Whatever the expectations, lower them January 17, 2012 DISAPPOINTING is an understatement. Analysts had already cut down their expectations for Citigroup from a consensus of 76 cents in earnings per share to just 49 cents. Little wonder that the actual number – 38 cents – was a shocker. For those following the declining state of the investment banking industry, however, the overall narrative [...]
Abu Dhabi set to raise stake in UniCredit January 17, 2012 ABU Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund Aabar yesterday threw its support behind beleaguered Italian bank UniCredit by pledging to raise its stake to 6.5 per cent. Aabar said it would increase its holding through its Luxembourg subsidiary as part of UniCredit’s ongoing €7.5bn (£6.2bn) rights issue. “We are intending to participate in the rights increase and [...]
Broker’s cash coming back January 17, 2012 THE ADMINISTRATORS of the British arm of collapsed US broker MF Global have recovered nearly £600m of customer funds held in segregated funds. KPMG, the special administrator, has recovered £594m or 82 per cent of the cash, which is supposed to be held at arm’s length, City A.M. has been told. This figure is likely [...]
Wells Fargo beats targets January 17, 2012 WELLS Fargo yesterday beat Wall Street estimates with a 20 per cent increase in fourth-quarter profit, boosted by continued loan growth and improving credit quality. America’s fourth biggest bank said net income in the fourth quarter was $3.89bn, compared with $3.23bn a year earlier. For all of 2011, Wells posted net income applicable to common [...]
DEBUNKING THE ECB DEPOSIT MYTH January 17, 2012 Q. WHAT’S THIS ABOUT ECB DEPOSITS BEING AT ANOTHER RECORD HIGH? A. Everyday we are treated to a new run of stories about a record amount of cash being “hoarded” in vaults at the European Central Bank (ECB). They are based on daily statistics put out by the Bank on the amount in its “deposit [...]
Downgrades dismissed by bullish buyers January 17, 2012 HEALTHY European bond auctions and strong German confidence figures pushed buoyant markets upwards yesterday as traders shrugged off a series of downgrades. Stocks and the euro shot up on the unexpectedly good figures, countering the negative sentiment led by Friday’s downgrades of eight European sovereigns’ debt by Standard & Poor’s. Despite losing its triple-A rating [...]
EC starts legal action in row with Hungary January 17, 2012 THE EUROPEAN Commission (EC) launched legal proceedings against Hungary yesterday over the independence of its central bank, data protection authorities and judiciary. Hungary brought in legislation to increase the number of central bank directors and give politicians more control over their appointment at the beginning of the year, under its contentious new constitution. The commission [...]
Ruspetro IPO gets the nod January 17, 2012 THE Russian-based oil explorer Ruspetro became the first company in 2012 to get a London main market float off the ground yesterday as investors gave the thumbs-up to a $250m (£163m) fund-raising. Ruspetro priced the shares at 134p yesterday evening, towards the lower end of the range. But advisers said they were delighted with the [...]
Carnival flatlines as death toll rises January 17, 2012 SHARES in Carnival, the owner of the stricken Costa Concordia cruise ship, yesterday closed up only 1.6 per cent after suffering a 16.4 per cent fall on Monday. Details of the accident continued to emerge as divers found another five bodies, taking the death toll to 11, with 23 people still unaccounted for. The investigation [...]
Gold to reach $2,000 per oz January 17, 2012 GOLD may reach a record high above $2,000 an ounce in late 2012 or early 2013, but the precious metal is nearing the end of a decade-long run that has lifted prices by more than 600 per cent, metals consultancy GFMS said yesterday. Gold has been a top-performing asset since 2001 as portfolio diversification, concerns [...]