Wembley warns on bank debt November 1, 2009 Wembley National Stadium, the owner of the North London venue, made a pre-tax loss of £31m last year, as the enormous cost of financing the construction of the new stadium continues to weigh on the firm. The company also said that there is a risk that it will default on bank debt agreements unless season [...]
Calls for more QE as British growth dips November 1, 2009 POLICYMAKERS are under pressure to extend quantitative easing (QE) in the UK as the British economy is still mired in recession. Citigroup’s Michael Saunders said the weakness in third quarter GDP and core broad money (M4) had made him reverse his former argument that QE was likely to be stopped by the Bank of England [...]
WHAT DO YOU THINK THE MPC WILL DECIDE? November 1, 2009 JAMIE DANNHAUSER LOMBARD STREET RESEARCH“A disappointing initial third quarter GDP estimate and a sharp drop in broad money in September gives the doves ammunition. On balance, the MPC is likely to keep the asset purchase facility unchanged next week. Expect there to be dissenters, however.”JONATHAN LOYNES CAPITAL ECONOMICS“With the previous extension to QE now complete [...]
Kremlin seeks Western capital with bond issue November 1, 2009 A RUSSIAN delegation will arrive in London this week to announce an £11bn bond issue as it seeks Western investment in its struggling economy. Deputy prime minister Alexei Kudrin, who is also Russia’s finance minister, will meet business secretary Peter Mandelson, bringing with him senior figures from the Russian central bank and finance ministry, as [...]
KING HEALTHRUMOURSSPARKSARRESTS November 1, 2009 Police in Thailand arrested two people yesterday on suspicion of spreading rumours about the health of the country’s 81-year-old king that triggered a slide in stock prices. Thai stocks plunged a combined 7.2 per cent on over two days last month as rumours circulated over the health of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who has been in [...]
Irish in 54bn rescue November 1, 2009 A LONG-AWAITED law that will set up a “bad bank” in Ireland to pay for banks’ risky commercial property loans is expected to be passed by parliament by mid-November. In the biggest financial rescue package in Ireland’s history, the government will pay out €54bn (£48bn) to take the toxic loans off the books of its [...]
Virgin Media: Why City A.M. is wrong about TV market November 1, 2009 IN his article last Friday about the pay TV market, City A.M.’s David Crow suggested that, by forcing Sky to wholesale its premium sports and movie channels to competing pay TV retailers, media regulator Ofcom is punishing Sky’s success. He compares Sky’s investment in sports and movies to car maker Toyota’s investment in hybrid fuel [...]
Creditors give Christmas deadline for INM bond November 1, 2009 Creditors have given Independent News & Media until 23 December to finalise plans on the payment of a bond originally due in May. After being granted several extensions to the deadline on the €200m (£179m) bond, INM last month agreed a deal with bondholders that could give them a 47 per cent stake in the [...]
Quintain set for a 180m rights issue November 1, 2009 QUINTAIN Estates, which recently sold its stake in the O2 Arena, hopes to raise up to £180m from shareholders to shore up its finances and fund its development plans in the Greenwich peninsula. The rights issue, which is expected to be announced this week, is thought to have the backing of major shareholders and will [...]
Danish bank announces rights issue in bid to resist having to accept state aid November 1, 2009 DENMARK’S second biggest bank, Jyske Bank, intends to raise nearly 1.2bn Danish crowns (£144m) by issuing new stock to its existing shareholders, it announced yesterday. The bank, which accounts for around seven per cent of the Danish banking market, hopes the rights issue will strengthen its capital base and fend off the need for government [...]