Large caps break 5,000 as travel gets its day in the sun September 9, 2009 THE FTSE 100 ended a week of waiting yesterday to pull itself above the 5,000 level by the close. The benchmark index rose by 1.2 per cent on the back of strong oil and bank stocks, as well as early gains on Wall Street. By the close the index was 56.96 points higher at 5,004.30, [...]
HSBC and Barclays popular for standing alone September 8, 2009 AYEAR ago this week we experienced “The End of the World as We Know It” as investment bank Lehman collapsed, amid fears of the whole financial system going into meltdown. In the subsequent months I took part in many gloomy debates about whether everything had changed forever, or whether it was just a larger-scale event [...]
FSA fines Barclays over data September 8, 2009 BARCLAYS has been fined £2.45m by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for failing to provide the regulator with accurate reports of its transactions and for weaknesses in its systems and controls. The City watchdog said it had stumbled across “discrepancies” in Barclays’ data while probing an incident of suspected market abuse by a third party. [...]
Forward forex markets are bearish for the dollar’s status September 8, 2009 A QUICK glance at the usually lively currency markets would suggest that not a whole lot is going on in foreign exchange. Major currency pairs are stuck in tight trading ranges – the euro-dollar, for example, has been stuck in the $1.33-$1.44 trading range since June. It would be tempting to say that traders ought [...]
Veteran asset managers see consolidation September 7, 2009 A QUARTET of top names in the asset management industry have predicted a period of consolidation, coupled with simplification and heightened scrutiny of the financial products they offer. Martin Gilbert, who heads Aberdeen Asset Management, said he expected there to be “fewer asset managers in three years than there are today”. “Firms today can be [...]
City Moves who’s switching jobs September 7, 2009 ActantLars Hjaltman has joined the exchange trading solutions firm as head of development, based in the UK but operating in the firm’s major markets across Europe and the US. Hjaltman has over 20 years of experience in technology and software development, having most recently been chief operating officer of Electronic Shipping Solutions. He has also [...]
RBS moves to cut overdraft charge in half September 7, 2009 ROYAL Bank of Scotland has broken ranks with competitors by slashing charges on customers who go overdrawn without agreement or exceed their overdraft limit. From 1 October, RBS and subsidiary NatWest will slash the fee for returning a cheque, direct debit or standing order to £5, while the fee for paying an item on an [...]
CADBURY RIVALS SET FOR BID WAR September 7, 2009 CADBURY, the maker of some of Britain’s best-loved confectionery brands, yesterday rejected a £10.2bn takeover approach from Kraft Foods, sparking speculation that the US food giant and its rivals may soon enter a spiralling bidding war for the firm. Kraft Foods, which owns confectionery brands Toblerone, Milka and Oreo, said a deal would create a [...]
BarCap poaches Rothschild’s Marsaglia amid growth drive September 7, 2009 BARCLAYS Capital has taken its plans to become a global investment-banking player up a gear by naming Stefano Marsaglia, the respected Rothschild banker, as chairman of its financial institutions group (FIG). In the latest in a series of high-profile hires Barclays has snapped up the Italian heavyweight, who has spent the last 17 years at [...]
Barclays in PPI ban row September 7, 2009 BARCLAYS yesterday launched a legal appeal against a Competition Commission decision to ban the sale of Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) alongside financial products. Barclays told the Competition Appeals Tribunal that a point-of-sale ban was not justified by the evidence and also argued that the scope of the definition of PPI imposed by the Commission is [...]