BT has £9bn pension hole February 11, 2010 BT yesterday revealed a yawning pension deficit of £9bn. Shares in the company – which now has the biggest pension deficit in the private sector – nose-dived as the extent of the black hole was revealed. The firm announced an agreement with trustees to pay back the vast sum over 17 years, adding £525m into [...]
Sir Win Bischoff adds reinforcements to the board at Lloyds Banking Group… February 11, 2010 LLOYDS Banking Group yesterday appointed two new non-executive directors, the first board appointments since Sir Win Bischoff became chairman of the reviving institution. Glen Moreno, the current chairman of Pearson, becomes the group’s senior independent director. Moreno has significant experience in the banking industry, having held a number of positions at Citigroup between 1969 and [...]
Banks suffer as concerns over their Greek exposure weigh February 11, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index closed 0.6 per cent higher on Thursday, as gains in commodities outpaced falls in banks, which remained mired in uncertainty over Eurozone’s plans to deal with Greece’s debt problems. BT Group slumped 8.8 per cent, topping the losers’s list on the FTSE 100 and hitting a more than six-month low after [...]
Possible solution to Eurozone debt woes boosts FTSE 100 February 10, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading shares added 0.4 per cent yesterday as financial issues drew strength from a possible solution to Eurozone debt worries, offsetting a retreat by heavyweight commodity shares. The FTSE 100 ended 20.15 points higher at 5,131.99, recovering from a session low of 5,105.30 in the afternoon but still well below the morning peak of [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 10, 2010 Collins Stewart Christian Redman has joined the investment banking group’s wealth management division, Collins Stewart Wealth Management, as an associate director. Redman joins from Barclays Wealth, where he was responsible for managing over £450m on behalf of private clients across multiple asset classes. He has worked at Gerrard (now part of Barclays Wealth) since 1986, [...]
Sunaga leaves Barclays Japan February 10, 2010 Hideaki Sunaga, Barclay’s co-head of investment banking, has resigned after just one year. Sunaga, who was at Nomura for 20 years, had been brought in to expand Barclays investment banking business in Japan – which he co-lead with Takemi Ando. Barclays declined to comment and it is unclear when Sunaga will be leaving.
Despite its fiscal weakness, dollar remains attractive February 9, 2010 THE US dollar has staged an impressive rally against the euro and sterling. The US is benefiting from safe haven flows as investors ditch the euro over fears of a sovereign debt crisis for Greece that could spread to Portugal, Spain and even to the UK. But are the US’s finances actually any better than [...]
THE LONDON REPORT February 9, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index closed up yesterday, led higher by miners and banks, but lingering concerns over Europe’s fiscal problems weighed on sentiment. The FTSE 100 ended 19.51 points or 0.4 per cent ahead at 5,111.84, having hit a session high of 5,132.93. Metals prices regained some ground after sharp falls last week, helping mining [...]
OFFICE CHIC GETS A SPORTING MAKEOVER February 9, 2010 HERE in the City, we are used to enjoying state-of-the-art office luxury, so it always comes as a surprise when a landlord manages to offer something quite out of the ordinary when it comes to luring in the tenants. David Saul, the managing director of serviced office firm Business Environment, is no stranger to bizarre [...]
Cazenove chief set to quit February 9, 2010 The chief executive of JPMorgan Cazenove, Nuguib Kheraj, is set to leave his job next month because the US bank taking over the UK broker has failed to find him a mutually suitable role. The former Barclays director is a favourite to succeed Lloyds chief Eric Daniels, if he leaves.