Capital is what defines a financial centre. You can have all the banks, insurance companies and advisory businesses you could possibly want, but if the money is not there they will be wasting their time... more
Barclays' new chief executive Bob Diamond is on the road telling investors he plans to lift the bank return on equity from a currently feeble 7% to an eye-catching 13% in a little over two years. That should be enough to send a cold chill of fear down investors' spines... more
The financial services compensation Scheme was designed to help make London a safer place for investors and a good reason to do business here. But as the old proverb says, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Now that same scheme could well drive business away... more
The Budget speech on Wednesday was billed as a "Budget for Growth" - a prescription to help business expand and build a prosperous future for Britain... more
City Comment: John Fingleton, the head of the Office of Fair Trading, says the new Consumer Protection and Markets Authority will not be a “consumer champion... more
When a travel firm hits trouble, its peers in the industry are committed to rescue and bring home the stranded customers. The fund management industry offers no such mutual protection for its clients stranded when a firm collapses
... more
City Comment: Don't be fooled into thinking that the funding crisis to which David Willetts refers can be solved by universities passing the hat round... more
City Comment: Mervyn King often points to the overall 6% drop in our output rather than our recent growth of 0.1% or 0.3%. Aviva is showing the same judgment by investing in Europe - Asia's growth is faster, but Europe is so much bigger... more
City Comment: During the Depression the Macmillan Committee put together ways for banks to support small businesses, but things have changed - it's easier to invest in Thailand than Tyneside... more
One of the most senior investment bankers in London has weighed in on the controversy over pay in the industry, attacking City and Wall Street employees as “greedy” and “inept”... more
It was only this week that I realised how fraught is the world of corporate governance following the debacle of the banks and the subsequent suggestions that shareholders should in future do more to rein back management whose strategies seemed to embody excessive risk ... more
Last time we were in recession in the Nineties, boards were so scared of the likely reaction of institutional investors if they suggested a dividend cut that they continued paying, even when the profits were not there, by dipping into reserves accumulated in the earlier good times ... more
Ever since half the banking system collapsed last year, people have been asking why the big shareholders did not see what was happening as chief executives ran amok, and take steps to prevent it ... more
Robert Jenkins, current chairman of the Investment Management Association, has a formula for spotting where the next shock in financial markets is likely to occur ... more
With just one week to invest in an individual savings account before the end of the tax year on 5 April, industry estimates suggest the number of tax-free Isas invested in stocks and shares has tumbled by almost 15%... more
It seems quite likely the City of London will continue to flourish as a financial centre, however deep the recession or turbulent the financial markets, says Anthony Hilton... more
Chancellor Alistair Darling came under attack from the City after he said banks would not have to put up the money to protect savers in the event of another Northern Rock Fiasco... more
It is rare for a company to be destroyed by a good idea but that is effectively what happened to Friends Provident. Last year it tried to take over cash-rich Resolution Life as a way to continue to finance its own expansion in wealth management and traditional pension and insurance products... more
More related topics: Investment Management Association and
Morning:
9°c
