…as analyst warns the stage is set for a repeat of the financial system’s collapse April 19, 2010 A LEADING US bank analyst warned that the SEC’s fraud lawsuit against Goldman Sachs is paving the way for another financial crisis, just days after calling for executive heads to roll at the bank. Rochdale Securities analyst Dick Bove caused consternation at the weekend by suggesting Goldman chief executive Lloyd Blankfein and finance director David [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS December 16, 2009 Prudential The insurer has appointed Margaret Coltman as general counsel and company secretary. Coltman, who will also be on the executive committee, was initially appointed to the role in July on an interim basis, having formerly worked as general counsel and company secretary at Lloyds Banking Group. She started her career at law firm Norton [...]
Clerical Medical close to sale of Lands Improvement to MGPA November 25, 2009 CLERICAL MEDICAL, the pensions fund owned by Lloyds Banking Group, is poised to complete the sale of its property division Lands Improvement Holdings (LIH). Clerical will offload LIH to the acquisitive MGPA, the Macquarie-backed property group that has been in the running on a number of high-profile property deals this year, including British Land’s sale [...]
Invista seeks extra cash November 16, 2009 INVISTA European Real Estate Trust is aiming to raise £58.27m by selling shares to avoid a potential bank foreclosure as it sails perilously close to breaching a loan covenant. The property fund manager, which suffered a 23.4 per cent fall in the value of its assets between December 2007 and September, said its loan-to-value ratio [...]
Gloves off as Goldman ups SEC defence April 25, 2010 GOLDMAN Sachs at the weekend distanced itself even further from the man at the centre of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s fraud case, publishing a raft of damaging personal emails to demonstrate differences of opinion within the bank. Goldman’s retaliatory move came just hours after a Senate subcommittee released a number of potentially explosive email [...]
Lloyds set for deep discount in cash call… November 22, 2009 LLOYDS Banking Group is tomorrow set to announce that its record-breaking £13.5bn rights issue will be priced at a deep discount of around 60 per cent, ahead of a meeting later this week to seek approval for the fundraising from its shareholders. Lloyds, which is 43 per cent owned by the taxpayer, plans to raise [...]
Goldman boss in crunch vote May 5, 2010 LLOYD Blankfein, the embattled chairman and chief executive of Goldman Sachs, is facing a demand to separate his two top roles at a meeting of the investment bank’s shareholders tomorrow. Shareholders, who have been shaken by a civil fraud suit brought against the bank by the Securities and Exchange Commission, will be asked to vote [...]
Strength in energy issues is offset by weakness in miners January 11, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading share index ended flat yesterday with strength in energy issues countering a sell-off in miners, weak financial issues and uncertain progress on Wall Street. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was up 3.83 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 5,538.07, having touched a 16-month intraday peak of 5,600.48 early in the session. [...]
Greek economy kept afloat by shipping trade June 6, 2010 MANY of the headlines about the UK and Greek economies have, perhaps understandably, painted a bleak picture of harsh financial realities in both countries. Clearly the UK Government and the Greek administration face a period of painful fiscal tightening as they balance the books and reassure international investors. Therefore, in this challenging period, the top [...]
Goodwin adviser Greenburgh retires from BoA Merrill Lynch March 28, 2010 VETERAN dealmaker Matthew Greenburgh has retired from Merrill Lynch and is considering studying for a PhD in English Literature after 28 years in the City. Dubbed “Sir Fred Goodwin’s banker” for helping Royal Bank of Scotland take over ABN Amro in 2007, Greenburgh leaves a gap in the top ranks of the bank. Henrietta Baldock, head of [...]