Barclays accuses Lehman of keeping back $3bn assets after 2008 collapse April 6, 2010 THE legal wrangle between Barclays and Lehman Brothers Holdings is set to intensify this week when the British bank tells a judge Lehman is withholding $3bn (£2bn) in assets. Barclays, which bought Lehman’s core operations after it imploded in September 2008, says it is entitled to around $750m left in clearance boxes and $750m in [...]
FTSE ends higher on oil and mining after upbeat US data April 6, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares closed 0.6 per cent higher yesterday, lifted by firmer commodities after upbeat US data raised demand expectations, while Vodafone fell as Verizon merger talk cooled. The FTSE 100 ended up 35.46 points at 5,780.35, having earlier hit a fresh 21-month intra-day peak of 5,790.40. The index climbed 1.2 per cent on Thursday [...]
BG defends chief’s £28m pay bonanza April 5, 2010 BG GROUP has defended its chief executive’s stratospheric pay package ahead of a vote on remuneration by shareholders at its annual general meeting in May. Frank Chapman more than doubled his compensation to £28m in 2009 after exercising a large chunk of share options. Although his basic salary and bonus came to £2.7m, the bulk [...]
Global banking levy could come in by November April 5, 2010 BRITAIN could sign up to an international banking levy as soon as the November meeting of G20 leaders at Seoul, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said yesterday. The UK, France and Germany are understood to be agreed on the argument for a “global responsibility” tax that would cost the likes of Goldman Sachs, Barclays and JPMorgan [...]
BarCap poaches veteran banker from Rothschild April 5, 2010 BARCLAYS Capital has poached the co-head of Rothschild’s investment banking division in the Middle East and North Africa to head up its financial institutions group (FIG) coverage, sources said yesterday. Michael Helou, 37, set up Rothschild’s Dubai office in 2006. In his new role, expected to begin in the middle of May, he will be [...]
Watch out as those bond yields drift upwards April 5, 2010 Something very interesting is happening in the bond market these days, and, yes, it has to do with the enormous amount of bonds that are being issued by governments. In one word, it can be described as distortion. For a very long time, even with the knowledge that budget deficits were ballooning from government overspending, [...]
JP Morgan gets new LNG deal in energy focus March 31, 2010 JP MORGAN has ventured further into the energy industry by signing an agreement with Chieniere Energy, the liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer. The agreement will give JP Morgan’s clients access to its Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana. It is understood the two will share profits from shipping the fuel on behalf of their clients. “Working [...]
Northern Rock head is making a small fortune March 31, 2010 THE head of nationalised bank Northern Rock was paid an astounding £1.3m in 2009, despite the group recording a loss of £257m last year. Gary Hoffman’s basic £700,000 salary was boosted by pension payments and the second tranche of a 1.2m compensation package for incentives lost when he left Barclays in 2008, according to the [...]
Barclays seals purchase of Citi credit card arm March 31, 2010 BARCLAYS has successfully completed its acquisition of rival Citibank’s Italian credit card business, allowing it to take control of the divison’s 197,000-odd credit card accounts and €234m (£208.3m) of assets. Barclays said yesterday that its path had been cleared to complete the deal, originally announced last month, following receipt of competition clearance and consultation with [...]
Miners and banks boost FTSE 100 March 31, 2010 STRONGER miners and banking stocks outweighed falls from defensive stocks to leave Britain’s top share index slightly higher by the close yesterday while BSkyB gained after an expected pay-TV review from Ofcom. The FTSE 100 index ended 7.32 points, or 0.1 per cent, higher at 5,679.64 having closed 0.7 per cent lower on Tuesday and [...]