Bregal Capital in exclusive talks with Irish group IFG August 31, 2011 PRIVATE equity firm Bregal Capital entered into exclusive talks with Irish financial services company IFG Group yesterday over a possible €231m (£204m) buyout. Dublin-based IFG said Bregal Capital, which is already a backer of Lloyd’s insurance company Canopius, had proposed making a cash offer of €1.80 for each IFG share and would also pay a [...]
Chancellor Osborne: I am not for turning September 6, 2011 CHANCELLOR George Osborne came out fighting during questioning in parliament yesterday, insisting that he will continue with plans to cut the UK government’s annual deficit. Osborne also rejected calls from Labour’s Ed Balls for another tax on financial sector bonuses — and was quick to make fun of the back-stabbing suffered by Balls at the [...]
Insurers see share bounce after Irene August 30, 2011 HURRICANE Irene sparked a relief rally in UK insurance stocks yesterday after low damage estimates from the storm left insurers less likely to suffer more claims to add to their heavy losses already this year. Lloyd’s insurers saw their shares fall last week as US authorities evacuated New York and warned of huge damage as [...]
CLEAN-UP BORIS PUTS HIS HAND IN HIS POCKET August 24, 2011 CONFIDENCE is returning to the streets of London, says Mayor of London Boris Johnson, who yesterday launched the High Street Fund to help small businesses affected by the riots with “immediate cash flow assistance”. “In August, we have been reminded of some truths about London,” said the mayor as he launched the fund at City [...]
Pressure piled back on banks amid Eurozone gloom September 19, 2011 World markets slumped today as the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis appeared to be deepening as German Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a regional election defeat which undermined her power. With the world looking to Germany to help steer the Eurozone out of stormy economic waters the confidence of investors was sapped. Meanwhile a series of meetings [...]
CITY VIEWS: DOES BRITAIN NEED AN AMERICAN SUPERCOP TO SOLVE ITS PROBLEM WITH GANGS? August 15, 2011 GRAHAM CONSTABLE | LLOYD’S OF LONDON “I don’t think it is necessary. It would be by-passing social issues that a supercop couldn’t change. Ultimately the US gang culture is different to ours and we should rely on our own expertise.” JOHNNY GODSON | TEK SYSTEMS “It depends on his experience in dealing with similar situations. [...]
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 [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 9, 2011 Baker & McKenzie The law firm has appointed Marc Fèvre as a partner in its energy, mining and infrastructure (EMI) group. Fèvre joins from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, and is an expert in energy and infrastructure project development and finance. He also brings recent experience of the Middle East, having worked in Abu Dhabi since early [...]
Banks slump as service sector data disappoints September 5, 2011 Stocks have retreated this morning after a poor overnight session in Asia and over intensifying concerns that economies worldwide face recession. London’s FTSE 100 has been hit by a barrage of fears over global growth since US employment data on Friday showed job creation slumped to zero in August. Service sector data from China has [...]