Greed is not so good: Britain’s bankers are more stressed than ever February 15, 2016 It might be time to feel sorry for Britain's bankers. Apparently turning into social pariahs after the financial crisis has taken its toll on their mental health. Demand for insurance to protect revenues against the cost of paying staff who are too stressed to work has surged, according to data from financial services group Willis [...]
IPO market set to fall this year after 2015 highs February 1, 2016 The London initial public offering (IPO) market hit a high unlikely to be repeated in 2016, research from accountancy giant PwC shows. Ongoing market volatility, concerns over global growth, and a worsening oil price rout mean that more companies are expected to postpone or call off planned IPOs. Vivienne Maclachlan, capital markets director at PwC, [...]
European bank share prices bounce – but report warns negative rates could make the sector’s woes even worse February 15, 2016 European banks looked more positive today, as markets continued Friday's rally. In the UK, HSBC was up 0.76 per cent to 443.75p, while Barclays was up 2.5 per cent to 161p. Lloyds was up 1.5 per cent to 59.39p, while Royal Bank of Scotland group rose 1.7 per cent to 244.3p. That came after HSBC confirmed [...]
Metro Bank bows to market pressure, cuts share price ahead of planned market float February 16, 2016 Metro Bank, the London challenger, has been forced to lower the amount it’s hoping to raise through a market float by 20 per cent due to wild swings in bank share prices around Europe. The bank will now look to raise £400m in coming weeks, down from £500m, and cutting its share price at £20 from [...]
UK house prices: The most expensive streets in Britain are concentrated in Kensington and Chelsea – but each region has million-pound addresses (apart from Wales) December 11, 2015 Property price growth might be slowing in London, but when it comes to the top of the pile there is one borough within the capital that is still dominating. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea continues to reign as being home to the largest number of Britain's most expensive streets to buy a property on – in [...]
Which? survey shows Arriva, Thameslink, Great Northern, First Great Western and Southern are among the UK’s most delayed train services February 18, 2016 If you're reading this while swaying on one of the capital's much-maligned commuter train services, take heed: new research has found commuters suffer the UK's worst train services – and Londoners are among the worst hit. The research, by Which?, found a third of commuters experienced delays on their last journey – with Arriva Trains Wales, [...]
City Moves for 8 February 2016 | Who’s switching jobs February 8, 2016 Cluttons The equity partners of real estate services firm Cluttons have elected Steven Morgan (pictured), current Middle East chief exec, as the business’ new senior partner, with the role to commence at the start of the company’s new financial year in April. Steve, who is an existing board member of Cluttons and has been with [...]
Bottoms Up: Coq d’Argent owner D&D London toasts jump in Christmas sales January 11, 2016 D&D London, the restaurant and hotel empire behind the City’s Coq D’argent and South Place Hotel, has posted a jump in sales over Christmas as diners popped open the champagne. The company, which is mulling a stock market float, said UK like-for-like sales jumped by 4.2 per cent in December. Underlying sales for the nine months [...]
Wall Street braced for a drop in earnings from investment banks January 17, 2016 Two of the world’s biggest banks, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, are releasing their annual results this week, and are expected to report a fall in annual earnings after a tough year. Goldman Sachs is forecast to report earnings of $33bn (£23bn), $1.5bn down from last year, while Morgan Stanley is slated to post a [...]
TSB results: Chief executive Paul Pester says the big banks have it far too easy as his challenger bank reports 22 per cent increase in customer lending for 2015 January 28, 2016 TSB Bank chief executive Paul Pester told City A.M. that the challenger bank "definitely went from strength to strength" in 2015, as the lender announced its full-year results this morning. The retail and commercial bank, which was carved out of Lloyds Banking Group in 2014, reported profits were ahead of expectations, with management profit before tax of £105.7m, while [...]