Boards win day despite investor revolts July 16, 2014 Three major UK companies suffered significant shareholder revolts yesterday on a busy day for annual general meetings – and, inevitably, the City grandee Sir John Peace was at the centre of one of the dramas. Peace, who has been at the centre of two shareholder battles already this year, found himself under fire again after nearly [...]
Barclays ditches cashiers as it shifts to digital July 11, 2014 The face of high street banking is changing, and Barclays has decided to drop the role of traditional cashier as customers increasingly adopt digital services for managing their finances. The British bank has announced that it will be moving 6,500 employees from cashier roles to advisory roles, where they will help customers with managing [...]
City Moves for 11 July 2014 | Who’s switching jobs July 10, 2014 BNP Paribas Real Estate The property adviser has appointed Pippa Evans as UK HR director. She has most recently been working on an interim basis at HSBC. Evans was also formerly HR director at Liberty Mutual Insurance Europe, and senior HR business partner at Schroders Asset Management. KPMG The professional services firm has announced two [...]
Bullish fund management execs forecast surge in money growth July 6, 2014 THE FUND industry predicts growth of new cash flowing into products will nearly double to nine per cent every year for the next five years, an upbeat survey suggests. The bullish assessment says net new money growth will improve from the current rate of three to five per cent annual growth to reach nearly 10 [...]
Urban Exposure IPO: Property lender to raise £500m in market float July 2, 2014 A residential property lender yesterday announced plans for a £500m stock market float as it seeks to tap into demand for new homes in London and the south east. Urban Exposure was founded as a property developer in 2002 by former Deutsche Bank risk analyst Randeesh Sandhu, but started providing short-term loans to other [...]
Accountancy firm EY appoints 675 new partners July 1, 2014 Accountancy giant EY yesterday announced 675 people had been promoted to partner this year – an increase of 33 per cent on last year – highlighting improved economic growth and corporate activity. EY said it had appointed 237 new partners in its Europe, Middle East, India and Asia region. This is a rise of 46 per [...]
Eurozone lending and inflation data signal meagre expansion June 30, 2014 LENDING and inflation in the Eurozone showed little sign of recovery in May and June, according to figures published yesterday. Inflation held at 0.5 per cent in June, the same figure as in May and the joint-lowest since a brief period in 2009. Prices are rising far more slowly than the European Cental Bank (ECB) [...]
Services sector to prop up UK’s trade balance for years to come June 30, 2014 THE UK’s services firms are set for robust export growth in the next five years, with the sector’s trade surplus forecast to swell in the years ahead. Of the advanced economies, only Japan will surpass the UK’s export growth in the next five years, according to a report today from EY’s Item Club. Outward trade [...]
London Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival causes a splash in the Royal Albert Dock June 30, 2014 The London Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival got underway yesterday with teams from PwC, EY, ABP Investment (pictured, far left), Lycamobile (pictured, middle) and Bank of East Asia (pictured, right) all competing in the dragon-headed crafts in the Royal Albert Dock. They battled through the afternoon’s heavy showers, with ABF The Soldiers’ Charity taking the [...]
Letters to the Editor – 30/06 – Bubble-mania, World Cup, Best of Twitter June 29, 2014 Bubble-mania [Re: Are the Bank of England’s mortgage lending restrictions likely to prove ineffective? Thursday] An interesting debate, but I’m unnerved by how casually commentators and economists throw the word “bubble” around without giving much thought to what they are actually saying. Would a rise in base rates cause the housing market in London to [...]