BARCAP WINS BRAGGING RIGHTS IN A SQUARE MILE RELAY VICTORY September 9, 2010 TO THE heart of London’s financial community last night for one of the most eagerly-anticipated competitive moments of the year – the annual Bloomberg Square Mile Relay. No less than 100 teams of ten runners thronged the streets to take part in the relay, after months of boot camp-style training regimes to win bragging rights [...]
US data calms growth fears September 9, 2010 NEW US claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week to a two-month low, while the trade deficit narrowed sharply in July, hopeful signs for the stuttering economic recovery. The data yesterday helped to calm fears of a sharp slowdown in growth and implied the economy could start working its way out of [...]
Judge rules in favour of eBay over Craigslist rights plan September 9, 2010 A JUDGE yesterday rescinded a protective measure adopted by the board of popular classifieds site Craigslist to block a potential hostile takeover by e-commerce site eBay. eBay had complained that the measure diluted its stake in its smaller rival from 28.4 per cent to 24.85 per cent. In a split ruling, the decision in Delaware’s [...]
BAE Systems to cut nearly 950 jobs ahead of spending review September 9, 2010 BAE Systems plans to shed 740 jobs in its military aerospace business in Britain. “We have made an announcement within our UK Military Air Solutions business this morning which relates to the beginning of a consultation process around a proposed 740 job losses from five of our UK sites,” said a BAE spokeswoman. Europe’s largest [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 9, 2010 SANTANDER Santander offers a reasonable degree of safety within a European sector that lacks clear direction, according to JP Morgan, which maintains an “over-weight” rating. However, JP Morgan cautions that the current valuation leaves little room for earnings disappointment, Spain remains a drag, and some post-deals capital hike cannot be totally discarded. RICHEMONT Nomura has [...]
Import surge widens UK trade deficit September 9, 2010 BRITAIN’S trade deficit exploded in the three months to July to a record £13.2bn, dashing hopes among policymakers and economists that net trade might help to drive economic growth higher. The gulf between imports and exports of goods widened to £8.7bn from £7.5bn in June, the biggest since the series started in January 1998 and [...]
MPC sticks to low interest rate policy September 9, 2010 THE Bank of England voted to keep monetary policy on hold this month with interest rates remaining at their historic low of 0.5 per cent and asset purchases at £200bn. The decision did not surprise City economists, who had widely expected the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to uphold the status quo for another month. Although [...]
CITY VIEWS: WHEN DO YOU THINK INTEREST RATES WILL GO BACK UP? September 9, 2010 ERIC TARTERET | SOCIETE GENERALE “Interest rates in the UK will go up within the next six to eight months, but they won’t rise by much, maybe a quarter of a point. The UK services sector, including financial services, is strong, while the export industry is reporting good figures.” SARAH WEBSTER | NORTON ROSE “Interest [...]
Finance minister says German new debt may be below €60bn September 9, 2010 German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble yesterday said Germany’s net new borrowing could be less than €60bn (£49.3bn) this year, putting it well below a previous target of around €65bn. Berlin has barely begun issuing new debt this year. It has said it plans to issue €338bn in total debt in 2010, including for refinancing. So [...]
NAB’s A$13bn bid for Axa is blocked again September 9, 2010 National Australia Bank’s A$13.3bn (£8bn) bid for AXA Asia Pacific has been blocked for a second time, dashing its efforts to cement its lead in the world’s fourth-largest wealth management market. The Australian competition regulator’s decision clears the way for Australia’s second-biggest fund manager AMP to take another tilt at AXA Asia Pacific, after its [...]