What the other papers say this morning November 14, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Nine bidders for Parlophone records Warner Music and a joint venture led by industry impresario Simon Fuller are among nine groups to have registered interest in buying Parlophone from Universal Music Group. The label, home to Kylie Minogue and the Pet Shop Boys, is being sold to satisfy regulators’ concerns about Universal’s £1.2bn [...]
US Fed minutes hint at further stimulus in 2013 November 14, 2012 THE FEDERAL Reserve may replace its so called Operation Twist with further conventional quantitative easing at the start of next year, its latest minutes suggested last night. Operation Twist has involved the Fed selling its short-term securities and using the proceeds to buy longer-term debt, in a bid to stimulate growth by weighing down even [...]
Why has UK’s QE scheme changed? November 14, 2012 Q What is this new arrangement? A The Bank of England has printed £375bn to buy government bonds (quantitative easing or QE). These bonds pay interest to the Bank. As the Treasury indemnifies the Bank against losses on QE, it also claims the profits. It will take £35bn over the coming months. This will be [...]
Employment up 100,000 in the third quarter November 14, 2012 EMPLOYMENT continued to climb in the third quarter, official statistics showed yesterday, and though the rate of growth was down, employment remained more than a half a million up on the year. There were 100,000 more people with work in the three months to September, compared to the previous three months, the Office for National [...]
Star Londoners make partner in Goldman promotion round November 14, 2012 SEVENTY Goldman staff were promoted to partner yesterday, and will take on the prestigious title – and a share of the bank’s profits – in the new year. The round was smaller than the 110 seen in the last round in 2010 as the bank downsizes. Twenty of the new partners are from Europe, Middle [...]
Prudential split option remains after profit rise November 14, 2012 PRUDENTIAL chief executive Tidjane Thiam yesterday said the firm would keep the option of breaking up the group on the table after its Asian and US divisions posted solid gains for the third quarter. Thiam, who has previously hinted he wanted “optionality” over the four separate divisions of the group, said he would keep the [...]
Santander spearheads drive to rehabilitate securitisations November 14, 2012 SANTANDER is set to be the first bank to add a new industry stamp of approval to a securitisation, as the sector hopes to improve the image of financial instruments tarnished in the financial crisis. Securitisations see portfolios of loans – in Santander’s case, car loans – sliced up and sold to investors. The failure [...]
Russian billionaire snaps up top investment bank November 14, 2012 DEALMAKER Stephen Jennings, who helped lead the privatisation boom of post-Communist Russia, yesterday left the country behind after selling his investment bank Renaissance Capital to billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov. New Zealander Jennings, who founded the bank in 1995, yesterday sold his remaining 50 per cent stake to Prokhorov’s Onexim Group, who already owned the other half [...]
Banks told to cut bonuses November 14, 2012 UK banks have been told by regulators to ensure employee bonuses are kept down to reflect the industry’s recent mis-selling and rate-fixing scandals, a source confirmed last night. Letters sent last month by the Financial Services Authority to all bank chief executives also told the institutions they should set an example and “claw back” past [...]
Spotify valued at $3bn November 14, 2012 MUSIC streaming service Spotify has been valued at $3bn (£1.9bn) after completing a new round of funding yesterday. The loss-making Swedish company, led by 29-year-old Daniel Ek (pictured), raised $100m from a group of investors including Goldman Sachs and Coca-Cola. The firm charges £9.99/month for unlimited access to millions of tracks.