France and Germany to be hit by harder hedge fund rules than peers October 11, 2013 France and Germany are piling extra restrictions on overseas hedge funds on top of basic rules laid out in new EU laws, a survey out this morning has found. Both are “gold-plating” certain temporary rules curtailing the ability of non-EU funds – like US mega hedge funds – to market their products to investors, [...]
US confidence diminishes in October October 11, 2013 Consumer confidence in the US has weakened as the Reuters/Michigan consumer sentiment index comes in at 75.2 in a flash estimate for October – after projections of 76.0 and down from September's figure of 77.5. Given the impact of government shutdown, this is not a major drop – although the index is at its weakest [...]
JP Morgan reports loss following scandal costs October 11, 2013 Banking giant JP Morgan has announced a surprise loss in the third quarter, following legal expenses of $7.2bn (£4.5bn). Net loss was at $0.4bn (17 cents a share) whilst revenue was $23.1bn (£14.5bn) versus $26bn last year. The bank is still in $11bn settlement talks with US regulators over mis-selling of mortgage-backed securities pre-the financial [...]
EU clears joint venture between Belgacom and BNP Paribas October 11, 2013 The EU Commission has cleared a joint venture between Belgium telecommunications company Belgacom and BNP Paribas. The joint venture will provide communication of discounts, vouchers, offers and coupon redemption services and mobile wallet services to Belgian consumers and businesses. The deal was allowed to proceed because it was found to satisfy several aspects of the [...]
Downgrade to ‘sell’ for power hire business Aggreko October 11, 2013 Investment bank Canaccord Genuity has downgraded its rating for temporary power hire business Aggreko to 'sell'. Canaccord highlighted the continued slow conversion of prospects into sales, pricing pressure, currency headwinds and material contracts coming to an end as reasons for initiating a 'sell' forecast for the company's next two financial years. In June of this [...]
Hargreaves Lansdown system crashes on Royal Mail trade October 11, 2013 There's been some significant annoyance for Royal Mail investors this morning as Hargreaves Landsdown systems buckle under the weight of trading: We are sincerely sorry for anyone who hasn’t been able to trade this morning and are doing all we can to meet client demand — Hargreaves Lansdown (@HLInvest) October 11, 2013 All available staff [...]
Shale gas revolution will see US become largest oil producer October 11, 2013 The International Energy Agency has called America's shale energy revolution a "game changer," and said that it will be a major factor in the Unites States becoming the worlds largest oil producer over the next five years. The 2013 medium-term oil market report evaluates the impact of changes to the oil market up to the [...]
Nobel Peace Prize awarded to weapons prohibition group working in Syria October 11, 2013 The Nobel Peace Price 2013 has been awarded to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons OPCW) for their work dismantling Syrian chemical weapons. The committee panel said that the group's work has "defined the use of chemical weapons as a taboo under international law", highlighting the vital need for such groups given the [...]
UK construction surges on housing growth – but building is still behind UK’s needs October 11, 2013 UK construction is up four per cent in the year to August, according to new ONS estimates, and that's largely driven by new work. New work rose 5.5 per cent in the same period, with the new housing subcomponent of that category up 16.7 per cent while infrastructure fell by 5.5 per cent. Despite that [...]
Italian inflation softens in September October 11, 2013 Italy sees a softening of inflation as the consumer price index for September comes in at -0.3 per cent, in line with expectations. Last month, inflation was at 0.4 per cent. Year-on-year, the increase was in line with expectations at 0.9 per cent – down on August-August's 1.2 per cent rise.