5 things FDs need to know this week
As the week comes to an end, we pick out five key things that happened.
1. Michael Kors to buy Jimmy Choo for £896m.
Luxury fashion retailer, Michael Kors, has made an all-cash offer for the British shoe brand, which saw shares in Jimmy Choo rise 16.8%. Jimmy Choo was put up for sale in April by JAB Holding, which owns 70% of the business, as profits for the year fell from £19.4 million to £15.4million.
John Idol, chairman and chief executive officer of Michael Kors: “We believe that Jimmy Choo is poised for meaningful growth in the future and we are committed to supporting the strong brand equity that Jimmy Choo has built over the last 20 years.”
Jimmy Choo’s management will remain the same after the deal is completed, said Michael Kors, with Pierre Denis staying on as chief executive. The deal is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2017.
2. Universities to teach Blockchain
Edinburgh University is set to become one of the first prestigious European universities to offer Blockchain courses to its students.
It will follow in the footsteps of US universities Stanford and Berkeley, which already aoffer cryptocurrency and bitcoin courses, with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) planning to launch one soon.
The demand for employees skilled in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies is growing and according to Jerry Cuomo, IBM’s vice-president of blockchain technologies, the best blockchain engineers can command a salary above $250,000.
3. Libor to be scrapped by 2021
The Financial Conduct Authority has announced that a new method for setting the interest rate benchmark will be in place by 2021.
Banks have been fined billions for trying to manipulate the rate, which is based on submissions of interest rates banks think will be charged for borrowing money.
Chief executive of the FCA, Andrew Bailey, said :“By having a date by which transition will need to be complete, however, we give market participants a schedule to plan to, and make it easier for them to engage as many counterparties and Libor users as is practicably possible.
4. VW Audi to replace 4 out of its 7 management members
Volkswagen’s Audi brand will replace four out of seven management board members, according to Reuters, which quoted “three sources.”
Germany’s Manager Magazin said Audi’s Finance chief Axel Strotbek, production chief Hubert Waltl, human resources chief Thomas Sigi and sales chief Dietmar Voggenreiter were informed by VW group chief executive Matthias Mueller, on July 26, of their imminent dismissal, according to Reuters.
5. Bank of England appoints new deputy governor for markets and banking
The finance ministry has appointed its chief economic adviser, David Ramsden, as the Bank of England deputy governor for markets and banking, where he will be a member of the interest-rate setting Monetary Policy Committee.
In a statement, the finance ministry said Ramsden will begin his new role in September, while finance minister Philip Hammon said of the role: “Sir Dave’s unrivalled experience at the center of UK economic policy for more than two decades gives him the thorough grounding needed to be successful in his new role.”
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