NEWS | IN BRIEF December 17, 2009 Watford offered lifeline Watford Leisure, the owner of Championship football club Watford, was yesterday offered an eleventh hour financial lifeline that may save it from administration. Fordwat, an investment vehicle of wealthy Conservative peer Lord Ashcroft, has proposed to underwrite a £7.5m rights issue. This would allow Watford to pay off its £4.9m loan to [...]
Commercial property puts banks at risk December 17, 2009 OVER-EXPOSURE to the commercial property sector could pose a serious risk to British banks, which will need to shore up their balance sheets substantially over the coming years, the Bank of England will warn in its biannual Financial Stability Report (FSR). Commercial property has been seen as one of the most toxic sectors and outstanding [...]
Withdrawal of policy support could spark market volatility and disruption December 17, 2009 WEANING the UK economy and the banking sector off policy support risks heightened volatility across asset classes and abrupt portfolio adjustments, according to the Bank of England’s Financial Stability Report (FSR), published today. In the biannual report, the Bank claims “the enormous scale of public sector intervention means that any withdrawal of support could have [...]
Slow start for Christmas sales season December 17, 2009 The Christmas shopping season has got off to a slow start, with retailers reporting a fall in sales volumes in November, dampening hopes of a bumper festive period on the high street. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that retail sales volumes unexpectedly fell by 0.3 per cent in November. Department stores [...]
Dealings start well for Moulton group December 17, 2009 JON Moulton’s £142.4m investment vehicle Better Capital made a quiet start to trading on AIM yesterday, ticking up as high as 105p before settling 3.5p up at 103.5p. Moulton, a former managing partner of private equity firm Alchemy Partners, will use the listed vehicle to deploy capital turning around companies in dire financial straits. Deal [...]
Citigroup takes hit after Treasury ditches sale December 17, 2009 SHARES in Citigroup slumped yesterday after the US Treasury backed out of plans to sell part of its stake in the troubled bank. Citigroup sold $20bn of stock and convertible bonds in order to repay bail-out funds to the government but raising the capital came at a steep cost to shareholders. Weak demand led to [...]
Greenspan warns of threat of “fiscal crisis” December 17, 2009 FORMER US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan yesterday said there was a critical threat of a “fiscal crisis” as he backed the creation of a board to make tough choices. Greenspan said he believed a proposed across party committee to enforce federal spending cuts was “an excellent idea”. “I trust any such taskforce will address [...]
Trio say no to EU directive December 17, 2009 EUROPE’S financial powerhouses – London, Paris and Frankfurt – stood up yesterday against political showboating in face of the European Commission’s draft Alternative Investment Fund Management directive. Representing a united front, representative bodies from the City of London Corporation, Paris Europlace and Frankfurt based BVI Bundesverband Investment und Asset Management, stated that the EU Commission’s [...]
Deripaska’s Rusal heads for Hong Kong and Paris listings December 17, 2009 UC Rusal, the world’s largest aluminium producer controlled by billionaire Oleg Deripaska, is moving closer to securing its $2bn (£1.2bn) stock listing. The company, which is planning to list 10 per cent of its shares in Hong Kong and Paris, is understood to be finalising a massive debt restructuring, which will help pave the way [...]
Greek protesters demand u-turn on spending cuts by government December 17, 2009 THE economic crisis in Greece has led to more social unrest, with thousands taking to the streets yesterday to protest against public spending cuts. Supporters of a Communist-backed trade union marched through central Athens to protest against cuts planned by Greece’s Socialist government. The cuts are aimed at curbing the country’s huge deficit. Greece is [...]