People don’t come here for the weather December 13, 2009 In 1733, Voltaire, one of France’s greatest thinkers, wrote a series of letters on the English nation, describing some of the extraordinary going-ons he had discovered during his exile to this country. The findings scandalised many of his French readers, then a truly statist and anti-capitalist nation. “Go into the London Stock Exchange – a [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS December 7, 2009 Reed SmithThe law firm has appointed Graham Green as a partner in its employment group in London. Green joins from rival McDermott Will & Emery, and has also worked in the employment department at Linklaters. His practice covers all types of discrimination claims, including race, sex, age and disability discrimination, as well as claims over [...]
FTSEdrops as windfall tax worries offset mining gains December 7, 2009 Britain’s top shares ended 0.2 per cent lower yesterday, with banks weak on concerns over a possible windfall tax, offsetting modest gains in miners and energy stocks which rebounded from earlier losses. The FTSE 100 closed 11.70 points lower at 5,310.66 points, paring some losses from earlier in the session when the index dropped to [...]
Foreign banks urged to lend to UK firms December 7, 2009 FOREIGN banks were yesterday asked to provide billions of pounds in loans to cash-strapped small businesses at a secret meeting with chancellor Alistair Darling and business secretary Lord Mandelson. The government lobbied senior executives from Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan Chase, UBS, and BNP Paribas at a covert meeting in a bid to get [...]
THE TIPSTER December 7, 2009 GOLD bugs will have been disappointed with the sharp correction in the precious metal as it was unable to sustain its record highs above $1,200 an ounce. But for now gold seems to have found some support around the 23.60 per cent retracement when drawn from the April low so this could present a good [...]
BANKS BRACED FOR 1BN WINDFALL TAX December 6, 2009 CHANCELLOR Alistair Darling was this weekend mulling a £1bn windfall tax on the banks as part of a “class war” strategy to depict the Tories as a party for the “rich”. The windfall tax, versions of which were still being worked on by officials last night, is likely to be for a year only and [...]
$1.1bn haul as Kuwait dumps Citi December 6, 2009 Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund made a $1.1bn (£669.5m) profit when it sold its stake in Citigroup yesterday, becoming the latest Gulf investor to offload foreign investments as markets improve. The Kuwait Investment Authority transferred the preferred shares it owned in Citigroup into common stock and sold the entire holding for $4.1bn. It had invested $3bn [...]
WHAT ARE YOU EXPECTING FROM THE PRE-BUDGET REPORT? December 6, 2009 MICHAEL SAUNDERS CITIGROUPThis would be a good time to detail a phased fiscal consolidation for the next few years. However we do not expect this to happen in the PBR. Fiscal policy in the PBR will aim to reinforce Labour’s pre-election political strategy, rather than to re-establish fiscal sustainability.SIMON HAYES BARCLAYS CAPITALThe report provides the [...]
Rising stars ofCity fight off the downturn December 6, 2009 ONE hundred of the City’s most precocious young stars have been honoured in a round-up of the hottest names to watch in the world of finance over the coming year. The list of 100 Rising Stars, compiled by Financial News, includes Goldman Sachs emerging markets trader Jan Sramek, who at the tender age of 22 [...]
Retreating miners offset a strong day for banking sector December 3, 2009 A retreat in mining stocks offset gains in financials from Bank of America’s decision to repay bailout funds, leaving Britain’s top share index down 0.3 per cent at yesterday’s close. The FTSE 100 shed 14.39 points to end at 5,313.00, after gaining 0.3 percent on Wednesday. Banks were the top risers with sentiment helped by [...]