Stage set for more austerity as the chancellor gives Autumn Statement December 2, 2012 THE biggest news of the week will come from chancellor George Osborne on Wednesday, when he delivers his Autumn Statement. Osborne has already revealed he will be continuing Britain’s austerity drive, saying in a television interview that to turn back from the policy now would be “a complete disaster for our country”. His half-yearly financial [...]
We need to put the past behind us and get the special relationship right December 2, 2012 ONLY a few months ago, talk of a special relationship between the US and the UK would have provoked some quizzical looks among many in the City. A number of British banks – Standard Chartered, HSBC and Barclays among them – had faced a summer of discontent as they were subject to accusations of wrongdoing [...]
Gerard Lyons resigns from top economist role at StanChart November 28, 2012 TOP STANDARD Chartered economist Gerard Lyons is leaving the bank, he said yesterday, for a job outside the financial services industry. The head of global research and chief economist will leave the bank tomorrow, ending a 13-year career at the UK-headquartered, but Asia and Africa-focused bank. In 2010 and 2011, the team Lyons oversaw was [...]
HSBC chairman Flint backs new Hippocratic oath for bankers November 25, 2012 DOUGLAS Flint is pushing for bankers to swear an equivalent to the medical profession’s traditional Hippocratic oath, as part of plans to improve standards in the industry. The HSBC boss is already on board with Barclays’ proposals for a new professional body to oversee qualifications in the sector, track misdemeanours as bankers change jobs, and [...]
Top StanChart exec joins WHSmith board November 22, 2012 TOP banking executive Annemarie Durbin has been drafted in at high street retailer WH Smith as a non-executive director. Durbin, currently group head of corporate governance, property, environment and security at Standard Chartered, will replace Mike Ellis who steps down in January. Durbin, who has been at Standard Chartered Group for 17 years and worked [...]
The HP Autonomy allegations reveal US-UK differences November 22, 2012 ANOTHER US-UK economic conflict is brewing, following HP’s revelation that it has taken an $8.8bn (£5.5bn) write-down. It comes after the claim that it had discovered “serious accounting improprieties” at Autonomy, the British software company. Autonomy completely denies the allegations, of course. But like Standard Chartered’s run-in with the New York regulator over Iranian sanctions, [...]
Xstrata investors back Glencore megamerger November 20, 2012 THE £56bn soap opera between commodity giants Xstrata and Glencore finally came to a head yesterday as Xstrata investors approved the mining mega-merger. In a meeting lasting just over two hours, investors green-lit the merger – whose twists and turns have entertained the market since Glencore first approached Xstrata in February – and paved the [...]
Being good helps business prosper November 20, 2012 How the Corporate Governance Code had some positive results IF YOU’RE prepared to spend up to £5,000, there’s still time to get front row seats to a celebration of 50 years of “the greatest rock and roll band in the world” – the Rolling Stones are playing at the O2 at the end of November. [...]
Former Brown minister Davies to chair Chime November 19, 2012 FORMER business minister and Standard Chartered chief Lord Mervyn Davies landed a new role as chairman of Chime Communications yesterday. Lord Davies, who served as Gordon Brown’s minister of state for trade, investment and small business from January 2009 until Brown left Downing Street in 2010, takes the role after Lord Bell stepped down to [...]
Profile: Lord Mervyn Davies November 19, 2012 LORD Mervyn Davies had a short tenure as a minister of state, but since Gordon Brown was voted out of Downing Street, he has had plenty to do. Baron Davies of Abersoch, to give the former chief executive of Standard Chartered his full title, is also a senior non-executive director at international drinks giant Diageo, [...]