Russian banks may need 10bn as bad loans mount up, says central banker May 20, 2009 RUSSIAN banks could need a minimum of £10bn in extra capital this year to offset the damage done by rocketing levels of bad loans, one of the country’s top central bankers said yesterday. Alexei Simanovsky, who heads the Russian central bank’s supervision department, said stress testing had shown that non-performing loans would force banks to [...]
Factory orders weaker than expected in May May 20, 2009 BRITISH manufacturing orders fell slightly more than expected in May but firms were more upbeat about the future than at any time since last September, a survey showed yesterday. The Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) monthly Industrial Trends survey showed the factory orders balance ticked up to -56 this month from -57 in April. Analysts [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS May 20, 2009 G4SRBS analysts rate G4S as a “buy” following an update from the company, in which it provided in-depth reassurance about the sustainability of long-term growth. In the broker’s view, the combination of a clear strategy, the unique breadth of its presence in the security industry and the attractive valuation is compelling. ALLIANZAnalysts at Nomura downgraded [...]
ADVISERS May 20, 2009 LEADING the heavyweight team of advisers on the issue is property expert Alex Midgen of Rothschild, Shaftesbury’s main financial adviser. Rothschild has been advising the group for the past year, it said yesterday. Joint bookrunners are the well known pairing, JP Morgan Cazenove and Merrill Lynch. JP Morgan, which is corporate broker to 37 of [...]
Experian cuts successful as profits rocket May 20, 2009 EXPERIAN, the credit information group, yesterday cheered markets by unveiling a bumper 11 per cent jump in net profit to $486m (£313m), aided by an $80m cost cut drive. The Dublin-based firm upped its cost cutting targets by another $20m to $150m as it announced its results for the year to the end of March, [...]
Air France and Delta to merge May 20, 2009 AIR FRANCE-KLM, Europe’s biggest airline, yesterday announced it had finalised a deal with US airline Delta to operate as one airline over the Atlantic, boosting its share of the world’s busiest route to 25 per cent. The news came as the French carrier reported full-year losses of &1119;578m (£507m) yesterday, down from a profit of [...]
Future remains upbeat despite falling earnings May 20, 2009 HOBBY magazine publisher Future said yesterday that underlying profit was flat for the first half and that it was still on track to meet its full-year expectations, but pre-tax profit fell. The group’s earnings were flat at £4.6m, but were taken lower by exceptional items of £2.4m relating to a provision against slower payment times [...]
ROOM WITH A VIEW May 20, 2009 DICK Fuld, the disgraced former chief executive of collapsed Wall Street bank Lehman Brothers, has discreetly put his home on the market for $32m (£20m). The 16-room, 6,200 square foot Park Avenue apartment that Fuld bought for $21m in 2007 includes four rooms for servants and five fireplaces. Fuld transferred his Florida mansion into his [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 20, 2009 SVG CapitalThe private equity firm has appointed Lynn Fordham as its new chief executive officer and Tony Dalwood as chief executive of SVG Advisers, its advisory arm. Fordham joined the SVG Capital board as finance director in July last year, having previously held positions with Barratt Developments, BAA, Boots, Man Group and Chubb. Dalwood joined [...]
Emerging market telcos strong May 20, 2009 The telecoms industry in developing markets has barely been affected by the global downturn, according to the Altimo Index, published yesterday. The report said that the Asian telecoms market is likely to remain attractive for the next three years, despite the economic turmoil, while more mature markets such as North America and western Europe continue [...]