Barclays to offer 90pc mortgages October 26, 2011 BARCLAYS launched a new bid to entice prospective house-buyers back to the market yesterday by offering no-fee mortgages needing only a ten per cent deposit. The bank has refused to offer 90 per cent loan-to-value mortgages since 2008 when it pulled them during the financial crisis, but is now following rivals such as NatWest and [...]
London lets the world in October 26, 2011 TWENTY-FIVE years ago today the doors of the London Stock Exchange were blown wide open. In one sweeping moment of market deregulation, London’s horizons suddenly broadened, and money flowed into the Square Mile. Outside investment broke up the LSE’s boys’ club and fixed commission charges for brokers, which effectively killed competition, were scrapped. The brainchild [...]
Recalling how machines took over the old City October 26, 2011 IN 1986, we saw our way of life on the floor of the stock exchange coming to an end. How would we respond, off the floor, sitting behind screens? We’d had a while to realise how things would change as we already had SEAQ in play on screens so we were experiencing a mixture. We [...]
Smashing sixes, not windows, is what defined my summer October 18, 2011 AS ALASTAIR Cook’s one-day team toil on the Subcontinent against an Indian side intent on righting the wrongs of their catastrophic summer tour, arguably England’s most destructive batsman sits at home, almost resigned to the fact the book has been closed on his limited-overs international career. Championed, legitimately so on the evidence of this summer’s [...]
Anderson: We have never tampered with the ball October 17, 2011 ENGLAND fast bowler James Anderson has strenuously denied ever having tampered with the ball in the wake of accusations levied against him and team-mate Stuart Broad by Pakistan seamer Umar Gul. Responding to the confessions of the recently retired Shoaib Akhtar in his explosive autobiography, Gul, a mainstay of the current Pakistan side, claimed: “Quite [...]
New ways to raise funds for your MBA October 12, 2011 FUNDING an MBA can be a tricky thing. Many schools offer grants and scholarships, often sponsored by businesses or donors, and some lucky students’ fees are paid by their businesses. But for many, stumping up the cash for those three little letters involves dealing with banks. As we all know, banks are not exactly keen [...]
RBS and Lloyds asked to explain cash machine restriction plans October 10, 2011 THE Treasury select committee has called for an explanation from banks planning to restrict which cash machines basic bank account holders have access to. Committee chairman Andrew Tyrie wrote to RBS and Lloyds about their schemes after consumer groups said the they could affect some of the most vulnerable in society. A million RBS customers [...]
MARKETING CAMPAIGN | OF THE YEAR September 21, 2011 NATWEST NatWest had the “most visible” campaign: a marketing drive that repaired its own – and the banking sector’s – image with its “Helpful Banking” ads by M&C Saatchi promising to serve its customers better. SHORTLIST American Express Barclays Stockbrokers LOCOG Microsoft
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 16, 2011 BlackRock Amra Balic has joined the asset manager as the EMEA head of corporate governance and responsible investment. Balic joins BlackRock from Standard & Poor’s, where she was a director in European Corporate Credit Ratings, responsible for corporate governance into the credit ratings process. Prior to joining S&P’s Corporate Governance Services team in 2000, Balic [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 16, 2011 BlackRock Amra Balic has joined the asset manager as the EMEA head of corporate governance and responsible investment. Balic joins BlackRock from Standard & Poor’s, where she was a director in European Corporate Credit Ratings, responsible for corporate governance into the credit ratings process. Prior to joining S&P’s Corporate Governance Services team in 2000, Balic [...]