EU leaders in an attempt to calm markets June 13, 2010 EUROPEAN Union leaders will make a new attempt this week to convince financial markets they can contain a debt crisis by agreeing how to tighten economic policy coordination and strengthen budget discipline. The 27 EU member states and the executive European Commission will also set out plans for boosting economic growth and creating jobs at [...]
Mid-market firms feel the upturn strain June 13, 2010 MIDDLE market lawyers and consultants are struggling to tap into the nascent economic recovery, according to the second monthly City A.M./Begbies Traynor health monitor for the Square Mile. While bigger players are benefiting from the return of property development and corporate activity, our numbers show smaller operations are fighting to survive as clients demand more [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS June 13, 2010 Bupa The healthcare provider has appointed Rita Clifton to its board as a non-executive director, effective from July. Clifton is also a director at DSG International and chairman of brand consultancy Interbrand. She began her career in advertising at DMB&B and J Walter Thompson, before joining Saatchi and Saatchi in 1986, where she became vice-chairman [...]
Begbies Traynor acquires insolvency firm Tomlinsons June 10, 2010 SHARES in Begbies Traynor fell yesterday after the corporate restructuring specialist said it would buy Tomlinsons, an unlisted insolvencies practitioner, for an undisclosed sum. Tomlinsons has 13 staff in offices in Manchester and Blackburn. Begbies Traynor will absorb the smaller company into its existing insolvency practice to bolster its presence in the north west. Alan [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 7, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES ROCKHOPPER set for $40m CASh CALL Rockhopper, the first explorer to find oil on the Falkland Islands, is priming a £40m cash call that could be launched this week. The Aim-quoted oil company, one of three small UK wildcat explorers drilling for Falklands oil, has been working with broker Canaccord Adams to sound [...]
Two firms hit with FSA fines for client flops June 7, 2010 CITY watchdog the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined the retail arm of stockbroker Astaire Securities and an asset management unit of Close Brothers a total £609,000 for failing to protect client money. Under FSA rules, companies have to ringfence client money and keep it in segregated accounts with trust status to protect it in [...]
Bars and clubs fail to shake off recession June 6, 2010 THE number of bar and pub companies going bust has continued to soar in the last year, a new survey has shown. While corporate insolvencies have been falling in other sectors, the picture for bars and clubs is still bleak. A total of 23 pub, bar and nightclub companies have become insolvent in the first [...]
JP Morgan is slapped with a record fine June 3, 2010 THE Financial Services Authority yesterday slapped JP Morgan with the biggest fine it has ever administered. It issued a mammoth £33.3m fine for “failing to protect client money” after it found the bank failed to keep clients money in a special ring-fenced account. The issue relates to billions of pounds of transactions processed by JP [...]
FSA hits JPMorgan Securities with record fine June 3, 2010 THE Financial Services Authority has hit on JPMorgan Securities with a record £33.32m for mishandling client money. Under the FSA’s client money rules, firms are required to keep client funds separate from their own – in different accounts with trust status. The aim is to protect client money in the event of the firm’s insolvency. [...]
Lloyds gives Crystal Palace crucial lifeline June 1, 2010 THE survival of championship football club Crystal Palace appeared more likely yesterday after a last- minute deal saved it from the threat of liquidation. A life-saving agreement to sell the club’s stadium to a consortium bidding to own both that and the club itself was clinched mid-afternoon. The deal, which seemed like it might be [...]