UK is facing chaos while Asia booms March 1, 2010 WHETHER or not Prudential is overpaying for AIG’s Asian operations remains to be seen. Shareholders, spooked by the prospect of Britain’s biggest-ever rights issue, sent the Pru’s share price tumbling yesterday. But what is not in doubt is just how important Asia is becoming to Britain’s most successful and ambitious companies – and just how [...]
HSBC director set for £10m pay windfall March 1, 2010 HSBC’s investment banking chief Stuart Gulliver is set to pocket a bumper payout of over £10m, after profits at the global banking and markets arm jumped threefold to $10.48bn (£7bn) during the 2009 financial year. Gulliver, 50, who joined HSBC from university 30 years ago, will receive a bonus of £9m in deferred stock, as [...]
London rises as miners and energy companies set pace March 1, 2010 LONDON’S top share index rose one per cent yesterday as big gains from miners and energy stocks, boosted by firmer commodity prices, outpaced faltering banks following disappointing results from HSBC. The FTSE 100 closed 51.42 points higher at 5,405.94 points, having hit a five-week high earlier in the session of 5,420.83. The index has rebounded [...]
HSBC’s chief gives up £4m February 28, 2010 HSBC boss Michael Geoghegan will announce plans today to hand over his multi-million pound bonus to charity as the banking giant reveals annual results. Geoghegan, who was is understood to have been in line to receive a £4m payout, will donate his bonus to charity after the bank’s strong 2009 performance. HSBC’s annual profits are [...]
London’s top shares tumble as oil and mining companies slip February 25, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading shares fell 1.2 per cent yesterday, sliding back in the afternoon in tandem with New York stocks, with miners and oils the main drag as commodity prices fell back pressured by a firmer US dollar. By the close, the FTSE 100 index was 64.69 points lower at 5,278.23, reversing again after Wednesday’s 0.5 [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 24, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES EMI BANK DEBT BATTLE LEAVES ARTISTS WARY Uncertainty over EMI’s financial future is deterring some leading music industry managers and lawyers from signing artists to its record label as its parent company battles with its bankers over the debt burden of its 2007 buy-out. Terra Firma, the private equity firm run by Guy [...]
Banks boost FTSE on hopes that RBS results bring cheer February 24, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares rose 0.5 per cent yesterday, led by banks and echoing gains on Wall Street as US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke assuaged fears of an earlier than expected interest rate rise. The FTSE 100 ended 27.83 points higher at 5,342.92 buoyed by the Fed chairman’s statement and after it had closed 0.7 [...]
FTSE rocked as mining shares fall on commodity price drop February 23, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares shed 0.7 per cent yesterday, tracking early falls on Wall Street and pressured by weaker miners and energy issues as commodity prices fell with a firmer dollar after dull data. At the close, the FTSE 100 was 36.98 points lower at 5,315.09, having hit a one-month high earlier in the session. US [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 22, 2010 KPMG The accountancy giant has appointed Michelle Quest as its new head of people in the UK, having spent the past 13 years of her career at the firm. Quest joined KPMG from Robson Rhodes in 1997 and became an M&A tax partner in the tax and people services practice in 2003. She takes over [...]
State-owned banks lag their peers February 21, 2010 BANKS were the star performers in the FTSE 100 last week, after Barclays reported its best ever profit of £11.6bn in 2009, an increase of 92 per cent in just 12 months. This week the focus shifts to RBS and Lloyds Banking Group, who will announce earnings on Thursday and Friday respectively. After the turmoil [...]