FTSE down amid Eurozone gloom May 23, 2012 Miners led the FTSE down in early trading as a two-session rally hit the buffers. Fears that Eurozone leaders have lost control of the bloc’s fast unravelling finances sapped investor confidence. A summit in Brussels today will thrash out possible ways to tackle the latest phase of the crisis including France’s idea for the issuing [...]
Burberry profit jumps by a quarter May 23, 2012 British luxury brand Burberry posted a 26 per cent jump in profit as expected and said it would invest up to £200m in new outlets and expanding existing stores in London, Chicago and Hong Kong. The 156-year-old seller of raincoats and leather goods, known for its camel, red and black check pattern, said on Wednesday [...]
M&S profit falls May 22, 2012 Marks & Spencer posted a 1.2 per cent fall in full-year underlying profit, its first decline in three years, as even its relatively older and more affluent customers were touched by the economic downturn. Britain’s biggest clothing retailer, which also sells homewares and upmarket foods, said on Tuesday it made a profit before tax and [...]
Bank rally helps steady FTSE May 21, 2012 The FTSE 100 was solid this morning despite the storm clouds – created by the Eurozone crisis – still hanging over markets. Over the weekend G8 leaders stressed their “imperative” was to promote growth and jobs and gave verbal backing for Greece to stay in the euro. But despite calls from the United States for [...]
StanChart: UK encouraging shift of money to Asia by goldplating May 20, 2012 THE HEAD of Standard Chartered’s European bank has warned that the UK is accelerating the shift of economic power from west to east by goldplating bank regulations. Richard Holmes, head of StanChart’s European business, told City A.M. that Britain’s approach could cause a “creep” of investment away from London. “What’s going on here is forcing [...]
Manduca in line for chairman’s role at the Pru May 20, 2012 PAUL MANDUCA, one of the City’s best-known fund managers, is set to become the new chairman of Prudential, putting an end to a five-month search for Harvey McGrath’s successor. Manduca, 60, joined the board of Prudential, the UK’s biggest life assurer, as a senior independent director in October 2010 and has been overseeing the search [...]
Coutts focuses senior hiring on Middle East and Asian business May 20, 2012 COUTTS has hired a troupe of senior executives in the Middle East in Asia, but is less keen on boosting its UK hiring after what it sees as enough growth in London over the last decade. The private bank, which is owned by RBS, has brought on board around 20 top managers to boost its [...]
High streets hit as rain keeps shoppers away May 20, 2012 UK HIGH STREETS suffered the sharpest drop in footfall in more than two years after the wettest April on record convinced already cash-strapped shoppers to stay at home. The number of visitors to stores and shopping centres between February and April was two per cent lower than a year ago, figures from the British Retail [...]
City panel says Dimon at risk after $2bn loss while living wills are best regulatory response May 20, 2012 JAMIE Dimon is unlikely to hold on to his job as JP Morgan chief executive following revelations of a $2bn (£1.26bn) trading loss at the US investment banking giant, according to members of our readers’ panel. Excluding those who said they did not know, 53 per cent of panellists on our Voice of the City Panel [...]
House prices in the capital are detached by location May 20, 2012 London’s property market is outperforming but some boroughs are well off the pace LONDON Neither London, nor England and Wales, have returned to their 2008 peaks – but London is close. From March 2009, prices have grown 16 per cent in London compared to 6 per cent in England and Wales as a whole. However, [...]