HSBC reportedly set to cut around 100 jobs in equities business January 17, 2020 HSBC is reportedly cutting around 100 roles in its equities business, with the bulk of the layoffs expected to fall on continental European trading floors. The cuts will be across the bank’s equities research, sales, trading, and back office businesses, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. The lender is planning to refocus its [...]
Rare £1 Edward VIII coin sells for £1m January 17, 2020 A £1 coin featuring the Queen’s uncle Edward VIII has sold for a record £1m to a private collector in a deal brokered by the Royal Mint. The coin, one of only six produced, commemorates the ascension to the throne of Edward VIII in January 1936. He then abdicated in December that same year to [...]
Do central banks have enough firepower to fight the next recession? January 17, 2020 By the end of 2019, the UK and US had achieved a decade recession free. That’s an impressive feat, but fears of a recession remain. In fact, those fears peaked last year due to worrying signals from financial markets. When the next recession does raise its head, it will be up to our central banks [...]
The landscape may have changed, but the purpose of finance remains the same January 17, 2020 In January 2007, I walked into my first day in a role at one the world’s leading global financial institutions with all the excitement that comes with a new job. Like many of those working in the industry at that time, I didn’t foresee the hurricane that was about to hit in the shape of [...]
BNY Mellon shares tumble after earnings miss January 16, 2020 Shares in BNY Mellon have fallen eight per cent in US trading after the lender’s fourth-quarter profit missed analysts’ estimates today. Net income at the US’s biggest custodian bank rose 67 per cent year on year in the final quarter to $1.4bn (£1.1bn) – but much of this was due to the sale of an [...]
Bank of England and City watchdog urge firms to accelerate Libor transition January 16, 2020 The City regulator and Bank of England have joined forces to urge banks and insurers to accelerate plans to transition away from the discredited Libor interest rate benchmark. Firms have until October to stop writing loans tied to the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor), which is embedded within some $350 trillion (£268 trillion) of financial [...]
Morgan Stanley caps off earnings season with record profit January 16, 2020 Morgan Stanley’s profit jumped almost 50 per cent in the final quarter of 2019, its results showed today, pushing the lender’s yearly earnings to a record high. The last of the Wall Street giants to report its fourth-quarter earnings, Morgan Stanley also achieved record revenue in 2019 as its bond-trading arm prospered. Profit rose 46 [...]
FSCS says it is ‘too early to predict’ London Capital & Finance compensation levels January 16, 2020 The financial services lifeboat said today it was “too early to predict” how much it would have to pay out in compensation to investors in collapsed mini-bond firm London Capital & Finance (LCF). Last week, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) said it would protect 159 LCF bondholders who switched from stocks and shares ISAs [...]
55-year-old ex-Citigroup banker who was called ‘old’ by his boss wins age case January 15, 2020 A former Citigroup investment banker has won an age discrimination case after his boss said “you are old and set in your ways”. The Employment Tribunal Court found that Niels Kirk, a managing director of energy banking, had been unfairly dismissed following the comments by his boss, Manolo Falco. The tribunal concluded that Kirk, who [...]
Why a Bank of England interest rate cut looks increasingly likely January 15, 2020 Just a week ago, investors rated the chances that the Bank of England would cut interest rates at about five per cent. Today, they think there is a 60 per cent chance that the main rate will be lowered from 0.75 per cent, according to CME Group’s tool which analyses futures prices. So what has [...]