Abchat Weekly Wrap-Up: Social media history: 4 more years

Barack Obama’s re-election made social media history this week. The photograph of Barack embracing his wife Michelle with the slogan “four more years” became the most liked and retweeted post in microblogging history. The post went live on the President’s Twitter page at roughly 4.15am UK time and right now the image has 4,168,334 likes on Facebook, and 800,827 retweets on Twitter.

Obama’s post gave the rest of the world an opportunity to congratulate him personally. The "hug" photo was shared across continents and time zones, with congratulations pouring in from Kenya to Albania, and many other countries. Several Britons also had their say; one message read "Well done Sir from England xxxxxxxx" Another Briton who was keen to share in Obama's victory was PM David Cameron. The prime minister tweeted: "Warm congratulations to my friend @BarackObama." Cameron's message was re-tweeted a somewhat humble 2,281 times. There was no "LOL" which featured in his well publicised text messages to Rebekah Brooks, but Cameron did add: "Look forward to continuing to work together." 

Others took to Twitter to criticise the election outcome, with the most notable Twitter ranter, Donald Trump saying “Another four years — not good for the country but we’ll have to live with it!

However the next four years pan out for the United States and ultimately the World, one thing is for certain, social media will be used more and to commentate on politics as well as a powerful lobbying tool.

• Britain’s biggest bank, HSBC faced with $1.5 billion fine over the potential money-laundering claims raised by a US Senate. The bank has also put an additional $800 million aside to cover the potential fines

• Lloyds bank considers the sale of its 60% stake in St. James’ Place, the Wealth Management Company with the hope of raising more than £1 billion
• Broking house Panmure Gordon expand its investment fund business and look to build on its return to profitability as they hire a new team of 10 from Matrix Group
• Tate & Lyle launch a £30 million venture fund to invest in new start-ups and expansion stage companies based around food science and related technologies
• Stockwatch: US Equity stocks take a tumble following Barak Obama’s re-election. Since Tuesday’s result, stocks continue to fall on Wall Street as investors and analysts turn their focus back to the challenges of the upcoming fiscal cliff which is currently unnerving the market

Our Life Sciences team attended BioCap 2012 North of England Life Sciences Investment and Showcase conference. It was the first that BioNow had run, and it had an exceptional turnout of delegates and panel speakers. #BioCap2012

Graduate Abchaps attended the Gorkana Breakfast Briefing with Sunday Express Editor, Tracey Boles, gaining valuable insight into what Sunday papers want from PRs.
Abchaps were delighted to join Baker Tilly’s Capital Markets Team for their Autumn drinks reception.
The Cleantech team attended Envirotech and Clean Energy Investor Summit where we watched our Client Chargemaster plc chair the session on Sustainable Transport: Investing in Low Carbon Vehicle Infrastructure. #Envirotech #Envirotech2012

We took some special guests to the UEFA Champions League Chelsea vs S Dontesk match at Stamford Bridge, and saw our team win 3-2, putting them in good stead to qualify for the knock-out stages.

Abchaps hosted a China focused Market Lunch with some great guests from KPMG, finnCap, LSE, Northland Capital Partners, Pinsent Masons and Hantime Capital.

It has been a week of analysts moving around the City, with Equity Development, appointing Matthew O’Keefe and Paul Hill to the team. Matthew has a background in transport and support services, while Paul, a small cap analyst, has particular experience in special situations.
Healthcare and Life Sciences analyst Mike Mitchell has moved to Panmure Gordon as a Director of Equity Research, with specialist sub-sectors including diagnostics, orthopaedics, healthcare equipment and services, biotech and specialist pharmaceuticals.
Canaccord Genuity has appointed Steve Buell as Global Head of Research. He will be based in New York and will remain Director of US Research for the international firm.

"Dead-cat bounce" – a temporary recovery on a stock exchange after a substantial fall, which does not imply a reversal of the downward trend.

For those whose appetites for horror have not been satiated by Halloween, Paper Dandy’s kirikami ‘Horrogami’ works are on display at the Gallery One and a Half in Dalston, featuring iconic locations from all the best horror movies.
The annual World Press Photo Exhibition opened today at the Royal Festival Hall. See the 167 that were picked out of the 101,254 pictures submitted.
The Natural History Museum’s ice rink is now open for the winter season.
Round the corner, you can keep warm at the V&A's Hollywood costume exhibition, with over 100 costumes from the last century.

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