Before the open – 30/07 July 30, 2013 Asian stocks were buoyed last night after the Chinese central bank gave the markets a liquidity shot for the first time since February and the dollar index recovered from a five week low. Early losses in the Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite were quickly erased, while a weaker yen and a small (but less than [...]
Centrica expands East Coast ambitions with $731m acquisition July 30, 2013 Leading energy company Centrica has announced its ambition to become the leading B2B gas supplier in the Eastern US after agreeing to acquire the New Jersey-based energy marketing business of Hess Corporation through its North American subsidiary Direct Energy for $731m (£478m). Hess’s energy marketing business operates in 18 states across the east of the [...]
Deutsche Bank falls short of expectations on legal charges July 30, 2013 A €630m increase in litigation reserves and weak revenues from debt trading pushed Deutsche Bank’s second quarter pre tax profits below analyst expectations. The German bank reported a pre-tax profit of €792m (£684m), compared to expectations of €1.3bn. Net income nearly halved, falling to €335m from €666m. Earnings per share for the second quarter was [...]
UBS reports big jump in profits and plans to buy back central bank fund July 30, 2013 Swiss bank UBS has reported a 32 per cent increase in second quarter profits after solid gains in its investment banking division, and has announced plans to buy back equity in a fund set up by the central banks as part of its bailout in 2008 (report). Switzerland’s largest bank reported an adjusted pre-tax profit [...]
Barclays plans £5bn share sale July 29, 2013 BARCLAYS will today reveal how it plans to plug its capital hole, raising funds from shareholders to reassure regulators it is a strong, stable bank. After weeks of intense negotiations with the City watchdog, chief executive Antony Jenkins is set to unveil a plan that aims to balance investors’ hopes that they will not [...]
Gulf billionaire warns of shale threat to Saudi July 29, 2013 BILLIONAIRE Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has warned Saudi Arabia that the US shale gas boom could destroy the gulf state’s oil-based economy. Prince Alwaleed, the 20th richest man on Earth, has written to the Saudi oil minister urging the kingdom to explore more renewable energy policies in the face of declining demand for oil. [...]
JP Morgan to settle over US energy rigging charges July 29, 2013 JP MORGAN Chase was last night publicly accused by a US federal watchdog of manipulating American energy markets in a series of trades made between 2010 and 2011. The Wall Street bank, led by high profile chief executive Jamie Dimon, is widely expected to settle the charges with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Ferc), the [...]
Surprise weakness in June lending despite growth July 29, 2013 LENDING figures for June dipped below expectations yesterday, with a smaller rise in consumer credit than expected, despite the fledgling recovery indicated by recent growth. The Bank of England recorded a £489m increase in consumer credit, compared to £781m of additional lending in May. The average monthly rise in 2013 has been around £700m, suggesting [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 30 July 2013 July 29, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES US funds return to European banks US money market funds have nearly doubled their allocations to European banks over the past 12 months, in a sign of improving investor sentiment towards the region. In the first half of the year, the 10 biggest US money market funds allocated about 15 per cent of [...]
July sales best in half a year July 29, 2013 UK FIRMS reported the best month for sales volumes since January this month, according to the CBI’s latest distributive trades survey, released yesterday. According to the responding businesses, 43 per cent said volumes were up on a year earlier, while only 26 per cent said hey were down. The atmosphere was particularly buoyant for motor [...]