Barclays’ Agius to take helm at BBA September 7, 2010 BARCLAYS chairman Marcus Agius yesterday announced he would step up to chair the British Bankers’ Association after HSBC chairman Stephen Green resigned to take up a new appointment as UK minister for trade and investment. Agius, a former Lazard investment banker, has chaired Barclays since the beginning of 2007. He has maintained a lower profile [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: HOW WILL BOB DIAMOND FIT IN AS CHIEF EXECUTIVE? September 7, 2010 NEIL SHAH | EDISON INVESTMENT RESEARCH “It’s a great example of succession planning as far as I’m concerned. He’ll be in a different position as chief executive, though, and he will probably be more measured in his approach. Where he was before and where he’s going to now are different and he’ll probably be operating [...]
Ex-Goldman banker tipped for HSBC September 7, 2010 FORMER Goldman Sachs investment banker John Thornton was yesterday touted as the most likely candidate to step into Stephen Green’s shoes, after the HSBC chairman accepted the role of trade and investment minister in the coalition government. Green is due to step down before the year is out to fill the last remaining vacancy in [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 7, 2010 Deloitte The accountancy firm has appointed UK partner Chris Harvey as the new head of its financial services group. Harvey has been a partner since 2002 and has been global head of banking and securities since 2008. He will focus on growing the financial services business in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Eastern [...]
FTSE’s winning streak comes to an end after Barclays and mining shares sink September 7, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index fell from a four-month closing high and ended a seven-session winning run yesterday, led lower by Barclays after management changes and miners on concerns over Australia’s tax plan. In positive news, Invensys climbed 7.4 per cent, with traders citing a newspaper report that the engineering group is a takeover target. An [...]
US market falls as fears on European banks weigh September 7, 2010 US stocks fell in very light volume yesterday as investors seized on renewed concerns about European banks as a reason to sell shares after strong gains last week. Banks, energy companies and chipmakers were the biggest decliners. Trading was among the lightest of the year, with 6.07bn shares traded on the NYSE, Nasdaq and Amex [...]
Bob Diamond set to lead Barclays September 6, 2010 Barclays will today name investment banking president Bob Diamond as successor to chief executive John Varley in a surprise shake-up at the top of the British bank. Diamond, who is credited with propelling Barclays Capital into the premier league of Wall Street players, is expected to take the reins next year around the time of [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 6, 2010 HOME RETAIL GROUP Seymour Pierce has upgraded the owner of Argos to a “hold” ahead of its trading update on Thursday. The firm has lost 29.5 per cent of its value in a year, and the current share price of 221p is near fair value, it believes. The broker notes that the retailer’s strong balance [...]
THE TIPSTER September 6, 2010 NOW that the search is on for a replacement for John Bond, chairman of Vodafone, investors might start to see the stock as more attractive. One possible replacement is Roger Carr. His vast experience and enviable CV, including having aided the sale of Cadbury to Kraft, could mark a refreshing shake up for the telecommunications [...]
Woods waiting on Pavin’s wildcard call September 6, 2010 TIGER WOODS is expected to get the nod to play in the US Ryder Cup team today. The world No1 missed out on the eight automatic qualifying places but is hoping to be named as one of captain Corey Pavin’s four wildcard picks for Celtic Manor next month. Just last month, Woods questioned his place [...]