Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit today stepped downfrom his post and member of the US banking giant’s Board.
The Board of Directors has unanimously elected Michael Corbat, CEO and a director of the Board, the company said.
The development comes a day after the India born CEO-led the US banking giant reported 88 per cent plunge in net profit at $ 468 million in the July-September quarter.
Nagpur-born Columbia University graduate Pandit, 55, had been the CEO of Citigroup since December, 2007.
Pandit said Citigroup has emerged from the financial crisis as a strong institution and “now is the right time for someone else to take thehelm at Citigroup.”
"Thanks to the dedication and sacrifice of people across Citigroup, we have emerged from the financial crisis as a strong institution. Citigroup is well-positioned for continued profitability and growth, having refocused the franchise on the basics of banking.
“Given the progress we have made in the last few years, I have concluded that now is the right time for someone else to take thehelm at Citigroup,” Pandit said in a statement.
He added that he is leavingthe company in better hands.
Corbat is the “right person” to tackle the difficult challenges ahead, with a 29-year record of achievement and leadership at this Company, he said.
“I will truly miss the wonderful people throughout this organisation. But I know that together with Mike, they will continue to build on the progress we have made,” he added.
Wednesday 17 October 2012
MasterCard sells its data to marketers
The credit card company’s MasterCard Advisors Media Solutions Group is able to provide companies with information telling them when customers are likely tospend and who is most likely to buy their products.
“What if you could know thebiggest week for spend and then reach those shoppers who are twice as likely to spend leading up to that week and then create campaigns?” asked Susan Grossman, senior vice president at MasterCard Advisors Media Solutions Group in an online presentation entitled “Leveraging MasterCard DataInsights to Reach Holiday Shoppers”
MasterCard, which processes 34 billion transactions a year in 210 countries and territories, said it started the initiative in February.
To build a targeted audience which can then be sold to a company, MasterCard starts with billions of anonymous transaction, which it then aggregates into small segments which comprise of similar transactions. When they create an audience the analytics is performed on these segments and not individuals.
Ms Grossman said protecting privacy was “core” to MasterCard’s values.
“What if you could know thebiggest week for spend and then reach those shoppers who are twice as likely to spend leading up to that week and then create campaigns?” asked Susan Grossman, senior vice president at MasterCard Advisors Media Solutions Group in an online presentation entitled “Leveraging MasterCard DataInsights to Reach Holiday Shoppers”
MasterCard, which processes 34 billion transactions a year in 210 countries and territories, said it started the initiative in February.
To build a targeted audience which can then be sold to a company, MasterCard starts with billions of anonymous transaction, which it then aggregates into small segments which comprise of similar transactions. When they create an audience the analytics is performed on these segments and not individuals.
Ms Grossman said protecting privacy was “core” to MasterCard’s values.
Banker 'recruited twogirlfriends to make £1m from insider dealing
An investment banker fed confidential information to two girlfriends to make more than £1m through insider share dealing, a court head.
Thomas Ammann, 39, used Christina Weckwerth, 44, and Jessica Mang, 30, as “cash and cover” to make illegal trades, it was alleged.All three profited from the activity, although each woman was unaware of the other’s existence, SouthwarkCrown Court heard.
Miss Weckwerth, a wealthy divorcee from Koenigstein in Taunus, Germany, whom Mr Ammann met through a dating website, invested more than half her divorce settlement to make about £1.2m, a jury was told.
Miss Mang, a health worker from central London who met the banker at a nightclub, used credit cardsand borrowed money from her family to make £30,000, it was alleged.
The two women deny charges of insider dealing which Ammann has admitted.
The jury was told that, despite earning a substantialsalary, Ammann lived beyond his means and was frequently in financial trouble. He relied on property deals in his native Germany to boost his income from the London branch of Mizuho International investment bank. In 2009, Ammann started working on a multi-billion pound takeover of Océ, a Dutch printing an copying group, by the Japanese electronics company Canon.
Armed with insider information, he approached his girlfriends about investing on his and their behalf, the court heard. He was one of just seven bankers at the London offices who knew about the deal before it was announced.
