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| | July 8, 2015 | |
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| | These are tough times to be a bank CEO. Barclay's CEO Anthony Jenkins was unceremoniously -- some might say brutally -- sacked by his board today. Chairman John McFarlane didn't beat around the bush in an interview with the BBC's Kamal Ahmed, confirming and explaining the firing. "Barclays is not efficient, we are not productive, we are cumbersome," McFarlane said. "We have very large bureaucracy and personal accountability is not as high as we need it to be."
Jenkins replaced hard-charging Bob Diamond three years ago in the midst of the interest-rate rigging scandal. With a background in retail banking, he had been dubbed "Saint Anthony" for his efforts to bring ethics back to the business. So much for that. The directors who drove his ouster were clearly concerned about his lack of attention to the investment bank. "He is a tremendously successful retail banker," McFarlane told the BBC, damning with faint praise. "What we really need is profit improvement and returns improvement and that is a different skill."
Meanwhile, the China market meltdown continues, with nearly half the shares in Shanghai now on a trading halt. As Fortune's Stephen Gandel reports, the collapse is also spilling over into the U.S. markets, as the U.S. listed stocks of Chinese companies take a dive.
More below.
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| | Top News | |
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| | • Eurozone sets deadline for Greece The Eurozone has given Greece until Sunday to come up with a new plan to save itself from bankruptcy or else prepare to leave Europe's currency union. That could force Greece to reintroduce its national currency, entering into uncharted territory in a move that would wide out the savings for millions and risk inflation. Fortune • Market dive could delay China reforms The New York Times argues the pace of reform in the Chinese economy, including the introduction of competition for banks and the overhauling of state-owned companies, could slow if the country's stock market slump persists. The government finds itself in a tough spot as the Shanghai stock market has lost trillions in value, with China making promises that are so far failing to stop the nation's stock market nosedive. New York Times • Energy Transfer may go hostile Pipeline company Energy Transfer Equity said it may go hostile in the pursuit of a multibillion-dollar deal to buy rival operator Williams Cos. Initially, Energy Transfer quietly pursued Williams for several months but the acquirer is now critical of how Williams has responded to its all-equity offer valued at $48 billion and reiterated its offer - an offer Williams has deemed too low. WSJ (subscription required) • Barclays ousts chief executive Barclays Chairman John McFarlane, who took over in April, has quickly moved to oust Chief Executive Antony Jenkins and pledged to make deeper cost cuts, news that sent the company's shares higher. Jenkins had served in that role since 2012 after the bank fired its prior CEO following fines Barclays incurred for manipulating benchmark interest rates. Some analysts said Barclays would struggle to meet its profitability targets unless it deepened cuts. Bloomberg • Corzine, others settle MF Global suit Jon Corzine and other MF Global Holdings officials have reached a $64.5 million settlement of litigation that was brought by investors seeking to hold them liable for the now-defunct futures brokerage's 2011 bankruptcy. The preliminary settlement would resolve the last major piece of litigation over the company's fall into Chapter 11. Reuters | |
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| | Around the Water Cooler | |
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| | • What GoPro's latest hire means GoPro, the action camera manufacturer, has hired the former head of original development at Hulu. In a new position at GoPro, Charlotte Koh will partner with Hollywood studios and networks to co-produce new content using GoPro cameras. That could push the manufacturer into a new arena beyond its hardware roots. Fortune • Subway's spokesman nightmare In a fast-moving story that began with a Federal Bureau of Investigation raid, sandwich giant Subway suspended long-time spokesman Jared Fogle after learning he was being investigated in apparent connection to a child pornography case. Subway, which had worked with Fogle for many years, quickly moved to remove images of Fogle from its website after his home was raided in the investigation. Fortune • Heart drug wins early approval Swiss drugmaker Novartis won U.S. approval for its keenly awaited new heart failure drug faster than the company had anticipated, boosting hopes for a medicine analysts say may reap billions of dollars in annual sales. Entresto is the first new drug in decades that helps patients whose lives are in danger because their hearts cannot pump blood efficiently. Industry analysts anticipate annual sales of $4.4 billion by 2020. Reuters | |
| | 5 things to know today | |
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| | China stock rout, Alcoa begins earnings season--5 things to know today. Today's story can be found here. | |
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