JCB CHAIR TAKES THE HONOURS AT GOODWOOD September 19, 2010 TO SUSSEX yesterday for the final day of the Goodwood Revival classic car festival, where a raft of senior figures from the City were slogging it out against each other on the track in the most prestigious race of the weekend – the Royal Automobile Club TT race. The race – a one-hour, two-driver challenge [...]
Aviva hunts for Sharman’s replacement September 16, 2010 INSURANCE group Aviva has begun its search for a new chairman in time for Colin Sharman’s planned departure in 2013, people close to the company confirmed yesterday. Potential candidates for the job include former Aviva chief executive Richard Harvey, outgoing Barclays chief executive John Varley and ex-financial services minister Paul Myners. Myners declined to comment, [...]
RUBENS AND CHARLES I WATCH LUXURY GONGS November 15, 2010 THE great and good of the British luxury brands industry gathered for one of the biggest events of the year last night, as its lobbying group, Walpole, held its annual awards. In Whitehall’s Banqueting Hall, under the glow of a delicately lit ceiling of Rubens masterpieces and near the site where King Charles I was [...]
RUBENS AND CHARLES I WATCH LUXURY GONGS November 15, 2010 THE great and good of the British luxury brands industry gathered for one of the biggest events of the year last night, as its lobbying group, Walpole, held its annual awards. In Whitehall’s Banqueting Hall, under the glow of a delicately lit ceiling of Rubens masterpieces and near the site where King Charles I was [...]
Banks in bid to boost lending October 13, 2010 Britain’s biggest banks have outlined a raft of measures to boost lending to small businesses, including a £1.5bn growth fund, in a bid to counter suggestions they are not doing enough to nurture the recovery. HSBC, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group, Standard Chartered and the UK operations of Santander will contribute to [...]
M&A activity saves FTSE from fourth day of losses but volumes remain thin August 23, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading share index ended a three-session losing run yesterday, helped by a spate of corporate takeover activity, though trading was thin. HSBC said it was in talks to buy up to 70 per cent in South Africa’s fourth-largest bank, Nedbank, in which insurer Old Mutual has a controlling stake. HSBC added 0.8 per cent [...]
The ex-investment banker who is shaking up the retail trading world November 22, 2010 ROBIN OSMOND does not come across as somebody intent on disrupting the status quo. But this is exactly what the softly spoken and quietly animated LMAX chief executive has in his sights with the launch of the firm’s new retail trading venue. The exchange, which currently offers contracts for difference (CFD) and rolling spot FX, [...]
UK rated worst place to live by expats August 31, 2010 EXPATS living in the UK have rated the region as one of the least favourable locations to live in the world, citing difficult job markets, reduced levels of disposable income and higher personal debt as the reasons, according to new survey findings. HSBC’s annual Expat Explorer survey found that the UK was rated by expats [...]
Time running out to halt City exodus October 27, 2010 IMAGINE the scene. It’s late 2011; Bob Diamond, Barclays’ boss, is posing with New York’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg in front of the firm’s New York headquarters. Bloomberg is boasting to the local media about how much he expects his city to make in extra tax receipts from Barclays’ relocation, which has just been completed. Meanwhile, [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS October 3, 2010 Merchant Securities The financial services group has appointed Chris Smith as its new head of institutional broking, focusing on establishing a research capability in the financials sector. Smith has covered financials for over 20 years, latterly at Jefferies International and Oriel Securities. He also previously worked for HSBC James Capel, where he was the top-ranked [...]