Recovery in housing demand sees mortgage lending rise October 20, 2009 MORTGAGE lending rose by two per cent in September, although the total amount lent was still 27 per cent lower than in the same month last year. Official figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) show £12.5bn was lent for mortgages in September, thanks to recovering levels of demand for housing. The figure compared [...]
UK’s finances take battering October 20, 2009 THE nation’s public finances suffered their worst six months on record between April and September, official data showed yesterday, with government borrowing more than double what it was in the same period last year. The Office for National Statistics said public sector net borrowing came in at £14.8bn, a shade less than economists had expected [...]
RED ADAIR’S TORY TINGE ENTERS THE SPOTLIGHT October 20, 2009 SHOULD we really be surprised that the Tories are cosying up to the man we know as “Red Adair”? Lord Turner, the chairman of the Financial Services Authority, has established deep-rooted links with New Labour in the past – as director-general of the CBI, chair of the government-backed review of the pensions system, the head [...]
MERVYN KING: BANKS SHOULD BE BROKEN UP October 20, 2009 BANK of England governor Mervyn King last night called for banks to be split up to ensure that no institution is “too important to fail”. Banks should be carved up into utility companies that serve the retail market and separate institutions that take part in riskier activities such as proprietary trading, he said in a [...]
BAAsells Gatwick for 1.5bn October 20, 2009 BAA last night reached an agreement to sell Gatwick Airport to the owners of London City Airport for £1.5bn. The Competition Commission is understood to have approved details of the sale to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) last night and the deal is expected to be announced at some point today. BAA, a subsidiary of Spain’s [...]
Credit Suisse ups salaries October 20, 2009 SWISS bank Credit Suisse is increasing the base salaries of its executives to compensate for new regulatory limits on bonuses. The changes, including plans to link deferred bonuses to performance and the share price, will come into effect from January and apply to around 7,000 staff – 15 per cent of the bank’s workforce. The [...]
A new Glass-Steagall Act wouldn’t work October 20, 2009 WHEN the Governor of the Bank of England – and if the Tories are elected, the next chief financial regulator – calls for investment banks to be separated from retail banks, everybody should sit up and listen carefully. King seems deadly serious, and George Osborne said last night that he agreed with much of the [...]
Cosmen backs Stagecoach October 20, 2009 JORGE Cosmen, National Express’ deputy chairman and largest shareholder, is backing rival Stagecoach in its bid for the ailing transport group. Cosmen, who pulled out of a joint bid with CVC Capital Partners to take over National Express last week, said he would now support an approach from Perth-based Stagecoach. The Scottish company had been [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 20, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES GALLEONMOVINGASSETS INTO CASHBrokers to the Galleon Group – the hedge fund whose founder and president, Raj Rajaratnam, is at the centre of insider trading charges – report it is rapidly liquidating its investments in anticipation of a wave of investor redemptions. $12.9BN VALEPUSHTOENDDISPUTE Vale, the Brazilian mining group that is the world’s biggest [...]
Santander mulls special payout October 20, 2009 Santander may have to return cash to shareholders next year through a special dividend. Regulators are pressing banks to increase their capital ratios and Santander is set to overshoot its target. The bank has a target for core tier one capital of seven per cent of risk-weighted assets but expects to reach 8.5 per cent. [...]