IMF warns on UK spend May 20, 2009 THE government must repair the public finances faster than it has spelt out in the Budget or risk a further significant shock to the battered economy, the International Monetary Fund warned yesterday. It urged the government to specify how it would cut public spending or raise taxes once the economy recovers. It says GDP will [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 20, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMESCANNES HIT BY CUTBACKS AND CAUTIONThere are still outward signs of glamour on the Croisette in Cannes, but economic reality has gripped the film market at this year’s 62nd film festival. Some of the biggest parties have been cancelled and, for the first time in years, it is easy to get a hotel room. [...]
New LSE chief vows to keep market share May 20, 2009 THE London Stock Exchange’s (LSE) new chief executive, Xavier Rolet, yesterday vowed to fight newcomers hoping to take market share from the 200-year old institution. Taking the reigns from Dame Clara Furse – who stepped down after eight years – Rolet said he would not rule out consolidation with other companies nor the launch of [...]
Loss of 17.6bn if banks sold May 20, 2009 TAXPAYERS would make losses of £17.6bn if the government sold out of Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) at today’s prices, Exane BNP Paribas said yesterday. The figures indicate that any sell-off of the government’s stake in either Lloyds or RBS is unlikely ahead of the next general election. BNP Paribas calculated [...]
Russian banks may need 10bn as bad loans mount up, says central banker May 20, 2009 RUSSIAN banks could need a minimum of £10bn in extra capital this year to offset the damage done by rocketing levels of bad loans, one of the country’s top central bankers said yesterday. Alexei Simanovsky, who heads the Russian central bank’s supervision department, said stress testing had shown that non-performing loans would force banks to [...]
Air France and Delta to merge May 20, 2009 AIR FRANCE-KLM, Europe’s biggest airline, yesterday announced it had finalised a deal with US airline Delta to operate as one airline over the Atlantic, boosting its share of the world’s busiest route to 25 per cent. The news came as the French carrier reported full-year losses of &1119;578m (£507m) yesterday, down from a profit of [...]
Julius Baer splits private banking and asset arms in a bid to unlock value May 20, 2009 SWISS bank Julius Baer is separating its private banking and asset management arms into two “independent entities”, in a bid to unlock value for shareholders. The group said the split will create two groups with a “clear focus”. GAM, which sells funds to London investors from Julius Baer’s St James’s Street office, and Julius Baer [...]
Air France and Delta to merge May 20, 2009 AIR FRANCE-KLM, Europe’s biggest airline, yesterday announced it had finalised a deal with US airline Delta to operate as one airline over the Atlantic, boosting its share of the world’s busiest route to 25 per cent. The news came as the French carrier reported full-year losses of &1119;578m (£507m) yesterday, down from a profit of [...]
Summer of discontent looms over bonuses May 20, 2009 A SUMMER of discontent over the pay of top executives looked more likely last night, as pressure groups urged shareholders to reject plans to pay vast bonuses for under-performance. Bailed-out bank Lloyds Banking Group and telecoms giant Cable & Wireless are next in the firing line over pay, as both have impending shareholder meetings that [...]
FACEBOOK TO POKE THE MARKET May 20, 2009 FACEBOOK chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said yesterday he hopes to float his company on the stock market, but that the online social network is “still a few years out from that”. The 25-year old said the company is in no immediate need of fresh capital – despite numerous media reports that it has had talks [...]