Hundreds of City jobs to go as BofA cuts costs by $5bn September 12, 2011 BANK of America chief executive Brian Moynihan yesterday said the bank would take drastic action to cut $5bn (£3.1bn) from its annual cost base. Moynihan told a New York conference BofA would sell assets and slash 30,000 jobs in the first phase of an overhaul to put it on a firmer financial footing and convince [...]
Yet again the emperor has no clothes September 12, 2011 SURELY not. I mean, the Vickers Independent Commission on Banking couldn’t possibly be a case of the emperor having no clothes, could it? Yet as I read through the 358-page tome, a conclusion I couldn’t quite believe kept staring me in the face. If Vickers had never existed, many of the biggest reforms his report [...]
At a glance: everything you need to know from the Vickers report September 12, 2011 ICB: THE BENEFITS OF RING-FENCING Sir John Vickers, chair of the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB), stuck to his guns in insisting that his ring-fence proposal is the best way to ensure Britain’s banks are more stable and do not require costly bailouts if they fail. His main argument is that a ring-fence will make it easier to [...]
Great Portland swoops on two London offices September 12, 2011 GREAT Portland Estates unveiled plans yesterday to expand into London’s West End by buying two properties for more than £250m. The London property developer has agreed to buy a 2.3-acre site near Oxford Street from the Royal Mail Group for £120m in cash – its largest deal to-date. Royal Mail will lease back the site [...]
London retailers unhappy over Olympics confusion September 12, 2011 RETAILERS have been left in the dark over transport plans in London during next summer’s Olympic Games, with a leading industry body urging Mayor Boris Johnson to shed some light on the authorities’ arrangements. “Retailers are being encouraged to put plans in place for next summer but that’s difficult to do without a full picture [...]
McCluskey in call for direct action on cuts September 11, 2011 THE head of Britain’s largest trade union has said workers should be prepared to engage in a campaign of civil disobedience against coalition cuts – just weeks after Britain was gripped by the worst riots in a generation. Len McCluskey, the firebrand leader of the Unite union, refused to rule out so-called “direct action” and [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD September 11, 2011 COMPANY NEWS ● Today, Pan African Resources announces. The Aim-listed company is producing 100,000 ounces of gold per year and will be hoping for glittering results. ● Tomorrow, Abcam and Ashmore both announce. Abcam is a biotechnology company based in Cambridge’s Science Park, which sells research antibodies. ● On Wednesday, Barratt Developments and Galliford Try [...]
Massow’s back and helping you to save September 11, 2011 FAMED for founding the first company to provide mortgages and life insurance for people in HIV high-risk groups, Ivan Massow’s name used to be all over the papers in the 1990s. He sat on the sofa with Richard and Judy, on a panel on BBC’s Question Time, he was even flatmates with the now education [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 6, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES PIMCO WINS MORE FREEDOM Pimco, the US asset manager, is being given more autonomy as part of a restructuring by its owner Allianz, the German insurer. Pimco has been one of Allianz’s most successful investments since it was acquired in 2000 and has been given a largely free rein to set its own [...]
A rally in commodities gives a rare fillip to the FTSE 100 September 6, 2011 A RALLY by hard-pressed commodity issues hauled Britain’s top share index higher yesterday as investors fished choppy waters for bargains after sharp falls in the past two sessions. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was up 54.26 points, or 1.1 per cent, at 5,156.84, having hit a peak of 5,190.2 in the morning and [...]