Fair weather friends fade away as Balfour Beatty and Carillion deal collapses August 21, 2014 They say you often find out who your real friends are when you’re at your lowest. Carillion’s announcement that it would be no longer pursuing a merger with Balfour Beatty yesterday came with some conspicuous absences. When the deal was still hot stuff, announcements came with scores of contacts to send enquiries to; Carillion, Lazard, [...]
City Moves for 20 August 2014 | Who’s switching jobs August 19, 2014 BDO The accountancy and business advisory firm has announced two appointments to its forensic accounting team. Gavin Williamson joins as a partner from Deloitte, where he specialised in complex, multi-jurisdictional fraud and corruption investigations. Cathie Cameron (pictured) joins as a director. She previously ran her own consulting business in the US, and has also held [...]
Anti-fraud staff in high demand August 17, 2014 BANKS’ anti-money laundering contractors have seen their pay rise by an average of 17 per cent in the past year, according to recruitment firm BrightPool. Its figures, out today, show 2,157 new roles were created in the past year, a jump of 54 per cent on the year. The data come after bosses at HSBC [...]
Concern over Tesco dividend August 17, 2014 FEARS that Tesco may have to cut its £1bn dividend increased yesterday after a fresh warning from one of the supermarket’s activist investors. Harris Associates, which owns a three per cent stake, told The Sunday Times that the dividend “should be cut if it’s paid for by borrowing” and not covered by free cash flow. [...]
The Silver Fix, a City staple since the Victorian era, bids farewell August 14, 2014 The London Silver Fix, the method used to set the price of the “devil’s metal”, which has been an integral part of London’s precious metals’ market – worth nearly a £1 trillion, is ending today after 117 years. Under the current system, three banks, HSBC, Bank of Nova Scotia and Deutsche Bank, arrange silver’s [...]
London Report: Putin’s Crimea comments help to calm FTSE August 14, 2014 THE FTSE yesterday rose after being bolstered by apparently conciliatory comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin on a visit to Crimea, as well as expectations for a continuation of ultra-loose monetary policy. On a trip to Crimea, the Ukrainian region annexed by Russia in March, Putin said his country would stand up for itself but [...]
HSBC joins RBS in £7.1m payout to bosses to dodge bonus cap August 13, 2014 Bosses at HSBC yesterday received £7.1m in shares in a new fixed allowance which avoids Brussels’ bonus cap. The EU rules stop banks paying bonuses of more than twice that bosses’ salaries. So banks have had to come up with new ways to raise their fixed pay to avoid being hit by the rules. The [...]
Legal & General’s Nigel Wilson sends slap in the face to Breedon as associates shudder – Inside Track August 13, 2014 Nigel Wilson has hardly put a foot wrong since replacing Tim Breedon, his po-faced predecessor, as chief executive of Legal & General just over two years ago. While investors are happy with the outspoken Geordie, however, his fellow insurance bosses are not – at least not after his latest bombshell dropped yesterday. Confirming [...]
Hiring spree gives graduates best chance since crash August 10, 2014 THE FRESHEST batch of university graduates is the best equipped since the financial crisis to find jobs, according to a new report, while an increasing number of new students want to set up their own businesses. The latest report on business trends from BDO suggests that UK firms are hiring at the fastest rate for [...]
Rona Fairhead in running for Barclays chairman job August 10, 2014 Long serving HSBC non-exec director Rona Fairhead could be a frontrunner to take over as Barclays’ chairman, it emerged over the weekend. The former Financial Times chief executive could replace outgoing chairman Sir David Walker, though no formal timetable has been laid out. Sir Howard Davies is also thought to be a candidate. Barclays declined to [...]