Firms still don’t have much spare cash September 9, 2009 MUCH nonsense will be written on quantitative easing (QE) over the next few days, regardless of what the Bank of England decides to do today. So it is worth taking a look at what Mervyn King’s massive purchases of gilts have actually achieved, apart from merely bailing out Gordon Brown. By the end of last [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 9, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES BAXTER BEHIND ON ORDERSBaxter, the US pharmaceuticals company, has failed to meet its pledge to rapidly deliver flu vaccine, stalling efforts to reduce the impact of the pandemic. British officials said they had received less Celvapan vaccine than agreed with Baxter, one of two companies with which the Department of Health signed a [...]
CITY A.M. SHADOW MPC September 9, 2009 ALLISTER HEATH CITY A.M.“Interest rates need to remain on hold, as does QE. The money supply, when measured properly, is showing signs of slightly better growth. With GDP now growing again, the Bank should wait and see.” SIMON WARD HENDERSON NEW STAR“Hold. Broad money trends look a bit better than last month and velocity is [...]
Ball is stuck in ITV talks September 9, 2009 ITV is believed to have offered the role of chief executive to former BSkyB boss Tony Ball, but the parties are at loggerheads over the terms of his employment. It is understood that the commercial broadcaster offered the role to Ball – a favourite among its larger investors – last week, but that negotiations over [...]
Vivendi eyes Brazilian telco September 9, 2009 French telecom company Vivendi has launched a €2bn (£1.76bn) takeover bid for Brazilian telecoms provider GVT.The bid is a move away from the African and south-east Asian markets the firm had been looking at. A takeover would put Vivendi into competition with Spain’s Telefónica, which has a 31 per cent market share in Brazil.
BoA hits back at Cuomo September 9, 2009 Bank of America yesterday rejected allegations brought on Tuesday by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo that it is hiding behind attorney-client privilege as a defence for its decisions over Merrill Lynch. Cuomo has threatened to sue top executives if the bank is not more forthcoming by 14 September.
Barclays and JPMorgan top poll September 9, 2009 Barclays Capital and JPMorgan Chase have been given top rankings for fixed-income market share and quality of debt sales, trading and research. A survey of institutional investors by Greenwich Associates showed BarCap received 14.8 per cent of fixed-income market share while JPM took 14.2 per cent.
Goldman boss urges end to bonus culture September 9, 2009 LONG-TERM guaranteed bonuses should be banned and clawbacks introduced into contracts to prevent the excessive risk-taking of the past, Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein said yesterday. Speaking at the Banks in Transition conference in Frankfurt, Blankfein said there was “little justification of outsized discretionary compensation when a financial institution has lost money”. He said [...]
Apple’s Jobs struts the stage for the first time since his liver transplant September 9, 2009 STEVE Jobs, the Apple chief executive, stepped back into the spotlight for the first time in a year yesterday, unveiling new iPods and drawing a standing ovation. It was his first public appearance since returning to work in June after six months of leave, during which the charismatic corporate showman underwent a liver transplant. Dressed [...]
Oil discovery by BG trumps BP’s big find September 9, 2009 OIL giant BG Group said yesterday its Guara discovery off the coast of Brazil will trump the “giant” find BP made in Mexico last week. The company, which is the UK’s third-largest oil and gas producer announced its Guara site could contain between 1.1bn and 2bn barrels of oil. BP said last week its site, [...]