Be ready to leap when the market turns September 15, 2010 THE popular obsession with City pay has not gone away, as was in evidence recently when the news that Bob Diamond will become CEO of Barclays was accompanied by lurid headlines about the “bonus banker”. City remuneration might be a dog-whistle issue for tabloids, but it’s also a big issue for everybody who works here, [...]
Firms’ sanctions compliance must be tightened up August 31, 2010 FINANCIAL regulation reform is all the rage. Last week, President Nicolas Sarkozy unveiled his programme of “action and ambition” for France’s forthcoming presidency of the G20. It puts global reform of financial markets and systems at the very top of the agenda. The US has already passed sweeping reform legislation and the coalition government has [...]
ECONOMIST VIEWS: WHAT WILL DRIVE THE UK’S ECONOMIC RECOVERY? July 12, 2010 SIMON WARD | HENDERSON “The UK GDP revision confirms a domestic demand-led recovery. Domestic demand was stronger than previously thought in the latest quarter and over the last year, with net exports correspondingly weaker. The demand upgrade was focused on fixed investment.” MICHAEL SAUNDERS | CITIGROUP “We expect that this ongoing monetary stimulus [weak pound [...]
ECONOMIST VIEWS: WHAT WILL DRIVE THE UK’S ECONOMIC RECOVERY? July 12, 2010 SIMON WARD | HENDERSON “The UK GDP revision confirms a domestic demand-led recovery. Domestic demand was stronger than previously thought in the latest quarter and over the last year, with net exports correspondingly weaker. The demand upgrade was focused on fixed investment.” MICHAEL SAUNDERS | CITIGROUP “We expect that this ongoing monetary stimulus [weak pound [...]
Japanese banks face uncertainty July 28, 2010 JAPAN’S third-biggest bank stuck to its full-year forecast yesterday despite reporting robust first-quarter earnings, due to uncertainty about the economic outlook. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SFMG) said net profit soared nearly three-fold to 211.8bn yen (£1.55bn) in the three months to the end of June. Citigroup analyst Hironari Nozaki had forecast the bank would earn [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS August 19, 2010 LOYALTY DOESN’T ALWAYS PAY Shopping around for a cheaper quote for your car insurance really does pay off, according to research from Which?, the independent product-testing and consumer campaigning champion. It surveyed nearly 2,500 consumers and found that more than a third accepted their original car insurers’ renewal quotes because they “couldn’t be bothered to [...]
FTSE closes flat as Monday’s zeal for banks wanes and energy firms recover August 3, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares ended steady yesterday as strength in oils offset falls in banks following weaker-than-expected US data that stoked concern about the strength of the economic rebound. The FTSE 100 closed down 0.63 point at 5,396.48 following a 2.7 per cent gain on Monday to a three-month closing high. “Weak US data in the [...]
Check through Basel III’s small print September 13, 2010 BANKS around the world are rightly cheerful after the announcement of Basel III minimum capital requirements less stringent than many had feared and, in the UK, still far lower than major banks’ existing capital reserves. The inevitable gasp of relief following this news has brought an immediate uplift for most, but should not divert attention [...]
Check through Basel III’s small print September 13, 2010 BANKS around the world are rightly cheerful after the announcement of Basel III minimum capital requirements less stringent than many had feared and, in the UK, still far lower than major banks’ existing capital reserves. The inevitable gasp of relief following this news has brought an immediate uplift for most, but should not divert attention [...]
Poison pill still a headache for BHP’s bid August 18, 2010 BHP BILLITON’s $40bn (£25.6bn) bid for PotashCorp could yet hit a hurdle because of the Canadian fertiliser giant’s “poison pill” defence, it emerged yesterday. BHP is waiting on the details of the shareholder rights plan implemented by PotashCorp on Tuesday, but the global miner could have to go to court to overturn the measure if [...]