Jefferies finishes 2012 on a high, but it is tough out there December 17, 2012 There’s been anything but a gradual winding down towards the Christmas break for many of those who ply their trade at the London offices of Jefferies. Whilst for many rivals Christmas is truly coming early, with some executives already off for a touch of winter sun, many of the Jefferies teams are still much in [...]
Apple agrees to back down on ebook pricing… December 13, 2012 APPLE and a group of major publishers have backed down over the pricing of ebooks, in a move that could see Amazon set lower prices. The four publishers – Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Hachette Livre and Macmillan – as well as the technology giant reached an agreement with European authorities following a competition investigation. The [...]
What the other papers say this Morning December 12, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Steel chief Mittal upbeat on US growth US manufacturing is poised to reap the benefits of cheaper energy, propelling the world’s largest economy into a new growth phase, says Lakshmi Mittal, chairman and chief executive of ArcelorMittal. Brussels backs Hutchison Orange deal Europe’s top competition authority approved the acquisition of France Telecom’s Orange [...]
European banking union will be no friend of vibrant financial services December 12, 2012 WOLFGANG Schäuble, the German finance minister, recently said that “we can only achieve political union if we have a crisis”. His idea is to exploit the Eurozone’s sovereign debt problems to confer additional powers on the EU. And his most recent project is the “single supervisory mechanism” – otherwise known as banking union. EU finance [...]
Three men arrested in Libor probe December 11, 2012 THE UK fraud office yesterday stepped up the global investigation into the Libor fixing scandal by arresting three City bankers in connection with the probe. The men, aged 33, 41 and 47, were detained by the City of London police on the orders of the Serious Fraud Office in an early morning raid on three [...]
Bubbles and bankruptcy at the British Museum December 10, 2012 THE LATEST offering from the money team at the British Museum, Bubbles and Bankruptcy, is a exhibitional journey through financial crises in Britain since the first stock bubbles of 1700 to the fiscal woes of present. The exhibition aims to “explore the fertile history of satire and protest about financial crises, represented by historic prints, [...]
Banco Popular deal puts a spring in bankers’ steps December 6, 2012 THE problems of the Eurozone are far from over but some investment bankers involved in capital raising issues are hoping a type of normality is returning to their battered markets. The contrasting fortunes of two financial deals, at either end of the year, provide the backdrop to their growing confidence. At the start of 2012 [...]
What the other papers say this morning November 18, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES EU makes budget plans without UK EU officials have begun work on a plan to create a long-term budget without the UK in a move that reflects mounting frustration that Britain’s demand for a spending freeze cannot be reconciled with the rest of the bloc. EU officials and national diplomats have been studying [...]
Why Metro Bank is flourishing in the low growth banking business November 13, 2012 WHEN we first opened Metro Bank’s doors in 2010, the prevailing response was that we were a little crazy. “How can you expect to drop into London and do something nobody’s done in more than 100 years: create a differentiated new bank model? It can’t be done!” But we knew that the UK banking market [...]
It is still not clear whether China’s new leaders will advance economic reform November 12, 2012 JUST days after the re-election of Barack Obama in the world’s biggest economy, China is deciding who will run the world’s second largest. For investors looking to put their money into this fast-growing market, understanding both the views and backgrounds of China’s new leaders is of the utmost importance. Hopes are high that this leadership [...]