Greek banks rush to sell state debt in May after periphery rally June 30, 2014 The Greek banking system sold more government debt in May than in any other month for the past 13 years, according to figures released by the European Central Bank (ECB) yesterday. Statistics released by the central bank suggested that the country’s financial institutions offloaded €4.84bn (£3.88bn) of government bonds during the month, the most since [...]
Bulgarian banks get emergency EU support June 30, 2014 THE EUROPEAN Commission signed off an emergency line of credit to Bulgaria’s fragile banking system, following runs on two banks and arrests this weekend. The emergency funding, worth up to £1.34bn, has been provided to allow the government to respond to “speculative attacks”, after suggestions that customers were urged to withdraw deposits.
Bottom Line: Henderson dares to dream of America June 30, 2014 HENDERSON, like so many others, took quite a battering from the financial crisis. When current boss Andrew Formica took over in November 2008, the Bishopsgate-based firm had lost around three-quarters of its value. Yet we are now, without wanting to tempt fate, in calmer waters – and the good ship Henderson appears to be steady. The fund [...]
Housing downturn would not derail the economic recovery June 30, 2014 RESEARCH released yesterday suggested that a housing market slowdown alone would not send the British economy into a crisis. The combination of climbing mortgage rates and increasing property prices would not be enough to derail current growth, according to a report by credit ratings agency Moody’s. “While a steeper slowdown in the housing market would [...]
Premier League chairman steps down June 30, 2014 ANTHONY Fry has been forced to step down as chairman of the English Premier League after a year in the role due to illness. The 59 year-old, who has spent his career in finance working for banks including Rothschild, said yesterday that he needed to scale back his business activities after suffering a stroke in [...]
Newspaper publisher Mecom Group sold for $196m to De Persgroep June 30, 2014 Mecom Group, the London-listed newspaper publishing group, has seen its tumultuous years of difficulties come to an end after being sold for £196m to Belgium-based media company De Persgroep. Under the terms of the agreement, announced yesterday, De Persgroep will pay each Mecom shareholder 155p a share in cash, equating to a 35 per [...]
Carphone Warehouse sells Virgin Mobile France to Numericable June 30, 2014 Carphone Warehouse and Richard Branson’s Virgin Group confirmed yesterday that they had agreed to sell Virgin Mobile France, the country’s largest mobile network operator, to rival Numericable for €325m (£260m). The mobile phones giant owns 46 per cent of Virgin Mobile France’s holding company Omer Telecom, while Virgin Group owns 46 per cent. The rest [...]
UK guarantees energy price to cut blackout risk June 30, 2014 The government yesterday guaranteed payment for more than 80 per cent of peak UK electricity demand, to lower the risk of blackouts. The announcement coincides with figures from energy regulator Ofgem, which show that reserve margins – the safety buffer of spare power capacity between supply and demand – could fall to their lowest level [...]
Ryanair finance head Howard Millar is second deputy chief to depart this year June 30, 2014 Ryanair’s finance chief Howard Millar is leaving the airline after 23 years, becoming the second deputy chief executive to quit the low-cost carrier in a year. Millar, 53, is leaving in December “to pursue other career activities”, a statement from Ryanair said yesterday. However he is not cutting all ties, as he will become a [...]
GlaxoSmithKline share price drops after sex tape revealed June 30, 2014 Shares in Britain’s biggest drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline fell yesterday after it confirmed the existence of a sex video recording of its former China head, Mark Reilly. The tape sparked a bribery investigation that has damaged the drugmaker’s business in China. A GSK spokesman confirmed the tape existed but did not comment on how it related to [...]