Great Portland Estates launches £200m share buyback, but warns it could be stopped by Brexit November 15, 2018 Great Portland Estates has launched a share buyback to return £200m to its shareholders, it said today. The property developer is set to repurchase 42m of its own shares over the next 12 months, in a deal backed by Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan Securities. The company said it had decided to re-invest £200m of [...]
Glencore chairman withdraws from dwindling Saudi investor conference October 17, 2018 Glencore chairman Tony Hayward has become the latest business leader to pull out of next week's Saudi investor conference as the backlash over the alleged murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi intensifies. The mining and trading giant's chairman joins International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde and Societe Generale chief executive Frederic Oudea in withdrawing from [...]
IMF pulls out of Saudi investor summit as more details of journalist’s disappearance emerge October 17, 2018 International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde has become the latest global figure to withdraw from a high-profile Saudi investor conference next week following the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The chief executive of French bank Societe Generale, Frederic Oudea, also dropped out on Wednesday. But SoftBank, whose $93bn Vision Fund was half-funded by Saudi [...]
Private equity firm Apollo takes Aspen Insurance private in $2.6bn deal August 28, 2018 Aspen Insurance said today that funds associated with private equity firm Apollo Global Management had agreed to take it private in a $2.6bn deal. The Bermuda-headquartered insurer, which is listed in the US, has significant UK operations with offices in London, Birmingham, Bristol, Chelmsford, Croydon, Glasgow, Leeds and Manchester. Apollo will pay $42.75 per share, [...]
Former Barclays boss Bob Diamond claims banks are too risk-averse since financial crash September 13, 2018 The former boss of Barclays, Bob Diamond, has said that banks are too risk averse in today's post-financial crash environment. Diamond, who was once described as the "unacceptable face of banking" by Labour minister Peter Mandelson, took a different tone ahead of the 10-year anniversary of the Lehmans Brothers collapse on Saturday. "The culture of banking [...]
Former Barclays boss Bob Diamond claims banks are too risk-averse since financial crash September 13, 2018 The former boss of Barclays, Bob Diamond, has said that banks are too risk averse in today's post-financial crash environment. Diamond, who was once described as the "unacceptable face of banking" by Labour minister Peter Mandelson, took a different tone ahead of the 10-year anniversary of the Lehmans Brothers collapse on Saturday. "The culture of banking [...]
Brexit may shake up the jobs market, so get your CV in shape now December 6, 2018 We are less than four months away from when the UK is officially meant to leave the EU, but there’s still confusion and much negotiation to be done before we find out exactly what impact Brexit will have on the City. Jobs are already crossing the Channel – JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Lloyds and more [...]
Institute of Directors appoints new chair as its bids to move away from racism scandal September 2, 2018 The Institute of Directors (IoD) announced today it has appointed corporate governance expert Charlotte Valeur as its new chair, following the ousting of previous chair Barbara Judge amid bullying and racism accusations. Valeur, who founded private equity firm Brook Street Partners in 2003, has a background in finance with stints at Societe Generale, BNP-Paribas and SG Warburg. [...]
IBM looks to sue Groupon for $167m over alleged patent infringement | City A.M. July 17, 2018 IBM is suing coupons site Groupon for $167m over allegations the company used patented technology without permission. IT giant IBM argues that Groupon infringed its patent by using e-commerce technology which it had licensed to other companies including Amazon, Facebook and Google parent firm Alphabet for between $20m and $50m each. Lawyer John Desmarais, representing [...]
Tesla shares rise as Musk takes a back seat and Morgan Stanley joins the rumoured Tesla adviser list August 21, 2018 Tesla's share price rose as much as five per cent in early trading today after Morgan Stanley hinted at its possible involvement in discussions surrounding a transaction to take the company private. The brokerage today removed its rating and suspended equity coverage on Tesla, signalling a potential move to join Goldman Sachs as an adviser [...]