Barclays accuses Lehman of keeping back $3bn assets after 2008 collapse April 6, 2010 THE legal wrangle between Barclays and Lehman Brothers Holdings is set to intensify this week when the British bank tells a judge Lehman is withholding $3bn (£2bn) in assets. Barclays, which bought Lehman’s core operations after it imploded in September 2008, says it is entitled to around $750m left in clearance boxes and $750m in [...]
MODELLING LEAVES METRO BOSS RED-FACED April 5, 2010 MOST of the management over at shiny-new high street lender Metro Bank might be patting themselves on the back over their latest marketing ruse, a giant mascot for the bank, but some of the poor staffers have been left red-faced. The new mascot – an enormous foamy “M” in blue and red, the bank’s colours [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 5, 2010 Threadneedle The asset management firm has hired George Gosden to join its Asian equities desk. Gosden spent the past eight years as a director at Insight Investment, where he was part of the international team. Prior to that, he was a director of Asian equities at Clerical Medical Investment Management. In his new role, he [...]
Banks to be forced to put investors first March 30, 2010 UNDER new plans put forward by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) investment bankers will have to inform investors about what exactly it is they are doing with their money. The proposals come as a direct result of the financial crisis and in particular the collapse of Lehmans. If passed banks will have to increase their [...]
Light at the end of the tunnel, but buyers should stay cautious March 25, 2010 IT’S the perennial dinner party question: what will happen to house prices in the coming year? With a hung parliament on the cards come May and economists divided over when the Bank of England will decide to raise interest rates, those who are looking to move property remain understandably nervous. Mortgages are still hard to [...]
Insolvencies dip as firms see out storm March 22, 2010 THE number of companies declared insolvent fell last month, research showed today. A total of 1,834 firms went insolvent during the month – 15 per cent down on February last year, according to business information services group Experian. The group said the fall brought the overall rate of insolvencies down from 0.11 per cent to [...]
Greece should stand unaided March 21, 2010 GREECE does not need any financial support and European Union leaders should not make the question of aid for the indebted country a focus of their summit this week in Brussels, Angela Merkel said yesterday. In a radio interview, the German Chancellor said she feared causing turbulence in financial markets by raising “false expectations” about [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 21, 2010 THE SUNDAYS The Sunday Telegraph ITV’S NEW CHAIRMAN: UK FACES ‘NATIONAL CRISIS’ Archie Norman, the chairman of ITV, has said that the UK is facing an economic “national crisis” worse than that faced by Margaret Thatcher at the end of the 1970s. In his first interview since becoming chairman of the broadcaster, Norman also revealed [...]
Basel agrees failed banks plan March 18, 2010 Global bank regulators yesterday agreed a framework to stop “too big to fail” banks from relying on a taxpayer bailout when in trouble, but countries such as the US still want more radical measures. US and European governments have spent trillions of dollars propping up banks to avoid a broader financial system meltdown during the [...]
THE KNIVES ARE OUT AS THE CITY VIEWS GRAND MILITARY GOLD CUP March 14, 2010 THE Capitalist travelled in style to Sandown Park racecourse for the Grand Military Gold Cup, where the City types in attendance were busy whetting their appetite for this week’s Cheltenham festivities. As the military’s most accomplished horsemen and women battled it out around the track, it was off to a private suite for guests of [...]