Bank chiefs issue warning against regulatory overkill August 3, 2009 BARCLAYS chief executive John Varley yesterday urged regulators not to risk “throttling” economic recovery with overzealous reforms, while HSBC backed up his call for a measured approach. “This industry got many things wrong and there is much to be sorry about. There must be change and there will be change,” said Varley. But he added [...]
A new Glass-Steagall Act wouldn’t work October 20, 2009 WHEN the Governor of the Bank of England – and if the Tories are elected, the next chief financial regulator – calls for investment banks to be separated from retail banks, everybody should sit up and listen carefully. King seems deadly serious, and George Osborne said last night that he agreed with much of the [...]
Temasek sees revival after markets rally September 17, 2009 SINGAPOREAN wealth fund Temasek said yesterday that it had recouped most of the losses on its portfolio due to rallying markets and was now in a position to do new deals. Chief executive Ho Ching said any dip in markets could be a buying opportunity for the $122bn (£74.2bn) investment firm, which is still open [...]
Supply trouble to keep cocoa futures on an upward trend October 25, 2009 WITH oil and gold constantly hitting the headlines, it’s all too easy for spread betters to take the (relatively) easy route and stick to trading the big commodity markets. But given how strongly some of the so-called soft commodities such as cocoa and sugar have performed over recent months, it is clear that extending your [...]
ASSET MANAGEMENT’S FINEST ON SPARKLING FORM IN WESTMINSTER October 6, 2009 IT WAS off to the Banqueting House on Whitehall last night to celebrate with the great and the good of the asset management world, toasting themselves at the Financial News Awards for Excellence in Institutional Asset Management for having survived one of the most dire years the industry has ever seen. There were, of course, [...]
ASSET MANAGEMENT’S FINEST ON SPARKLING FORM IN WESTMINSTER October 6, 2009 IT WAS off to the Banqueting House on Whitehall last night to celebrate with the great and the good of the asset management world, toasting themselves at the Financial News Awards for Excellence in Institutional Asset Management for having survived one of the most dire years the industry has ever seen. There were, of course, [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 11, 2009 Piper JaffrayThe boutique investment bank has hired Richard Kirkham, formerly a partner at Oriel Securities, as a principal of European equity sales. Kirkham was previously a director of UK small and mid-cap sales at Teather and Greenwood. He will be responsible for developing business relationships with assigned institutional accounts. BarclaycardBarclaycard has appointed David Daniel as [...]
Fed prepares to detail new bonus regime September 20, 2009 THE US Federal Reserve is to unveil a four-pronged approach to reforming remuneration structures, as the G20 world leaders prepare to meet in Pittsburgh this Friday, with pay and bonuses high on the agenda. America’s central bank, chaired by Ben Bernanke, aims to link pay to long-term performance, as part of an international drive to [...]
Return of optimism bolsters FTSE as JP Morgan cheers October 14, 2009 BRITAIN’S top share index surged 2 per cent yesterday, hitting its highest closing level in more than a year, as quarterly earnings from JPMorgan Chase and Intel lifted investor's sentiment. The FTSE 100 ended up 101.95 points higher at 5,256.10, after closing 1.1 per cent weaker on Tuesday. The UK benchmark, which tumbled more than [...]
Ladbrokes launches 275m cash call in a bid to relieve debt as revenues fall October 8, 2009 LADBROKES, the book maker, yesterday announced a fully underwritten £275m cash call to pay down its debt, as it revealed its revenue had fallen by 15 per cent in the third quarter due to “exceptionally low” margins on football and horsing bets. The betting firm, which has already had to withheld its interim payments to [...]