City defends high bonus expectations October 14, 2009 WALL Street banks are on track to pay employees a record $140bn (£88bn) this year, and despite predictions of a public backlash,City figures say that bonuses are well-deserved. Bankers’ bonuses look set for a resurgence, after US bank JP Morgan Chase smashed analyst expectations to report third-quarter earnings of $3.59bn (£2.5bn), a 72 per cent [...]
FSA outlines new rules to vet top execs at financial firms October 14, 2009 THE Financial Services Authority wants to vet senior job candidates when top banks draw up shortlists — not after a preferred candidate has been identified — the City watchdog said yesterday. In a letter to 5,000 chief executives of financial institutions, the Financial Services Authority said it expected to be engaged early in the recruitment [...]
Luxury London pads to add 40pc by 2014 October 13, 2009 LUXURY house prices in central London will put in a spectacular rally of nearly 40 per cent in the next five years, according to the latest forecast by Knight Frank. The estate agent said prime London properties, worth over £1m, will sidestep a nationwide fall in house prices next year and grow at three per [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU AGREE HOUSE PRICES WILL RISE BY AS MUCH AS 40 PER CENT OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS? October 13, 2009 PATRICK EGAN NORTH SQUARE CAPITAL“I think that is very unlikely. Constraints on credit will be with us for at least three years yet, and we’ll also have an inflationary period within that time where interest rates will be raised and will dampen any exuberance in the housing market.”JON MITCHELL FIDELITY“Five years is a long time, [...]
Carillion sells off consultancy arm October 12, 2009 Carillion, the construction and outsourcing group, is selling off its consultancy arm Enviros for around £27m as it seeks to pay off debt. Engineering company Sinclair Knight Merz is buying the unit from Carillion, which is valued at around £1.1bn. The sale will help Carillion beat its target of bringing net debt below the half-year [...]
BBA warns on capital rules October 12, 2009 THE Financial Services Authority (FSA) must produce a cost estimate and a timetable for the tightening of capital requirements on banks or risk damaging the UK economy, British Bankers’ Association (BBA) chief executive Angela Knight will warn today. In a speech at the BBA’s conference on compliance and regulation, Knight will say that banks already [...]
Kraft to watch Cadbury results October 11, 2009 Chocolate maker Cadbury’s trading update next week will be vital to it fighting off a takeover approach from US giant Kraft. The week after Kraft will report its own results, allowing investors to number crunch the bid offer. Analysts have speculated that chocolate sales could fall below guidance at Cadbury. The Takeover Panel has given [...]
London rents still higher than Europe October 11, 2009 LONDON remains the most expensive European city in which to rent prime office, distribution and shopping centre space according to research out today by Knight Frank. Despite a steep fall in prime property values, London’s West End remains the most expensive location to rent space in Europe. Office space in London’s West End is now [...]
BRANSON’S BOASTING OF A NEW LOVELY LADY October 4, 2009 MY, oh my, how The Capitalist’s ears did prick up over the weekend on having a snatched peep at tycoon Richard Branson’s blog. “I have to announce that I have a new lady in my life,” Branson boasted, happily – before explaining that his lovely wife need not worry, because he’s talking about a yacht. [...]
Switzerland ticks the boxes for bankers with a taste for nature October 1, 2009 EARLIER this year, the local governments of Geneva and Zug hosted an event called Make the Move at a Mayfair club, where they explained to hedge fund managers why they should move to Switzerland. The main reason they were willing to listen, of course, is the looming 50 per cent top rate of tax. Compare [...]