Nomura in Fed securities role July 27, 2009 THE New York Federal Reserve yesterday named Japan’s Nomura Securities International as a US primary dealer of Treasury securities, effective immediately. The addition of Nomura, a unit of Nomura Holdings, increases the number of firms that deal directly with the US Federal Reserve to 18. Primary dealers are required to bid at Treasury auctions, and [...]
Hypocrisy at the heart of banking policy July 27, 2009 PATHETIC. That is the only way to describe Alistair Darling’s ridiculous, stage-managed, utterly fake “row” with Britain’s top banks yesterday. It is the mark of a desperate, dying government that it feels obliged to resort to such a ridiculous piece of make-believe, rather than engaging in proper policy-making. To demand of the banks that they [...]
SEC bans naked shorting July 27, 2009 THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday moved to make permanent an emergency rule aimed at reducing “naked” short selling, which was partly blamed for bringing down big US banks like Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns last year. Naked short selling is the practice of selling a stock short without first borrowing the security as [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 27, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES COMPLEXITY IS KEY TO OVERCOMING RECESSIONLord Mandelson, the business secretary, will today announce the allocation of £150bn to fund companies’ advance manufacturing development projects in areas such as aerospace, nuclear engineering components, electronics and microchip designs. Most of it will come from the £750m cash pot set aside by ministers this year to [...]
Pace triples first-half profits July 27, 2009 British set-top box maker Pace tripled first-half pre-tax profit and said yesterday it was firmly on track to meet its expectations for the full year. The company, which makes devices for BSkyB, Comcast and Canal Plus, posted adjusted pre-tax profit of £34.3m on revenue of £526.5m for the six months to end-June, up from £231.1m.
Anglo American to plug its debt July 27, 2009 Miner Anglo American will bailout its platinum subsidiary with a 50 per cent increase in lending to £1.6bn after a slump in the price of precious metals. Anglo Platinum, which is 80 per cent owned by Anglo, said yesterday its net debt had increased by one third to £1.4bn in the first six months.
Lansdowne halts cash for fund July 27, 2009 Lansdowne Partners, one of the UK’s largest hedge fund managers, has stopped accepting investments for its oversubscribed £4.4bn Lansdowne UK equities fund. The move comes as the hedge fund industry is poised for a record year as investors look to reallocate cash to the most prominent brands.
Stagecoach mulls bid for National Express July 27, 2009 STAGECOACH yesterday said it was in exclusive talks with the consortium seeking to buy and break up rival transport group National Express. A buyout group made up of private equity firm CVC Capital Partners and the Spanish Cosmen family has proposed a cash offer for National Express, subject to various conditions. Stagecoach, run by Brian [...]
Darling’s dressing down of banks met with indifference July 27, 2009 CHANCELLOR Alistair Darling urged bank bosses to increase credit to small firms in a meeting at the Treasury yesterday, but found his efforts dismissed as a PR stunt by City figures and politicians alike. Darling summoned the chief executives of the UK’s major banks to Whitehall, as part of ongoing meetings aimed at resolving the [...]
Axa Healthcare reduces its own medical cover for staff July 27, 2009 AXA PPP, the UK health insurer, has decided to reduce the amount of private healthcare provision it gives its own employees. As part of a consultation process with its workforce, the group is introducing restrictions to its cover to make it less costly. It has told employees the new cover will incorporate a so-called six [...]