First Data (“First Data”) today announced the launch of its initial public offering of 160,000,000 shares of its Class A common stock. The initial public offering price is expected to be between $18.00 and $20.00 per share. First Data expects to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 24,000,000 shares of its Class A common stock at the initial public offering price. First Data has applied to list shares of its Class A common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “FDC.”

UK-based lender Oakam (www.oakam.com) today reports a surge in demand for its services from new arrivals to the UK who find it difficult to borrow from banks.

In the last six months, it has seen demand for loans from customers for whom English is not their first language surge by 40%. This growing demand mirrors a rise in the number of new arrivals to the UK – according to the Office for National Statistics, 636,000 migrants came to live in Britain in the 12 months to the end of March¹.

BCS Financial Group, the largest securities broker on the Moscow Exchange, has made its first move into the North American market with entry into an agreement for the strategic acquisition of Alforma Capital Markets Inc., the wholly-owned New York-based subsidiary of Alfa-Bank.

Algomi, the network company providing information-matching solutions for the optimisation of fixed income liquidity, today announced the opening of a new office in New York. The company signed a long-term lease for the entire 28th floor of the Charles S. Cohen’s Tower 57 at 135 East 57th Street.

The new office provides additional space to service Algomi’s growing customer base in the Americas. Founded just three years ago, Algomi now works with more than 120 buy-side clients and 11 sell-side banks, including the recent signing of a leading US head quartered investment bank.

 SWIFT and CityIQ announce the results of joint survey with149 market participants worldwide about the state of play in the corporate actions marketplace. The survey also measures the evolution of automation and standardisation in this critical domain for financial institutions.

Midokura, the global innovator in software network virtualization, today announced its appointment of Pino de Candia as chief technology officer (CTO). Formerly chief architect at Midokura, de Candia will take over the CTO role from Dan Mihai Dumitriu, who will remain as the company's CEO.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI), a global technology company that provides innovative products and solutions to power commerce, today announced the launch of SendSuite Tracking Online. The new Cloud-based solution is designed to streamline the receiving and tracking process—from inbound to lost parcels--while simultaneously updating parcel recipients and enabling mailrooms to report performance against targets. SendSuite Tracking Online, which is designed for small and medium businesses, is available in 12 countries across North America, Europe and Asia.

Misys, the global financial software and services company, has been named a National Champion for the United Kingdom in the European Business Awards. The awards is a prestigious competition supported by business leaders, academics, media and political representatives from across Europe. 

Power. We always want it, we waste too much of it and we’re endlessly re-thinking where we get it from. But as in every other major industry, emerging technologies, shifting customer expectations, and now dramatic shifts in global energy economics are pushing energy utilities to rethink their century-old business and compliance models.

Disruption has arrived in the utility sector with a vengeance, as the ways we produce, transmit, distribute and consume power are being utterly transformed.