BoE suspends its QE policy February 4, 2010 BRITAIN yesterday looked set for its first interest rate hike since the crisis started after the Bank of England turned off the taps on its emergency £200bn quantitative easing programme. The Bank chose to suspend quantitative easing and kept interest rates at 0.5 per cent. The monetary policy committee (MPC) judged that the current stimulus [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 4, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES UNION “NOT MILES APART” FROM BA The broad outlines of a settlement in the dispute between British Airways and its cabin crew are emerging in informal talks between the two sides, the Unite union said yesterday. “We’re not miles apart,” said Steve Turner, national officer for aviation at Unite, which represents BA’s 12,000-plus [...]
New bank IPO is abandoned February 4, 2010 A new start-up bank launched by Panmure Gordon analyst Sandy Chen has been forced to pull an initial public offering owing to a lack of funds. The bank still hopes to launch after a fresh round of marketing with fund managers. It had already guaranteed support from Invesco Perpetual and M&G.
Abu Dhabi buys Gatwick stake February 4, 2010 Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund is to buy a 15 per cent stake in London’s Gatwick Airport for £125m as the airport’s new owner aims to bring in additional investors. This comes two days after South Korea’s National Pension Service said it planned to buy a 12 per cent stake in Gatwick.
Deutsche Telekom moots IPO February 4, 2010 Germany’s Deutsche Telekom is considering an initial public offering or spinoff of its US wireless service T-Mobile USA, according to people familiar with the matter. The telecommunications firm recently held talks with potential underwriters, including Deutsche Bank and expects to make a decision in the coming months.
Liberty set to split its £6bn empire in two February 4, 2010 THE UK’s largest shopping centre owner will split its business in two in a dramatic corporate restructure. Liberty International will divide its £6.1bn UK property portfolio into two separate companies in what will be the biggest demerger on record in the listed real estate sector. The firm’s £4.4bn shopping centre business will be annexed into [...]
Euro crashes as investors baulk at debt laden states February 4, 2010 SHARES across the eurozone tumbled yesterday as investors reacted to fears over spiralling Spanish, Portuguese and Greek debt. The euro plunged to a seven-month low against the dollar as investor fears over mounting public debt undermined confidence in the ability of the European countries to fund their budget shortfalls. The head of the International Monetary [...]
CPS to decide if it will charge six politicians February 4, 2010 SEVERAL MPs and members of the House of Lords will today find out whether they are to face criminal charges over their expenses claims. The Crown Prosecution Service, which has been studying the evidence against six parliamentarians, will announce its decision at 11am. Labour MPs Eliot Morley, Jim Devine and David Chaytor have been under [...]
EMI’s survival in doubt as its February 4, 2010 EMI Group, the beleaguered record label behind artists such as Coldplay and Katy Perry, suffered a £1.6bn loss last year. The British company, which is owned by financier Guy Hands’ Terra Firma private equity operation, was hit by a huge impairment charge of £1.03bn. It is understood two thirds of the damage came from EMI’s [...]
Mastercard misses forecasts February 4, 2010 Higher-than-expected costs and rebates caused MasterCard’s quarterly earnings to fall short of Wall Street forecasts yesterday, driving shares of the world’s second biggest credit card network down 10.3 per cent to $222.1. The shares hit a two-and-a-half-month low despite a 23 per cent jump in fourth-quarter profit. A weak US dollar and rebound in global [...]