Bellway urges caution over housebuilding February 5, 2010 HOUSEBUILDER Bellway today said it remains cautious over the prospects for the housing market despite a modest pick-up in sales in first-half trading. The Newcastle-based group sold 2,247 homes in the six months to the end of January, up 12 per cent on the previous year. Its order book stood at £390 million or 2,506 [...]
Bank of America hit by fraud prosecution February 4, 2010 EXECUTIVES from Bank of America (BoA) are the first top bankers to face charges in the wake of the financial meltdown. Former chief executive Ken Lewis and former chief financial officer Joe Price will face charges after the New York State attorney filed civil fraud allegations yesterday. Andrew Cuomo accused the pair, along with the [...]
Euro debt crisis worse even than UK’s February 4, 2010 THERE is a crucial yet often over-looked difference between the mounting fears over the solvency of Greece, Portugal and Spain and worries about Britain’s debt mountain. All four countries are borrowing far too much – yet Britain still controls its own currency, sterling, in which our government’s debt is denominated. We could theoretically print our [...]
BoE suspends its QE policy February 4, 2010 BRITAIN yesterday looked set for its first interest rate hike since the crisis started after the Bank of England turned off the taps on its emergency £200bn quantitative easing programme. The Bank chose to suspend quantitative easing and kept interest rates at 0.5 per cent. The monetary policy committee (MPC) judged that the current stimulus [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 4, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES UNION “NOT MILES APART” FROM BA The broad outlines of a settlement in the dispute between British Airways and its cabin crew are emerging in informal talks between the two sides, the Unite union said yesterday. “We’re not miles apart,” said Steve Turner, national officer for aviation at Unite, which represents BA’s 12,000-plus [...]
New bank IPO is abandoned February 4, 2010 A new start-up bank launched by Panmure Gordon analyst Sandy Chen has been forced to pull an initial public offering owing to a lack of funds. The bank still hopes to launch after a fresh round of marketing with fund managers. It had already guaranteed support from Invesco Perpetual and M&G.
Abu Dhabi buys Gatwick stake February 4, 2010 Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund is to buy a 15 per cent stake in London’s Gatwick Airport for £125m as the airport’s new owner aims to bring in additional investors. This comes two days after South Korea’s National Pension Service said it planned to buy a 12 per cent stake in Gatwick.
Deutsche Telekom moots IPO February 4, 2010 Germany’s Deutsche Telekom is considering an initial public offering or spinoff of its US wireless service T-Mobile USA, according to people familiar with the matter. The telecommunications firm recently held talks with potential underwriters, including Deutsche Bank and expects to make a decision in the coming months.
Liberty set to split its £6bn empire in two February 4, 2010 THE UK’s largest shopping centre owner will split its business in two in a dramatic corporate restructure. Liberty International will divide its £6.1bn UK property portfolio into two separate companies in what will be the biggest demerger on record in the listed real estate sector. The firm’s £4.4bn shopping centre business will be annexed into [...]
Euro crashes as investors baulk at debt laden states February 4, 2010 SHARES across the eurozone tumbled yesterday as investors reacted to fears over spiralling Spanish, Portuguese and Greek debt. The euro plunged to a seven-month low against the dollar as investor fears over mounting public debt undermined confidence in the ability of the European countries to fund their budget shortfalls. The head of the International Monetary [...]