Russia cuts interest rate October 29, 2009 Russia’s central bank yesterday cut interest rates by 50 basis points to 9.5 per cent in an attempt to boost bank lending and reduce the attractiveness of short-term investments in Russian assets. It also reduced the repurchase rate charged on central bank loans to 8.5 per cent from nine per cent. Analysts thought that the [...]
German joblessness falls October 29, 2009 German unemployment unexpectedly fell in October with the number of people out of work falling to a seasonally-adjusted 26,000 to 3.43m. The jobless rate slipped to 8.1 per cent from 8.2 per cent the previous month. The better situation in the job market added to signs of recovery in Europe’s largest economy and will ease [...]
Eurozone confidence recovering October 29, 2009 A recovery in Eurozone confidence is well underway, according to data from the European Commission. The economic sentiment indicator rose to 86.2 in the area, with the largest contribution coming from firms’ optimism over their production expectations. Both the economic sentiment indicator and the business climate indicator registered their seventh consecutive monthly rise.
Audi drags VW profits lower October 29, 2009 Volkswagen reported an 86 per cent fall in their third-quarter profits yesterday due to plunging vehicle prices and declining Audi sales. Net income fell to €172m (£154m), while sales declined 10.3 per cent to €26m (£23m). The company said full year sales would be lower than in 2008. It added rising refinancing costs and poor [...]
StanChart is boosted by Asian growth October 29, 2009 STANDARD Chartered reported “good progress” in its third quarter trading update yesterday, but called for caution in the banking sector. The UK-based, Asian-focused bank said it had performed particularly strongly in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Its stock closed up 3.7 per cent at 1,537p after the bank’s announcement, giving it a market value [...]
Galleon founder attempts to get bail conditions reduced in US insider case October 29, 2009 THE head of hedge fund Galleon yesterday appealed for his bail in connection with insider trading charges to be slashed by $75m (£45m). Tycoon Raj Rajaratnam faces claims that he made $20m through illegal tips from companies including IBM and Intel. The 52-year-old billionaire asked a US judge to reduce his bail to $25m from [...]
LLOYDS PUSHES ON WITH PLAN TO RAISE 21BN October 29, 2009 LLOYDS Banking Group will retain a 25 per cent share of domestic current account customers under restructuring plans agreed with the European authorities to avoid the government’s asset protection scheme (APS). The European Commission and the Treasury last night gave the bank the go-ahead to market a £20.5bn capital raising programme, consisting of a £13bn [...]
MARKETS SURGE AS US EMERGES FROM SLUMP October 29, 2009 Markets surged as the US economy emerged from the longest and deepest recession since the Great Depression, expanding at an annual rate of 3.5 per cent in the third quarter according to figures released yesterday. The main Dow Jones index closed up 200 points to 9,962.58, while the technology-laced Nasdaq jumped 38 points to 2,097.55. [...]
Founder of K1 under arrest October 29, 2009 GERMAN authorities placed Helmut Kiener, founder of Germany’s K1 hedge fund group, under arrest yesterday in a multi-million-dollar corruption probe of a Caribbean- registered fund he ran. His arrest warrant said Barclays and BNP Paribas may have lost millions of dollars in the case, which prosecutors say spanned the Atlantic and featured lavish personal spending [...]
Plus a change, plus c’est la mme chose October 29, 2009 IT is becoming increasingly clear that the current crisis is much more similar to previous booms and busts than is usually understood. London’s secondary banking crisis of the 1970s, for example, saw a number of financial institutions that raised funds on the money markets go bust after the Bank of England hiked interest rates and [...]