Ratings firms slated in MPs’ crunch report May 14, 2009 CREDIT ratings agencies (CRAs) should bear some of the responsibility for financial instability, the Treasury committee said yesterday, as it revealed its report on corporate governance and remuneration at financial services firms in the wake of the credit crunch. The committee, led by Labour attack dog John McFall, said it was “deeply concerned by the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 10, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES RIKSBANK BORROWS €3BN FROM ECBThe European Central Bank (ECB) stepped in yesterday to help avert a Baltic financial crisis by lending €3bn (£2.6bn) to the central bank in Sweden, whose banks dominate the region’s financial sector. The ECB move signalled the Frankfurt institution’s willingness to shore up official European help for countries such [...]
Week of gains set back by S&P UK outlook downgrade May 21, 2009 A CUT in the UK’s ratings outlook from agency Standard & Poor’s weighed on the FTSE 100 yesterday, with weakness in heavyweight oils, miners and banks contributing to a 2.8 per cent slide by close of play. The index ended 122.94 points lower at 4,345.47, its biggest daily fall since 27 March, having closed 13.84 [...]
FIRST WOMEN GATHER AT GALA TALENT SHOW June 11, 2009 THERE’S nothing a bunch of hard-working businesswomen like better than listening to one of their own knowing how to send herself up in style. So it should come as no surprise that the star of this year’s First Women Awards, held last night in the luxurious surroundings of the Marriott Grosvenor Square, was Deloitte veteran [...]
CARIBBEAN HOLIDAY WINNER IS REVEALED July 6, 2009 A HUGE thank you to all who replied to our online reader survey last week, when you logged on to the website in your droves to give us feedback and suggestions for the paper. Everyone who participated was entered into a fantastic prize draw to win a holiday for two at the Royal Plantation Ochos [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 27, 2009 F&CF&C has appointed Philip Martin as Head of Proposition for its UK retail business. He was formerly at Nucleus Financial Group which he co-founded in 2006.Martin has worked at the Life Association of Scotland, Ivory & Sime and Scottish Life International. He ran his own strategic marketing and product development consultancy, Abacus, before co-founding Nucleus. [...]
1,000 CITY MENU TO STAGE A COMEBACK June 7, 2009 LAST year, one of the City’s favourite restaurants, Vivat Bacchus, made headlines all around the globe for introducing a £1,000 tasting menu despite the onset of the credit crunch, as a treat for hard-working financiers celebrating their (albeit reduced) bonuses. The menu – which included royal sevruga caviar, lobster linguini flavoured with 40-year-old Armagnac, grilled [...]
1,000 CITY MENU TO STAGE A COMEBACK June 7, 2009 LAST year, one of the City’s favourite restaurants, Vivat Bacchus, made headlines all around the globe for introducing a £1,000 tasting menu despite the onset of the credit crunch, as a treat for hard-working financiers celebrating their (albeit reduced) bonuses. The menu – which included royal sevruga caviar, lobster linguini flavoured with 40-year-old Armagnac, grilled [...]
No sign of vertigo as banks take the FTSE 100 higher May 19, 2009 THE FTSE 100 continued its upward momentum yesterday, propelled up by financials and miners, although gains were limited by figures that showed new US housing starts fell to record lows. The index closed 0.8 per cent, or 35.80 points, higher at 4,482.25, with investors showing no sign of vertigo from the recent hefty rises. “Despite [...]
FTSE 100 remains steady despite the political rout and a bit of profit taking June 8, 2009 THE FTSE 100 shed 1 per cent, or 33.34 points, to close at 4,405.22 yesterday, weighed down by weak energy and mining stocks, while banks fell as recent bullish sentiment soured. “Caution is creeping back into financial markets after what was largely a positive week for equities,” said David Evans, market analyst at BetOnMarkets.com. “There [...]