CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 6, 2011 Pinsent Masons The law firm has appointed Barry Vitou (pictured) to its dispute resolution team. He joins the firm from the London office of US firm Winston & Strawn, where he headed its regulatory and tech practice. He will be working with Danvers Baillieu, a senior associate advising on online and tech business issues. Vitou [...]
ETFs – what they are and how to use them February 3, 2011 THIS page usually deals with listed exchange-traded products (ETPs) in great depth. Last week, for example, we covered the ins and outs of leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) – which offer all the exposure of an ordinary ETF, except doubled up. But while the UK market for ETFs has expanded dramatically over the last few years, [...]
US Embassy attracts £250m property scheme to Vauxhall February 3, 2011 TWO skyscrapers are being planned for Vauxhall, as developer CLS hopes to cash in on the multi-billion pound regeneration in the area. CLS aims to submit planning permission in late 2011 for two mixed-use towers of over 40 storeys at the Vauxhall Cross site, which is opposite Vauxhall Tube station and close to the new [...]
JD in talks to buy troubled retailer JJB February 2, 2011 JD Sports is in talks to buy troubled retailer JJB Sports, sending shares in the Wigan-based firm soaring 17 per cent. The news comes as JJB confirmed it will raise £31.5m from shareholders through the placement of 630m new shares, with sources close to the firm warning it may need further help within weeks. The [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 30, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BANKS WATCH BARCLAYS’ COCO PLANS Big banks on both sides of the Atlantic are weighing whether to follow Barclays as it pushes ahead with a plan to pay bonuses with innovative bonds, dubbed cocos. According to several banks present at last week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, the idea of using contingent convertible [...]
Less than half of City jobs are in finance January 30, 2011 FINANCIAL companies in the City and Canary Wharf stimulate a vast and varied range of jobs outside the sector, according to official figures seen by City A.M. Less than half (44 per cent) the jobs in London’s main financial districts were in finance and insurance in 2009, with 232,682 other jobs existing in support services [...]
Work restarts on British Land’s Cheesegrater January 27, 2011 CONSTRUCTION work has restarted on the Cheesegrater tower on Leadenhall Street after developers British Land and Oxford Properties agreed to fund the £340m project as a joint venture. The 47-storey tower, officially named the Leadenhall Building, was shelved in 2008 amid uncertainty in the London property market. Builders returned to the site yesterday to restart [...]
Great Portland Estates portfolio lifted by strong London demand January 27, 2011 GREAT Portland Estates (GPE) said yesterday that rising property values helped push its net asset value up 3.8 per cent in the last three months of 2010. The FTSE 250-listed landlord now owns properties worth £1.55bn, which the firm said has been boosted by strong demand for leasing and investments in central London. Office rental [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 24, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES FSA CHIEF SEEKS NEW SAFEGUARDS The head of the Financial Services Authority has called for a “radical rethink” of consumer protection in the UK, including the possible imposition of fee caps and bans on some retail financial products. The regulator has historically adopted a “light touch” approach for the regulation of financial products, [...]
Vickers rules out break-up January 23, 2011 SIR John Vickers, chair of the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB), ruled out breaking up the financial industry into “narrow banks” on Saturday in his first official speech since the commission was convened. But Vickers’ speech, which gave a glimpse of the ICB’s thinking three months before its preliminary report is due out, did discuss [...]