Businesses need alternate ways to access cash September 15, 2011 REGIONAL DIRECTOR, GE CAPITAL ANY review of economic data at the moment will confirm that the outlook for UK business remains uncertain. That said, there is still evidence that growth is on the agenda for many businesses in London and activity in the transactions market is increasing. This includes interest from both private equity and [...]
Euro chaos as markets reel over rumours September 13, 2011 NERVOUS investors jumped at every rumour yesterday, as politicians failed to calm the spiralling Eurozone crisis and choppy markets. The euro gained against the dollar on reports of an impending “Merkozy” statement between Germany’s chancellor and France’s president. But the single currency slumped back as President Sarkozy’s office denied that any joint statement would be [...]
Vickers: an elegant solution that is looking for a problem September 13, 2011 THE recent – apparently highly-acclaimed – ICB report smacks of an elegantly worked-out solution to problems that other bodies are addressing much more effectively. The ICB is right to seek ways to ensure that taxpayers do not bear the cost of banks’ failures. However, recent parliamentary legislation, together with developments at EU level and arising [...]
EU ministers fail to address euro’s flaws September 13, 2011 SUCH is the precariousness of the Eurozone project that every bit of hearsay sends the currency markets scrambling. Yesterday afternoon, the word was that we would see a reappearance of Merkozy – the Euro-Frankenstein merger of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French premier Nicholas Sarkozy that first had life breathed into it at an emergency [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 11, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES JPMORGAN CHIEF SAYS BANK RULES ‘ANTI-US’ New international bank capital rules are “anti-American” and the US should consider pulling out of the Basel group of global regulators, Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, has said. In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Dimon said he was supportive of forcing banks to [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 7, 2011 Ogier Jersey Legal The offshore legal services provider has appointed Matthew Swan as managing partner, replacing Matthew Thompson, whose term of office has come to an end after four years in the role. Swan (pictured) is head of the firm’s business and trust law group and the Jersey banking team. Thompson, who specialises in commercial [...]
Eurozone needs to cut out the rot before it’s too late September 7, 2011 WHEREVER one looks, the signals are bad. The S&P 500 is down 14.5 per cent from its highest point of the year. The Vix, a measure of market turbulence, rose 9.4 per cent yesterday. Bank stocks tumbled everywhere. The Swiss franc went nuts when the authorities took the dramatic step to peg it to the [...]
Eurozone needs to cut out the rot before it’s too late September 6, 2011 WHEREVER one looks, the signals are bad. The S&P 500 is down 14.5 per cent from its highest point of the year. The Vix, a measure of market turbulence, rose 9.4 per cent yesterday. Bank stocks tumbled everywhere. The Swiss franc went nuts when the authorities took the dramatic step to peg it to the [...]
Eurozone learnt nothing from 2008 September 5, 2011 FOR anybody with ears to hear it, the message yesterday from Deutsche Bank’s boss was chilling. Many Eurozone banks would go bust if they were forced to accept a “haircut” to fully reflect current market valuations on their sovereign debt holdings, Josef Ackermann, Deutsche Bank’s chief executive warned. He was speaking at Frankfurt’s annual Banks [...]
What to do when your firm is hit by disaster September 4, 2011 IF you watched in horror as small businesses around London burned a few weeks ago and wondered what you would do if that happened to your company, you aren’t alone. Destruction of your premises is a tragedy, but it doesn’t need to be fatal. At Carter Backer Winter, we’ve dealt with this stuff before. Here’s [...]