What you need to know before the open – 18/10 October 18, 2013 Markets in Europe are expected to open up this morning following another record close on the S&P500 last night. With a 16-day shutdown over and the possibility of a default put off for the time being, taper talks are resuming in the US but it's unlikely that anything will happen before the next debt ceiling [...]
New Libor claims hit Barclays October 17, 2013 BARCLAYS’ Libor crisis came back to haunt the bank yesterday as senior managers were accused of knowing that traders tried to manipulate the key inter-bank lending rate. In a Court of Appeal hearing lawyers claimed board-level managers knew of the manipulation, but still let borrowers take out products based on Libor. Guardian Care Homes (GCH) [...]
British Gas blames regulation for 9pc hike in energy bills October 17, 2013 THE UK’S energy debate was ignited again yesterday, after British Gas said it would be raising customers’ bills by 9.2 per cent from 23 November – adding £104 on to the average annual dual fuel bill – and blamed the government’s green initiatives for almost half of the increase. Centrica, which owns the big six [...]
Irish bank puts Royal Exchange up for sale with £75m price tag October 17, 2013 THE ROYAL Exchange looks set to change hands after its Irish owners put it up for sale with a £75m price tag. The iconic site above Bank station is being sold off by The Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, which said yesterday it has hired property advisers CBRE to market the 450-year-old building. The Royal Exchange [...]
Goldman slashes pay on weak quarter for markets October 17, 2013 GOLDMAN Sachs slashed pay in the third quarter, the investment bank announced yesterday, as profits slid in the three-month period. The bank saw profits slip two per cent to $1.43bn (£886m), largely as a result of weak market activity. The fall in earnings was blamed on both the effect of the Federal Reserve considering slowing [...]
Back to work for government workers in US October 17, 2013 US GOVERNMENT workers are returning to work after a deal was reached to lift the state’s debt ceiling and thereby end the shutdown – a move that sent the S&P 500 to a record high last night. Weeks of feuding between the Democrat and Republican parties in Washington DC came to an end just hours before the [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 18 October 2013 October 17, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Tele2 sale lifts Russian hopes VTB has sold 50 per cent of mobile operator Tele2 Russia to billionaire Yuri Kovalchuk and partners, paving the way for the creation of a much stronger fourth competitor in Russia’s mobile market. The deal comes six months after VTB, Russia’s second-largest bank, acquired the Russian arm of [...]
Court orders finance boss release October 17, 2013 Italy’s Supreme Court ordered the immediate release from house arrest of former Banca Monte Paschi di Siena finance chief Gianluca Baldassari, one of his lawyers said yesterday. The former head of finance at the scandal-plagued bank is accused along with two other former executives of concealing Monte Paschi’s losses from lending regulator the Bank of [...]
Chip maker sales continue to fall October 17, 2013 AMD posted a six per cent decline in personal computer chip sales, dampening hopes that its fast-growing gaming-console business can take up the slack and sending its shares seven per cent lower. AMD’s third-quarter results yesterday beat analysts’ forecasts as the chipmaker benefited from supplying processors for new game consoles. But investors had hoped for [...]
Lenovo takes a look at BlackBerry October 17, 2013 Chinese personal computer maker Lenovo has signed a non-disclosure deal to examine the books of troubled Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry, the Wall Street Journal said yesterday, quoting unnamed sources. BlackBerry said in August it was exploring options that could include an outright sale. An offer from a Chinese company could upset the Canadian government, which [...]