City London Financial News

Asian stocks traded cautiously and bonds fell on Thursday while investors waited on more detail of China's stimulus plans and for a European Central Bank meeting later in the session.

2018 World Juniors hockey team have been told to surrender to police and are set to face charges in relation to an alleged group sexual assault in London, Ont., according to a media report.The Globe and Mail first reported the development Wednesday, citing two sources with knowledge of the investigation who were not named because they were not authorized to speak on the case.The players, who have not been charged yet, have been given a set period of time to present themselves at London police headquarters, the Globe reported. Global News has not independently confirmed the Globe reporting.Several players who were members on the 2018 team have taken indefinite leaves of absence from their clubs over recent days, according to statements from their teams posted on the social media platform X and in public comments.

AJ Bell urged the chancellor to slash any plans to create a ‘Great British ISA’, highlighting the restriction of investment choice as a potential issue for investors.

Nick Train (pictured) addressed shareholders at Finsbury Income & Growth's annual general meeting in London on Tuesday (23 January).

Deutsche Bank staff in London are mourning Rafael Gil-Alberdi, the bank's co-head of EMEA corporate equity derivatives, whose funeral was yesterday.

If you're looking for a way to moderate bonus expectations ahead of a tight bonus round, it helps to make people focus on something else. Like actually having a job. 

If you couldn't find a new banking job in 2023, then good luck finding a new banking job in 2024. For all the hope that this year would improve the fortunes of financial services jobseekers, and by extension financial services recruiters, 2024 is not starting on a high note. 

Bank of America is cutting jobs.Headhunters told us yesterday that cuts were coming at the bank, and both Financial News and Reuters are reporting today that people have gone. The cuts are being made on the cusp ofbonus announcements, which are due this Friday. 

Aymeric Paillat, a veteran JPMorgan credit trader, has quietly gone from JPMorgan.

If you’re working in a bank and angling for an exit, there are worse places to go than a private credit firm.

ALSO READ: India Vs England: 'I feel for him honestly', says Rohit Sharma on Shoaib Bashir's visa row "I can't speak to the specifics of this case. But more broadly we have previously raised issues of this kind with the High Commission. We have been clear that we expect India to treat British citizens fairly at all times in its visa processes.

ALSO READ: India vs England: ENG's Shoaib Bashir ruled out of 1st Test due to visa issues, Ben Stokes calls it ‘very frustrating’ Shoaib Bashir, a British Muslim of Pakistani descent, faced visa issues amid England embarking on India's tour for a five-Test series. With his teammates proceeding to Hyderabad for the first test after a training camp in Abu Dhabi, the young cricketer remained in the Emirate and later returned to England to seek the necessary approval at the Indian embassy. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the government expects British citizens to be treated fairly by India's visa processes.

Yemen's Huthis on Tuesday over their attacks on Red Sea shipping, as the Iran-backed rebels vowed to hit back. The latest raids, heard by residents of the rebel-held capital Sanaa around midnight (2100 GMT), hit eight Huthi targets, a joint US-UK statement said, while the Huthis listed 18 strikes across their territory. US and British forces carried out a first wave of strikes against the rebel group earlier this month, and the United States launched further air raids against missiles that Washington said posed imminent threats to both civilian and military vessels. But the Huthis have vowed to continue their attacks — just one part of a growing crisis in the Middle East linked to the Israel-Hamas war, which has raised fears of a broader war directly involving Iran. The latest strikes were against «eight Huthi targets in Yemen in response to the Huthis' continued attacks against international and commercial shipping as well as naval vessels transiting the Red Sea», Washington and London said in a joint statement with other countries that supported the military action. «These precision strikes are intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities that the Huthis use to threaten global trade and the lives of innocent mariners,» the statement said. The US Central Command said in a separate statement that the targets of the strikes «included missile systems and launchers, air defence systems, radars, and deeply buried weapons storage facilities». — Attacks won't go 'unpunished' - British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said the Huthis had carried out more than 12 attacks on shipping since the first wave of joint strikes on January 11. «What we have done again is send the clearest possible message that we will

Air Canada flight from London, England, to Toronto allegedly tried to open the aircraft doors midflight on Sunday, according to the airline and police.In a statement, Air Canada said there was an incident involving a “disruptive passenger” on the Toronto-bound flight from London’s Heathrow airport.Air Canada said their crews were able to manage the situation with the passenger, which allowed for the flight to continue normally to Toronto Pearson Airport.The flight landed in Toronto just after 3 p.m.

