EU pension plans could hurt all worker schemes January 4, 2012 PENSION scheme reforms being mooted by the European Union could wipe out all pension provision in the UK – not just the defined benefit schemes currently struggling to stay open, accounting group PwC said yesterday. PwC estimates that the plans, which would force pension schemes to hold solvency capital in the same way as banks, [...]
Cash-rich firms fuel rise in M&A deals in 2011 despite slowdown at year end January 4, 2012 MERGER and takeover activity increased last year compared to 2010 to a global total of $2.81 trillion (£1.8 trillion), despite a fall-off in deals at the year end, data yesterday showed. Data from Dealogic showed M&A activity rose three per cent in 2011, with more than half of the deals announced in the first half, [...]
Rebound in loan activity helps investment banks January 4, 2012 THE GLOBAL loan market rebounded to volume of $4.9 trillion (£3.1 trillion) in 2011, a level not seen since 2007, amid soaring corporate demand for refinancing of their debt facilities, data yesterday showed. Both investment grade and leveraged loans boomed, with loans from rated companies at their highest level since 2007 at £1.78 trillion, while [...]
IPO slump causes drop in bank fees January 4, 2012 INVESTMENT banking fees fell six per cent in 2011 to levels seen in 2009 as a fall-off in equity market activity and stalled M&A markets hurt their businesses over the year, new data yesterday showed. A 25 per cent drop in equity market fees and flat M&A fees pushed total global investment banking revenues down [...]
Home owners borrow less in weak market January 4, 2012 MORTGAGE approvals rose slightly in November, according to figures out yesterday from the Bank of England, though remortgaging levels plummeted and loans for new homes increased at a very low rate. Lending to businesses also declined in November, the Bank revealed, with small firms in particular finding debt more expensive. New loans rose to 52,854 [...]
Construction output jumps as orders rise – but contraction looms in 2012 January 4, 2012 BUILDING work expanded in December, in contrast to the UK’s weaker manufacturing performance, Markit’s purchasing managers’ index revealed yesterday. For the first time in nine months output in all three categories in the sector – civil engineering, housing, and commercial – made gains. The sector as a whole registered a PMI of 53.2 in December, [...]
Billions-worth of flaws in Chinese local state debt January 4, 2012 CHINA’S state audit office has uncovered 530 billion yuan (£54bn) worth of irregularities with local government debt, leaving investors wondering how much work remains to be done to clean up after 2008’s stimulus-fuelled credit binge. The findings of the National Audit Office report published yesterday reveal a litany of bad practice. However, the figure is [...]
ROMNEY EDGES TO VICTORY IN IOWA… …WHILE BACHMANN PULLS OUT January 4, 2012 MITT Romney, seen as the most moderate Republican candidate to face Barack Obama in this November’s Presidential election, has won the Iowa caucus — narrowly beating Rick Santorum and the self-styled libertarian candidate Ron Paul. The caucus resulted in the exit of Michelle Bachmann from the race, after she finished last among the six candidates [...]
US CAR MANUFACTURING JUMPS January 4, 2012 US CAR sales jumped in December, suggesting growth in consumer confidence. Chrysler’s sales are up 37 per cent, Ford’s rose by 10 per cent and Nissan’s increased by 7.7 per cent. Meanwhile, factory output rose in November, according to US commerce department data also released yesterday. New orders rose by 1.8 per cent to $459.2bn [...]
London house prices beat North January 4, 2012 Average house prices in Britain finished 2011 at £221,331, down a modest £854, or 0.23 per cent, from the same time one year ago. In London the average home is now worth £416,890, up £9,283 (2.28 per cent) from a year ago, Zoopla.co.uk said. The North East was the worst performing region over the past [...]