NAB caution dents hopes of cash return for its investors October 28, 2009 NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK (NAB), which owns Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks, dampened hopes that the nation’s lenders will return surplus capital to investors anytime soon yesterday. It said it needed a cash buffer to protect it against economic headwinds and bad debt charges. The cautious outlook from Australia’s largest bank showed it will be a while [...]
Nomura stays in black over its first half October 28, 2009 JAPANESE bank Nomura yesterday said it had remained in the black for a second successive quarter, boosted by strong trading volumes and robust sales of investment trusts. Though the bank’s investment banking division posted a pre-tax loss of 9.7bn yen (£64.3m), echoing weak performances from rival divisions across the Wall Street banking giants over the [...]
GMAC seeks third bailout from US Treasury after stress test October 28, 2009 CAR financing company GMAC is in talks with the US Treasury Department about a third bailout of around $5.6bn (£3.4bn). GMAC, which has already received $12.5bn of taxpayer funds, will issue preferred stock, boosting the government’s 35.4 per cent stake if existing shares are converted into common equity. GMAC is the only one of the [...]
New round of post strikes starts today October 28, 2009 ANOTHER round of postal strikes kicked off in the early hours of this morning, after talks between Royal Mail bosses and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) failed to reach an agreement. The three days of industrial action come hot on the heels of last week’s 48-hour walk out by staff at Royal Mail. Around 43,700 [...]
ROLLING OUT THE RED CARPET October 28, 2009 CARPETRIGHT yesterday said it was on-track to smash half-year City forecasts after reporting a fresh rise in sales. Total sales for the 12 weeks to 24 October rose by 10.3 per cent. Chairman Lord Harris of Peckham said he expected the group’s progress to continue through the second half of the year.
Norway hikes interest rate October 28, 2009 NORWAY yesterday became the first Western European country since the onset of the financial crisis to raise the cost of borrowing, hiking interest rates to 1.5 per cent to control inflationary pressures in the oil-exporting country. “Inflation has been higher than expected and unemployment is considerably lower than previously projected,” the Norges Bank governor, Svein [...]
CITY VIEWS: SHOULD PEOPLE BE FORCED TO CONTRIBUTE TO A PENSION SCHEME? October 28, 2009 ANTHONY JOHN FUND QUEST“Compulsion is going to be the only way most people provide for retirement. Over the last ten years, there has been a privatisation of pensions. The government can’t provide for everyone living here. The burden will be too much for the state.” LEE CHAPMAN VERDANT WEALTH“I haven’t started thinking about pensions yet, [...]
BARGAIN BANKER October 28, 2009 THE government confirmed that it had hired one of the City’s top deal-makers yesterday – on an income believed to be no more than a tenth of what he earned at UBS. Robin Budenberg joined UK Financial Investments (UKFI) for a bonus-free, pension-free bargain salary of just £155,000. Friends said the banker, who they described [...]
BANK SHARES FALL AS LLOYDS TESTS MARKET October 28, 2009 SHARES in Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland fell yesterday on fears that this week’s break-up of Dutch bank ING by European regulators is an example of how UK banks that have accepted state aid will be treated. Meanwhile, chancellor Alistair Darling looks set to give Lloyds the go-ahead to market-test its plan for a [...]
Rock gets go-ahead to split October 28, 2009 CHANCELLOR Alistair Darling ruled out the prospect of a quick sale of Northern Rock yesterday, despite winning backing from the European Union to split the troubled lender into a “good” and “bad” bank ahead of a sell-off. EU competition commissioner Neelie Kroes approved the government’s proposals to split the Newcastle-based bank, led by chairman Ron [...]