BNP Paribas in a bid to expand June 3, 2010 FRENCH banking group BNP Paribas has its eye on expanding operations in the UK as part of an effort to break into the top flight of investment banking. A newly created team of bankers will try to strengthen ties with 200 top corporate clients in the UK and across Europe, with a view to moving [...]
Top nations plan bank tax June 3, 2010 THE world’s top nations will back general principles rather than a specific tax to make banks pay for their own bailouts in future, finance ministers and diplomats said yesterday. The Group of 20 has pledged a string of reforms to financial regulation to avert a rerun of the worst financial crisis since the 1930s that [...]
Insurers slate new solvency rules as plead for clemency June 3, 2010 NEW rules governing solvency in the European insurance industry are the right way to go, but insurers should not be punished for bankers’ misdemeanours in the crisis, leading insurance executives said yesterday. Unlike banks, insurers did not pose a systemic risk to the economy and should be spared special taxes and stiff regulation of capital [...]
EU ministers set to back radical changes to Eurozone budget rules June 3, 2010 EUROPEAN Union finance ministers are likely to back on Monday changes to budget rules that will seek to discipline countries for having excessive debt as well as excessive deficits in future. A “Task Force” of ministers is to meet on Monday evening in Luxembourg to debate ways of strengthening economic governance in the 27-nation bloc [...]
GEITHNER GETS TOUGH June 3, 2010 US Treasury secretary Tim Geithner yesterday vowed to push for greater transparency and tougher capital requirements for the world’s biggest banks ahead of this weekend’s G20 finance ministers meeting in Busan, South Korea. Geithner also said that he would be lobbying hard for new restrictions on derivatives trading, as part of an attempt to toughen [...]
Services stall as recovery fears weigh June 3, 2010 HOPES of a strong recovery in the services sector were dashed yesterday after leading surveys suggested that April’s slowdown was not just a blip as a result of the volcanic ash cloud. The UK services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) only edged up to 55.4 in May from 55.3 a month earlier, while the US non-manufacturing [...]
Modest gains for house prices June 3, 2010 HOUSE prices rose just 0.5 per cent in May on the previous month, indicating that after a sharp recovery, the UK property market is finally starting to level off. The latest monthly figures from mortgage lender Nationwide revealed that house prices are now up 12.2 per cent from their trough last February and are less [...]
US private sector firms add to staff count in May June 3, 2010 PRIVATE sector firms in the US took on 55,000 more staff in May down from an upwardly-revised 65,000 in April, the ADP payroll survey revealed yesterday. Analysts were disappointed as they has expected a gain of around 70,000. Ian Shepherdson at High Frequency Economics said: “The survey has undershot the official private payroll numbers in [...]
Eurozone hit by sharp drop in retail sales June 3, 2010 EUROZONE retail sales fell sharply in April, missing expectations for a small monthly rise, data showed yesterday, as uncertainty over jobs and government spending curbed consumer demand. The European Union’s statistics office said Eurozone retail sales, a good indication of households’ propensity to spend, fell 1.2 per cent month-on-month, the deepest fall since October 2008, [...]
CITY VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN TO TAKE HOME PAY THIS YEAR? June 3, 2010 DAVID HAYES | WILLIS “Pay will basically remain stable. Some areas might see an increase and certain sectors will see a reduction. A lot of companies are looking to keep costs down to avoid having to cut staff numbers, which means a freeze on pay.” HUGH MASTIN | BARCLAYS GLOBAL INVESTMENT “Take home pay has [...]