AIG pays $960m to settle legal battle with angry shareholders August 4, 2014 INSURANCE giant AIG last night announced it will pay shareholders $960m (£569m) to settle the lawsuit they launched in the wake of the firm’s collapse in the financial crisis. The group, led by the state of Michigan’s pension fund, had argued the insurer misled the market over its financial health in the run up to [...]
Argentina says holdouts may be fraudsters August 4, 2014 ARGENTINIAN officials accused hedge funds of insider trading yesterday, and demanded the US authorities investigate. In the country’s latest attack on bondholders who refused to accept a low payout on their investments, regulator Alejandro Vanoli asked the US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) for data on credit default swaps. He argued that if the holdouts bought [...]
City Moves for 04 August 2014 | Who’s switching jobs August 3, 2014 Sovereign Land The retail and leisure developer and asset manager has announced the appointment of Thomas Mallindine as a senior asset manager. He previously worked at M&G Real Estate for five years, most recently as investment manager, retail and institutional funds. Kingston Smith & Partners The corporate recovery and insolvency arm of Kingston Smith, the accountancy [...]
Barclays’ Antony Jenkins says his bank has turned corner July 30, 2014 Antony Jenkins had a new spring in his step yesterday. Payment protection insurance mis-selling might have blown another near-billion pound hole in his profits, but he had the look of a man who knows he is on the verge of something great. Like most post-crisis banking chiefs, Jenkins took the reins at Barclays in the wake [...]
Payback time but Bank of England’s bonus clawbacks are rife with pitfalls July 30, 2014 Quite literally, yesterday it was payback time for Britain’s banking industry. Regulators’ demands that lenders must force staff to hand back bonuses awarded as long as seven years earlier delivers a belated sense of justice for those clamouring for more robust post-crisis retribution. The Bank of England’s timing could hardly have been better, coming [...]
German city of Hamburg is the latest to try and ban taxi app Uber July 23, 2014 Yet another city that doesn't like Uber. The German city of Hamburg has become the latest to try and ban the smartphone taxi app service, further indication of the increasing pressure the US company is facing from local regulators and cab drivers. The San-Francisco based firm, which operates in more than 149 cities in 42 [...]
City Moves for 16 July 2014 | Who’s switching jobs July 16, 2014 Linklaters The law firm has announced the appointments of Matthew Middleditch as global head of corporate and Sarah Wiggins (pictured) as global head of client sectors. Middleditch is currently Linklaters’s Hong Kong-based head of corporate in Asia. Wiggins is a senior corporate partner. Adamant Ventures The oil & gas venture capital fund has announced the [...]
This is the start of a new democratic space race – and Britain is at its head July 16, 2014 Yesterday's announcement that the government has shortlisted eight potential sites for a UK spaceport, and enabled a regulatory regime for manned spaceflight, is a breakthrough moment for our £11bn space sector. While the industry has already enjoyed Bric-style growth rates in recent years, we are now on track to remove crucial blockages to UK leadership [...]
Wonga appoints former boss of RSA as chair to lead turnaround July 14, 2014 Payday lender Wonga yesterday named former RSA Insurance group chief executive Andy Haste as chairman, who vowed to keep the company in line with tougher rules being imposed the loans industry. Haste replaces former chair and co-founder Errol Damelin, who announced his departure last month. Wonga and other short-term lenders have come under [...]
Entire wholesale banking sector faces probe for unfair behaviour July 9, 2014 Every aspect of the wholesale banking market faces a new round of scrutiny, the City watchdog warned yesterday. From corporate banking to asset management, and investment banking to market infrastructure, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is appealing for complaints over a lack of competition. It is gathering evidence over the next three months to see which [...]