FSA extends regime forcing disclosure of short positions June 1, 2009 THE FINANCIAL Services Authority is proposing to extend the regime which requires the disclosure of short positions in financial stocks, it said yesterday. The City watchdog said an extension of the disclosure requirement, due to expire on 30 June, would “help reduce the potential for abusive behaviour and disorderly markets” and also hinted at longer-term [...]
ECONOMIST VIEWS: IS THIS A BEAR MARKET RALLY OR A PROPER BULL MARKET RUN? June 1, 2009 MAX KING INVESTEC ASSET MANAGEMENTIt has all the hallmarks of a bull market. We bought into the rally back in March and at the time our view was: “It’s going up so who cares whether it’s a bear rally or bull market?” Those people who are betting on a bear market rally may end up [...]
HSBC and Berkley fall after Saudi accounts frozen by banks June 1, 2009 SHARES in HSBC and housebuilder Berkeley Group dropped yesterday after the accounts of a major shareholder were frozen by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA). The Saudi central bank ordered domestic lenders to freeze the bank accounts of businessman Maan al-Sanea, one of the country’s wealthiest businessmen. Sanea is chairman and founder of the Saad [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS June 1, 2009 RYANAIRAhead of Ryanair’s preliminary results, Collins Stewart has a “buy” recommendation on the airline. The broker expects a dramatic rebound on full-year 2010 profits as the company’s fuel bill falls. Aggressive fleet expansion remains a risk, said the analysts, but the firm continues to take market share from peers. TOPPS TILESGoldman Sachs upgraded its full-year [...]
DESPERATE DARLING FIGHTS FOR HIS JOB June 1, 2009 ALISTAIR DARLING was left clinging to his job last night after Prime Minister Gordon Brown pointedly refused to give his chancellor his full backing after he was involved in another expenses row. Darling was forced to apologise “unreservedly” over a £1,004 expenses claim he made on a south London flat which he moved out of [...]
IPIC set to sell stake in Barclays June 1, 2009 MIDDLE Eastern Barclays investor International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC) is disposing of some of the shares it took in the bank last Autumn, City A.M. can confirm. The state-owned Abu Dhabi investment group, which took a controversial stake in Barclays and helped it stave off UK government control last year, said it intended to dispose [...]
ITV is offered Setanta stake June 1, 2009 ITV HAS been offered a 30 per cent stake in Setanta, the struggling pay-TV sports channel, CityAM has learnt. The offer came amid recent talks between the two channels, with Setanta desperate to raise cash to help it fund forthcoming rights payments to the Football Association, the Premier League and other sporting bodies. ITV is [...]
End of an era as Brown faces disaster June 1, 2009 ALL of Westminster was only talking about one story last night – and for once, it was only indirectly related to MPs’ expenses. I am, of course, referring to the astonishing Ipsos Mori poll showing Labour down 10 points and neck-and-neck with the Liberal Democrats on 18 per cent. The Tories are on 40 per [...]
JPMorgan, Amex sell stock June 1, 2009 JPMORGAN Chase and American Express yesterday announced plans to sell $5.5bn (£3.34bn) of stock, to position themselves to quickly repay funds from the government’s bank bailout plan. JPMorgan will sell $5bn of stock and American Express will sell $500m. JPMorgan’s offering, which is led by chief executive Jamie Dimon, will be priced by this morning. [...]
StanChart dials up deal June 1, 2009 STANDARD Chartered (StanChart) Bank could underwrite up to $5bn (£3bn) to back Bharti Airtel’s $23bn tie-up with South African telecom operator MTN, according to banking sources. The sources said the bank was expecting to underwrite the full amount of the financing for the proposed deal, or as much as $5bn. If the deal materialises, StanChart [...]