CITY VIEWS: HAS THE CITY STARTED TO QUIETEN DOWN IN THE SUMMER? July 26, 2010 RACHEL NEWTON | BREWIN DOLPHIN “I think people have become more optimistic as the weather has improved. But until the government’s spending review comes out in the autumn there’s still going to be a lot of uncertainty in the City. In the public sector too, people still seem anxious about spending cuts.” RUSSELL LAMB | [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 20, 2010 XENFIN CAPITAL The systematic trading firm has hired Luca Rubinelli to head up its new fixed income trading arm. Rubinelli joins from a family office, where he was a multi-asset portfolio manager on the proprietary trading desk. Prior to that, he was a director at Société Générale in the derivatives solutions group and also held [...]
BoA veteran Jim O’Neil set for UKFI role July 19, 2010 UKFI, the body set up to manage the taxpayer’s stakes in the banks, has welcomed Bank of America Merrill Lynch veteran Jim O’Neil as the latest in a long line of senior executives to parade through its revolving door. O’Neil, who last year advised Lloyds Banking Group on its £22.5bn recapitalisation, will be doing the [...]
CITY VIEWS: HAVE STRIKES AND THE DRIVE TO AUSTERITY PUT YOU OFF July 12, 2010 SARA ABDOLZADEH | AVIVA “I had to cancel my holiday to Egypt because of the volcanic ash. But it has not deterred me from travelling by air again this year. I am flying out to South Africa this summer. While I didn’t book this trip, having had to cancel Egypt has made me more wary [...]
Lord Levene’s bank eyes up online assets July 11, 2010 LORD Levene and Sir David Walker’s new high street bank plans to scour the market for potential online banking acquisitions after initially launching a bid for a retail branch network. NewBank, which does not yet have an official name, is currently eyeing up state-owned assets put on the block by Lloyds Banking Group and Northern [...]
Battle of the banks July 8, 2010 SOME OF the City’s most powerful names are gearing up for an almighty bidding battle over state-controlled banking assets including Northern Rock and parts of Lloyds Banking Group. Lloyd’s of London chairman Lord Levene and City grandee Sir David Walker will take on Richard Branson’s Virgin money in a fight to create a new nationwide [...]
Failed $400m RidgeWorth deal hits Henderson’s profits July 8, 2010 FUND management group Henderson said yesterday its failed takeover of US fund manager RidgeWorth had made a sizeable dent to its profit forecasts. In a trading update, Henderson said recurring profits for the six months to end-June will be between £47m and £49m – six per cent lower than expected. That compares with the £27m [...]
INSURANCE July 8, 2010 Q. What are the basic kinds of insurance required of a small business? A.Business insurance requirements depend on the firm’s type, but at the bare minimum you will require public liability insurance, business motor insurance and liability insurance for any employees. While public liability insurance isn’t necessarily legally mandated, most serious businesses cover themselves for [...]
City heavyweights poised to swoop for government assets July 8, 2010 A PAIR of prominent City figures are drawing up secret plans to launch a bid for one of the banks owned by British taxpayers, according to Sky News. It has been reported that Lord Levene, chairman of Lloyd’s of London, and Sir David Walker are backing a new acquisition vehicle that will list on the [...]
Henderson hands international property unit to Aviva Investors July 7, 2010 FUND management group Henderson has transferred its international property fund over to Aviva Investors following a strategic review of the fund’s prospects. The international property fund, which faltered under previous owner New Star as redemptions ballooned in the credit crisis, was only re-opened to daily dealing in February after a closed period of over a [...]