In diary entries dating from October 2009, Miss Mang wrote that Ammann had offered to tell her what he was doing at work so she or her father could profit.
She wrote that she was “embarrassed” that she only had £30,000 to invest.
“Transaction feels a little demeaning,” she noted about an alleged agreementto pay Ammann 50 per cent of the profits. “I’d feel a little like I pay him for his companionship. I do worry he doesn’t trust me.” She also described how her flatmate, a Goldman Sachs banker, told her that she was engaging in insider dealing, but she dismissed the warnings as “prissy”.
Miss Weckwerth, a mother ofone, invested more than half of her £1.4m divorce settlement in Océ shares between February and September 2009.
When the takeover deal wasbriefly called off, somethingthat Ammann would have been aware of, she cashed in her stake. She reinvested when talks resumed, the court heard.
Amanda Pinto QC, prosecuting on behalf of theFinancial Services Authority, said: “It is clear that each woman had insider information from Thomas Ammann. Jessica Mang wrote as much in her personal diary. Ms Weckwerth’s [position] is an irresistible inference from her pattern of trading.”
She added: “These two women managed to almost double their money by trading in one stock. Each ofthese women considered that Ammann was their boyfriend. They had no idea of the existence of the other. Weckwerth got back nearly £2m and Mang, who was trading at a very, very much lower level, made £60,000.” The case continues
Thomas Ammann, 39, used Christina Weckwerth, 44, and Jessica Mang, 30, as “cash and cover” to make illegal trades, it was alleged.All three profited from the activity, although each woman was unaware of the other’s existence, SouthwarkCrown Court heard.
Miss Weckwerth, a wealthy divorcee from Koenigstein in Taunus, Germany, whom Mr Ammann met through a dating website, invested more than half her divorce settlement to make about £1.2m, a jury was told.
Miss Mang, a health worker from central London who met the banker at a nightclub, used credit cardsand borrowed money from her family to make £30,000, it was alleged.
The two women deny charges of insider dealing which Ammann has admitted.
The jury was told that, despite earning a substantialsalary, Ammann lived beyond his means and was frequently in financial trouble. He relied on property deals in his native Germany to boost his income from the London branch of Mizuho International investment bank. In 2009, Ammann started working on a multi-billion pound takeover of Océ, a Dutch printing an copying group, by the Japanese electronics company Canon.
Armed with insider information, he approached his girlfriends about investing on his and their behalf, the court heard. He was one of just seven bankers at the London offices who knew about the deal before it was announced.
In diary entries dating from October 2009, Miss Mang wrote that Ammann had offered to tell her what he was doing at work so she or her father could profit.
She wrote that she was “embarrassed” that she only had £30,000 to invest.
“Transaction feels a little demeaning,” she noted about an alleged agreementto pay Ammann 50 per cent of the profits. “I’d feel a little like I pay him for his companionship. I do worry he doesn’t trust me.” She also described how her flatmate, a Goldman Sachs banker, told her that she was engaging in insider dealing, but she dismissed the warnings as “prissy”.
Miss Weckwerth, a mother ofone, invested more than half of her £1.4m divorce settlement in Océ shares between February and September 2009.
When the takeover deal wasbriefly called off, somethingthat Ammann would have been aware of, she cashed in her stake. She reinvested when talks resumed, the court heard.
Amanda Pinto QC, prosecuting on behalf of theFinancial Services Authority, said: “It is clear that each woman had insider information from Thomas Ammann. Jessica Mang wrote as much in her personal diary. Ms Weckwerth’s [position] is an irresistible inference from her pattern of trading.”
She added: “These two women managed to almost double their money by trading in one stock. Each ofthese women considered that Ammann was their boyfriend. They had no idea of the existence of the other. Weckwerth got back nearly £2m and Mang, who was trading at a very, very much lower level, made £60,000.” The case continues
Intel quarterly profitfalls 14%
Intel, the world's largest chipmaker, says its net income fell 14 per cent from last year,and it's looking at tough conditions in thenew quarter.
Third-quarter net income was $2.97 billion US, or 58 cents per share, down from$3.47 billion, or 65 cents per share, a year ago.
