Doubts cast over Spanish banks merger May 25, 2010 FOUR Spanish savings banks will merge into a joint holdings group in a bid to fend off the deepening Eurozone crisis. The pooled resources of the four unlisted regional lenders will create Spain’s fifth biggest financial institution, with assets of more than €135bn (£115bn). The merger between Caja Mediterráneo from Valencia, Cajastur from Asturias, Caja [...]
Let us hope this is not a repeat of the crisis of 2008 May 25, 2010 WE have stumbled into another mini-financial crisis, one which has an outside chance of bringing the global recovery to a shuddering halt. The debt crisis in the Eurozone, far from having been sorted out with the help of German taxpayers’ money, is getting steadily worse, contaminating global financial markets; jittery investors are panicking at every [...]
Germany extends ban on short selling May 25, 2010 GERMANY is expected to roll out further restrictions on short selling. A draft German finance ministry document yesterday called for restrictions on speculative trades to be extended to all shares, widening a ban imposed last week. The shock move last week banned naked shorting on top financial firms, euro government bonds and related credit default [...]
Libor causes jitters as it continues its steady rise May 25, 2010 INTERBANK lending hit another 10 month high yesterday, with concerns over sovereign debt showing no sign of abating. The rate that banks charge each other for short-term loans in dollars – known as the London interbank offered rate, or Libor – edged to 0.54 per cent, up from 0.5 per cent on Monday, according to [...]
Barnier will announce EU banking levy May 25, 2010 THE EU will today propose a levy on European banks that would pay for future bailouts of financial institutions. Michel Barnier, EU internal market commissioner, is expected to announce the plans to force member countries to implement the tax. The controversial strategy is intended to limit the cost to tax payers when financial institutions run [...]
Italy takes action on debt May 25, 2010 ITALY’S cabinet yesterday approved a multibillion-euro package of budget cuts designed to slash the government’s deficit to beneath the EU ceiling by 2012. Details of the measures were not immediately available but a draft of the package included a four-year freeze on public sector salaries, and a reduction in state personnel by replacing only one [...]
Greece confident in privatisation plan May 25, 2010 GREECE said yesterday it is sure it will raise at least £860m a year through privatisations between 2011 and 2013, the target agreed under a rescue plan with the European Union and the IMF.
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 25, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES WATCHDOG HINTS AT CURBS ON TARGETED WEB ADS Companies such as Google and Yahoo could face tougher scrutiny in the UK after the Office of Fair Trading said it could step in to regulate targeted advertising on the internet. The watchdog said that more needed to be done to ensure that consumer rights [...]
Investors do support AIA deal, says Pru May 25, 2010 PRUDENTIAL chairman Harvey McGrath yesterday attempted to smooth balm on investor fears by insisting the majority of shareholders support the $35.5bn (£24.7bn) acquisition of AIA, after the group’s new Asian shares dived on their debut and reports suggested AIA’s boss believes the deal is “unworkable”. “The response is constructive,” McGrath said after the dual listing [...]
Standard Chartered launches India depositary receipt sale May 25, 2010 STANDARD Chartered yesterday launched a share sale to raise up to $588m (£410.3m) from investors in India, a country where the bank is on a mission to bolster its presence. The emerging markets-focused bank opened its four-day sale of 240m Indian Depositary Receipts (IDRs) – a derivative instrument with Standard Chartered shares as its underlying [...]