London Report: Lloyds and Centrica pull down FTSE but Shell prevents rout July 31, 2014 BRITAIN’S top equity index yesterday fell as Lloyds Bank pulled down financial stocks, while concerns about the impact on Europe from tensions between Russia and Ukraine also made traders wary. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed down by 0.6 per cent, or 43.33 points, at 6,730.11 points. Shares in Lloyds, which had risen for the [...]
Bottom Line: Driverless cars aren’t on a risk-free road July 30, 2014 THE decision to put the UK in the forefront of the development of driverless cars is a brave, smart choice. Smart because this technology is accelerating fast and it makes sense to have a hand on the steering wheel. With firms such as Ricardo UK doing great work on autonomous road train projects, and experiments [...]
City Moves for 31 July 2014 | Who’s switching jobs July 30, 2014 BJSS The IT consultancy has announced the appointment of Grant Thomas as head of practice. He joins from Barclaycard, where he was head of business change. Thomas has also previously held senior roles at IBM, PwC, and Accenture. Nikko Asset Management Stefanie Drews has been appointed global head of institutional marketing and proposition at the [...]
What your business card says about you July 29, 2014 A man pats his slicked back hair as he slides his business card across the table to his colleagues. It’s off-white and the words “Patrick Bateman, Vice President” are embossed on it in a finely etched black font. “Picked ‘em up from the printers yesterday. That’s bone. And the lettering is something called Silian Grail,” [...]
Promotions for Bank of America equity capital markets chiefs July 28, 2014 BANK of America Merrill Lynch yesterday promoted London-based equity capital markets (ECM) boss Craig Coben to co-head of global ECM. Coben – the brother of crime novelist Harlan – has headed the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) unit since 2009. Over the five-year stint, he has worked on some of the biggest deals in the [...]
London Report: Fall in financials brings London’s market down July 28, 2014 THE FTSE 100 yesterday ended down after weak US housing data discouraged investors in America and Europe during a data-light European day. The blue chip index lost 0.1 per cent to close at 6,788.07. Earlier in the day it had traded as high as 6,809.61, but moved lower together with other markets after pending home [...]
Lloyds fined £226m by UK and US regulators for Libor manipulation July 28, 2014 Lloyds has become the latest bank to be fined for manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor). The benchmark interest rate determines the cost of a range of credit products which have a combined value of at least $350tn, but a number of banks have been charged with unlawfully tampering with it in order [...]
City Moves for 25 July 2014 | Who’s switching jobs July 24, 2014 Quantum Advisory Sean Gilfeather has been appointed principal consultant and actuary at the actuarial and benefits consultancy. He joins from Lorica Consulting, where he was head of actuarial and risk management. Gilfeather has also held roles at PwC and Towers Watson. Mercer The talent, retirement, health and investment firm has appointed Jane Barker as its [...]
City Moves for 24 July 2014 | Who’s switching jobs July 23, 2014 Mayfair Capital Investment Management The UK real estate investment manager has appointed Jonathan Gibbon as investment director. He was most recently head of UK transactions at Aberdeen Asset Management. Gibbon will work alongside Guy Brodgen, Mayfair Capital’s co-founder, in leading its transaction business. BCS Financial Group Matthieu Ressencourt has been appointed managing director and head [...]
Nationwide sets mortgage cap and tough new stress test for home buyers July 22, 2014 Nationwide has announced it is capping all new mortgages at 4.75 times the income of the borrower, and setting a tough new stress test to ward off concerns over interest rate rises. The bank will impose a new 6.99 per cent stress test, an increase on the existing rate, although a spokesperson would not reveal [...]