE slides as weak drugmakers and banks offset rally by mining and oil firms September 23, 2010 Britain’s leading share index ended slightly lower yesterday, rallying late on in tandem with a turnaround on Wall Street after US existing home sales data, with firmer oils offset by weak drugmakers and banks. By the close, the FTSE 100 was down 4.83 points or 0.1 per cent at 5,547.08, its third consecutive session of [...]