Intel Corp. blames tough economic conditions, but analystsbelieve a shift in spending from PCs to tablets and smartphones may be contributing.
Still, Intel beat expectations for the quarter. Analysts polledby FactSet were expecting earnings of 50 cents per share.
Revenue fell 5.5 per cent to $13.5 billion. Analysts were expecting $13.22 billion.
The Santa Clara, Calif., company says it expects about $13.6 billion in fourth-quarter revenue, belowthe analyst forecast of$13.7 billion.
Tuesday 16 October 2012
Google is facing fresh criticism in Europe for its collection of users’ personal data.
Just weeks after getting hit with a record $22.5 million U.S. fine for Internet privacy violations, Google is facing fresh criticism in Europe for its collection of users’ personal data.
In an Oct. 16 ruling , France’s privacy-rights regulator said Google’snew privacy policy violated European data-protection rules. Google failed to set “any limit concerning the scope of the collection and the potential uses of the personal data,” and gave users inadequate means to opt out, the agency said. France could impose fines on Google within “three to four months” if the policy is not modified, said Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, chairwoman of the regulator, known as the CNIL.
Last March, Google established a uniform privacy policy covering more than 60 services, including Google searches, YouTube, and Gmail. In a statement e-mailed after the decision, Google’s global privacy counselPeter Fleischer said thecompany was “confident that our privacy notices respectEuropean law.”
Although other countries are not bound by France’s action, they’re likely tofollow its lead in demanding that Google revamp the policy. EU authorities had asked the CNIL toconduct the review, and the French findings were reviewedin advance by European national regulators and by data-protection authorities in anada, Australia, and several Asian countries. If Google refuses to modify its policy, it would be “almost certain to increase anyfine that the regulatorsmay wish to impose,” says Chris Watson, head of the telecommunications practice at the law firm of CMS Cameron McKenna in London.
The ruling comes 10 weeks after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission fined Google $22.5 million—the biggest fine in the agency’s history—to settle charges thatit breached privacy protections on Apple’s Safari Internet browser. The FTC said Google illegally planted cookies in Safari, bypassing Appleprivacy settings so thatGoogle could track users’ browsing behavior.
The French decision also could create headaches for Google as it faces scrutiny by U.S. and European antitrust regulators. EU anti-monopoly authorities in 2010 opened an investigation of the company that is still ongoing.
Royal Bank of Scotland has suspended its head of rates trading in Europe and Asia Pacific, the most senior employee to be put on leave so far as the bank investigates its alleged role in the interbank lending rate scandals.
Jezri Mohideen was suspended last week as part of the bank's continuing investigation into the interbank rate-setting affair, according to two people close to the bank. RBS dismissed four traders last year but Mr Mohideen is the most senior employee and thefirst senior manager to be put on leave. He was head of rates trading in Europe, the Middle East,Africa and Asia Pacific.
RBS declined to comment on Mr Mohideen's case but said in a statement: "Ourinvestigations into submissions, communications and procedures relating to the setting of Libor and other interest rates are ongoing. RBS and its employees continue to co-operate fully with regulators."
Mr Mohideen could not be reached for comment.
The bank has not requested a suspension of his authorisation by the Financial Services Authority, people close to the situation said.
The news comes at a difficult time for RBS after the collapse of a deal to sell more than 300 bank branches to Spain's Santander.
The bank is braced for a large penalty from regulators over its alleged involvement in the attempted manipulation of Libor, the interbank borrowingbenchmark, following the £290m fine handed down to Barclays this year.
Recent court filings by a former Singapore-based trader at RBS have placed the bank under fresh scrutiny over alleged attempts to manipulate Libor.
In papers filed at the high court in Singapore in recent months Tan ChiMin -- also known as Jimmy Tan -- said it hadbeen part of his duties toprovide the bank's Liborrate-setters with "input" and that RBS had condoned the practice.
Mr Tan was dismissed bythe bank late last year for alleged gross misconduct relating to the setting of Libor. He issuing the bank for wrongful dismissal.
Kenya capital market authority appoint team to market kenya
The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has appointed a 16-member team to design a blueprint that will guide the regulatorin making Kenya an international financial centreand achieving other Vision 2030 projects.