Air Astana said its dual listing will comprise two offerings: shares and global depositary receipts (GDRs) in Kazakhstan and GDRs in London.

ElevenLabs has gained unicorn status after its latest round of fundraising, a person familiar with the matter said, as surging investor interest for generative AI technology sends startup valuations soaring. ElevenLabs on Monday said it raised $80 million in Series B funding from investors led by venture capitalist Andreessen Horowitz along with entrepreneurs Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross, with participation from Sequoia Capital among others.

Prince Harry has dropped his libel lawsuit against the publisher of a British tabloid following a ruling that had damaged his case and in which the judge suggested he might lose at trial

Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler is selling off a large part of his extensive guitar collection at a London auction with part of the proceeds going to charity. The collection, which includes some of the most significant guitars from Knopfler's 50-year career, is on show at Christie's auction house ahead of the Jan. 31 sale. «It's a wonderful collection of 122 items from Mark Knopfler spanning all of his career and it… represents physically his career as a musician and an instigator and supplier of our communal soundtrack,» Kerry Keane, Christie's specialist consultant for musical instruments, told Reuters. A 1983 red Schecter Telecaster-style guitar used to record Dire Straits' hit «Walk of Life» and which featured in its accompanying music video is estimated at 4,000 — 6,000 pounds ($5,072 — $7,609). A 1983 Gibson Les Paul Standard '59 reissue used for the track «Money for Nothing,» which contains one of Knopfler's most iconic guitar riffs, has an estimate of 6,000 — 8,000 pounds. Christie's said an original version of the 1959 Gibson Les Paul used by Knopfler for performances in the 2000s was likely to fetch the sale's highest price, with an estimate of 300,000 to 500,000 pounds.

Stranger Things: The First Shadow' has been captivating audiences for several months now. This prequel production provides insights into events preceding the main series. While the original season debuted in 1983, the most recent season unfolded in 1986. In contrast, 'The First Shadow' transports viewers back to 1959, a period touched upon in Season 3 through flashbacks for the Creel family.

IPO and sending shares tumbling as much as 14%. Executives on a call said the company planned to raise prices on its sandals and clogs this year after it had «underestimated the inflation effects» in fiscal 2023. Birkenstock expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) margin of about 30% for 2024, citing a «modest headwind» from costs tied to investments. That compares with adjusted EBITDA margin of 32.4% for fiscal 2023, which was the first drop in four years. The margin outlook for 2024 is «conservative,» executives said. «The company is guiding to… a hurdle with respect to taking profitability down more than expected next year,» said Jason Benowitz, senior portfolio manager at CI Roosevelt. So overall «these results were just not strong enough to sort of justify the current premium that was in the shares.» The stock ended about 19% higher in 2023 after a weak market debut in October. «The IPO price had already baked in a lot in terms of future upside, and until we see the company deliver as well as exceed those expectations it's hard to see the share price move further,» said Swetha Ramachandran, who manages a global consumer brands portfolio at Artemis Fund Managers in London. However, Birkenstock forecast 2024 revenue to be between 1.74 billion euros and 1.76 billion euros, above analysts' expectations of 1.72 billion euros. Demand for Birkenstock's footwear, which retails for as much as $350 a pair, has remained resilient and the company has also benefited from efforts to boost sales through its own website and stores. Unit growth was 6% in 2023 while average selling price increased 14% since fiscal 2022, driven by higher full-price sales. Quarterly revenue

Colliers International Group Inc., which says prime office values tumbled about 30% from their pre-Covid high in some of the nation’s major cities. “Given how deep prices have corrected, there are lots of bargain-hunting opportunities," said Jimmy Gu, a deputy managing director and co-head of capital markets and investment services at Colliers. “It all depends on buyers’ outlook for the economy." Grade-A offices in Shanghai and Beijing used to be sought after by global real estate funds, making them more attractive than those in New York and London.