What you need to know before the open – 21/11 November 21, 2013 Europe is set to open lower this morning as speculation mounts over the US December taper. ETX Capital #morningcall: FTSE100 off 23 points, the DAX lower by 45 points and the CAC40 off by 20 points — ETX Capital (@ETXCapital) November 21, 2013 The Fed October meeting minutes, release last night, hinted that [...]
National Grid boss warns of tighter energy supplies as profits slip in first half November 21, 2013 Power transmission network National Grid has reported a seven per cent drop in first-half profit before tax, to £979m, reflecting "the temporary additional cost of pre-financing asset growth at attractive interest rates". The company says its on track for a good full year result, and that performance has been solid. (Release) Head of National Grid Steve Holliday [...]
Cameron orders probe into Co-op November 20, 2013 THE GOVERNMENT is launching a probe into what went wrong at the troubled Co-op Bank, the Prime Minister said yesterday, adding to the lender’s woes in a terrible month which has so far seen its ex-chairman exposed as a drug user and the Co-op Group lose majority ownership of its bank. The probe will investigate [...]
Investment banks told to reform or die November 20, 2013 THE WORLD’S biggest investment banks need to fire thousands of workers and thoroughly shake up the way they do business if they want to become profitable again, consultants McKinsey warned yesterday. The capital markets giants often suffer from fragmented structures with units in different countries communicating poorly across borders, or sales teams too focused on [...]
Regulators hit innovation hardest in EU as costs rise November 20, 2013 THE WORLDWIDE cost of business regulation is set to hit $1.2 trillion (£742bn) across ten major economies this year, while a large portion of chief executives believe their innovative potential is being restrained. According to a report released by law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) today, UK firms alone estimate that regulation costs them $81bn [...]
Option for 2013 taper left open by Fed minutes November 20, 2013 THE RATE-setting Federal Open Market Committee left the possibility of tapering quantitative easing (QE) as soon as December on the table in its last meeting, according to minutes released yesterday. The US Fed’s FOMC said that continued improvements to the US job market would “warrant trimming the pace of purchases in coming months,” suggesting that the [...]
Negative rate talk prompts euro dive November 20, 2013 THE EURO took a dive yesterday after a report said that Brussels’ central bank is considering introducing negative interest rates on overnight deposits. The exchange rate for the euro against sterling fell from 83.7p to below 83.3p as word spread that banks may have to start paying to park excess cash at the European Central Bank [...]
Ikea staff probed on snooping claim November 20, 2013 TWO senior executives of Ikea France were put under formal investigation yesterday over allegations that they had snooped on employees and customers. The company confirmed that chief executive Stefan Vanoverbeke and chief financial officer Dariusz Rychert had been placed under such an investigation after being arrested on Monday and that they would cooperate fully with [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 21 November 2013 November 20, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Obama snubs Fannie-Freddie plan The White House came out against a proposal by a group of hedge funds to take over and recapitalise the core operations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the US mortgage finance giants, saying it risked creating two new “too big to fail” institutions. Gene Sperling, the White House [...]
Banks blame strike risk for low Royal Mail price November 20, 2013 INVESTMENT bankers yesterday defended the privatisation of Royal Mail shares, arguing risks like strikes at the firm could have ruined the sale if they had aimed for a higher float price. But MPs attacked the bankers, arguing they failed to get good value for money for the taxpayer from the sale of 70 per cent [...]