The Capital Markets Master Plan (CMMP) is a 5-year planthat will act as a guide book for the CMA and board members have already signed term of reference.
The CMA appointed the steering team which will have up to one year to drawup the CMMP which will include a report on where the market is, where it is going and how it will get there.
The steering committee is a hybrid of bankers, brokers and technocrats.
Capital Markets Steering Committee Membership
1.Paul Kavuma (Mr) - (Chairperson)
2.Gituro Wainaina (Dr)Treasury Representative
3.Chairperson, Technical & Policy Committee - Capital Markets Authority Board
4.Chief Executive - Capital Markets Authority
5.Gerald Nyaoma (Mr) – Nominee of the Central Bank of Kenya
6.Amish Gupta (Mr.) – Nominee of KASIB
7.Donald Ouma (Mr) – Nominee of NSE
8.James Muratha (Mr) - Nominee of FMA
9.Victor Nkiiri- Nominee of KBA
10.Wanjiku Mugane (Ms)
11.Mutuma Marangu (Mr)
12.Nathif Adam (Mr)
13.Anne Aliker (Ms)
14.Freshia Waweru (Dr)
15.Fahima Zein (Ms), CFA
16.Caroline Musyoka (Ms)
The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has appointed a 16-member team to design a blueprint that will guide the regulatorin making Kenya an international financial centreand achieving other Vision 2030 projects.
The Capital Markets Master Plan (CMMP) is a 5-year planthat will act as a guide book for the CMA and board members have already signed term of reference.
The CMA appointed the steering team which will have up to one year to drawup the CMMP which will include a report on where the market is, where it is going and how it will get there.
The steering committee is a hybrid of bankers, brokers and technocrats.
Capital Markets Steering Committee Membership
1.Paul Kavuma (Mr) - (Chairperson)
2.Gituro Wainaina (Dr)Treasury Representative
3.Chairperson, Technical & Policy Committee - Capital Markets Authority Board
4.Chief Executive - Capital Markets Authority
5.Gerald Nyaoma (Mr) – Nominee of the Central Bank of Kenya
6.Amish Gupta (Mr.) – Nominee of KASIB
7.Donald Ouma (Mr) – Nominee of NSE
8.James Muratha (Mr) - Nominee of FMA
9.Victor Nkiiri- Nominee of KBA
10.Wanjiku Mugane (Ms)
11.Mutuma Marangu (Mr)
12.Nathif Adam (Mr)
13.Anne Aliker (Ms)
14.Freshia Waweru (Dr)
15.Fahima Zein (Ms), CFA
16.Caroline Musyoka (Ms)
iPad mini models, pricing leaks online
A leaked inventory system screenshot has purportedly leaked the pricing scheme behind Apple's upcoming 7-inch tablet, dubbed the iPad mini.
The base price of the iPad mini (8GB storage, Wi-Fi only) is set at €249, or $320 at the current exchange rate, according to German site MobileGeeks (via GigaOm ). The leaked screenshot is reportedly froma widely used inventory system in Europe and Asia used by mobile firms and cellular networks.
Here's the pricing scheme as it's being reported:
A week after the U.S. Congress slapped ZTE with a 'do not trust' allegation , the Chinese company gets another bitter dose of bad news. It's about to report a net loss of between 1.65 billion and 1.75 billion yuan (US $263 million to$279 million) for the first nine months of 2012, which pales in comparisonto the 1 billion yuan profitit reported during the same period in 2011. This has resulted in a sharp 15.8 percent drop in ZTE'sshare price on the Hong Kong stock exchange, where it now sits at HK$10.56. The financial hitcame exclusively in the third quarter (that's July through September), where revenues are reported to be 13 percent lower than the same period in 2011 -- 18.23 billion yuan ($2.9 billion) versus 20.95 billion yuan ($3.34 billion). The equipment vendor blamesglobal trends, low-margincontracts, project delays and procurement changesfor the downward turn, and hopes to implement some cost-cutting measures to ensure better margins. However, it says it won't stop its current deals in North America and Europe, and will continue to invest in China's LTE market. In an analyst call, executives said they hope to break even this year, and that it has
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