Free Republic

Barclays is preparing a radical overhaul of its troubled investment bank in a move which is expected to result in thousands of job cuts, adding to pressure on the division’s two heads. The shake-up comes amid growing investor disquiet about the bank’s decision to increase bonus payments by 10 per cent to a total of £2.4bn last year in spite of a one-third fall in its pre-tax profits. Shareholders are also unhappy about rising costs and falling profits at the investment bank, which is jointly run by Tom King in the US and Eric Bommensath in Europe. The new strategy...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is backing calls by the EU commission to boost the funds of the European Investment Bank (EIB), a move meant to show that leaders are putting their money where their mouth is in terms of growth. As leaders are increasingly shifting their focus from austerity to growth-boosting measures, older plans tabled by the EU commission in the past few years are being revived. Boosting the lending capacity of the Luxembourg-based EIB is one of those ideas. Merkel over the weekend told Leipziger Volkszeitung she "can imagine that we further strengthen the capabilities of the European Investment...

The chief executive of Leader Capital Markets, one of Israel's top investment banks, has committed suicide, a company spokeswoman said on Sunday. Danny Barak, 48, jumped from his office on the 17th floor of one of Tel Aviv's most prominent office towers on Friday, the spokeswoman said. Barak, who is survived by his wife and four children, did not leave a note explaining his suicide. "It is a mystery," the spokeswoman said. ... "Danny Barak's death is a heavy loss not just to our group but to the entire Israeli capital market." ...

Commodities analysts leaving Wall Street By Francesco Guerrera and Deborah Brewster in New York Published: June 18 2008 02:10 | Last updated: June 18 2008 02:10 Wall Street is witnessing an exodus of analysts covering oil, gas and other commodities as the credit crunch and lucrative offers from hedge funds drive research experts away from investment banks. Over the past few months, highly regarded oil analysts such as Citigroup’s Doug Leggate and Geoff Kieburtz, Morgan Stanley’s Douglas Terreson and Bank of America’s Robert Morris have left. Recruitment experts say the moves are prompted partly by investment banks’ need to slash...

Bankers watch for falling knives as sponsors feel pain James Mawson 25 Mar 2008 Investment banks that have found private equity a lucrative business over the past few years are about to receive a double blow: falling fees from financial sponsors this year as well as writedowns of private equity assets held on their books. The problem is most visible at the largest banks that targeted the biggest private equity firms as clients. Banks specialising in the mid-market are more confident of their ability to withstand the growing capital markets storm. A Financial News survey of 20 of the largest...

NEW YORK - Vonage Holdings Corp., the biggest provider of Internet-based telephone service, is planning to go public, according to published reports. The Edison, N.J.-based company is looking to raise $400 million to $600 million and plans to register its deal with the SEC within the next six weeks, according to The Daily Deal. Details of the plan were also reported by The Wall Street Journal. Vonage declined to comment about the reports. The company has in recent years privately raised about $380 million from venture capital firms including NEA Enterprise Associates of Baltimore, Meritech Capital Partners of Palo Alto,...