Diamond bags a golden boy August 17, 2009 BARCLAYS Capital boss Bob Diamond might well be justified in offering £30m for star metals trader Todd Edgar and his team – the trader is known for his nerves of steel and Midas touch when it comes to market calls. The 35-year old, who has ditched JP Morgan to join Diamond, is well regarded in [...]
Take a punt on the weather with grains and orange juice August 17, 2009 THE summer months might be a quiet time for most traders, but not all. For those who make their money watching the prices of assets such as wheat, corn and orange juice, this is when the market is at its peak. In many cases, the outlook for the harvest is becoming clearer, and industry analysts [...]
Fears over pace of economic recovery see FTSE stumble August 17, 2009 THE FTSE 100 fell 1.5 per cent by the close yesterday with mining, oil and banking stocks leading the losers, as global markets retracted amid concerns over the pace of global recovery. The index closed 68.96 points lower at 4,645.01, extending losses from Friday when it shed 0.9 per cent and marking its biggest one [...]
DARLING THREATENS LAW TO CURB CITY BONUSES August 16, 2009 CITY bankers are on a collision course with politicians over multi-million pound bonuses after chancellor Alistair Darling yesterday pledged to intervene to curb excessive pay and risk-taking in the Square Mile. The Treasury is ready to consider legal action on bonuses if they pose a “systemic risk” to the banking system, which Darling and many [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 16, 2009 THE SUNDAYSThe Sunday TelegraphBAE WARNS OF CREDIT THREAT TO SUPPLIERSBAE systems has warned that its supply chain is at risk from suppliers failing to obtain adequate credit. The defence giant is supplied by tens of thousands of smaller manufacturers that are far more vulnerable to the funding squeeze than the company itself. BAE has a [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 16, 2009 Bill & Melinda Gates FoundationThe Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has appointed Joe Carrell, currently an official at its global health policy and advocacy group, to head its new London office. Carrell, who joined the foundation in 2001, will move over from Seattle in January 2010, to oversee the organisation’s first European outpost, which is [...]
TV VIEW: RAY STUBBS August 13, 2009 Title race will be closer than everManchester United and Liverpool both have the motivating factor of 18 titles each, and both have strength in depth. Yes, United have sold a few players, but let’s see how they react. Chelsea will be a big force this year and while I think it would be naive to [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 12, 2009 RSAThe insurer has appointed Christian Torkington as its new UK chief operating officer. Torkington joins from Scottish Widows, where he was managing director of operations. Prior to that, he worked at Barclays in a variety of senior roles, and was also the chief executive of an economic development agency. RSIM Rensburg Sheppards Investment Management has [...]
Collapse in commodities ends BHP’s record run August 12, 2009 BHP Billiton, the world’s largest miner, yesterday reported a 30 per cent slide in annual profit excluding writedowns, its first fall in seven years, pummelled by a slump in metals prices and demand. It said there were emerging signs of demand improving in North America, Europe and Japan, but said it was too early to [...]
Regulator adopts a measured Code for bonuses August 12, 2009 NEWS that the Financial Services Authority (FSA) wants to influence but not emasculate the bank bonus culture is welcome, but was the only sensible option. The City watchdog has clearly listened to industry concerns, particularly the worry that an excessive clampdown on remuneration would spark an exodus of workers overseas. Jocelyn Mitchell, employment partner at [...]