Share sale aids BoA to speed TARP payback May 20, 2009 BANK of America (BoA) moved halfway to finding the $33.9bn (£21.9bn) the US government has demanded it raise yesterday as it said it had sold $13.4bn worth of shares since Friday. America’s largest bank said in a statement after the closing bell that it had sold 1.25bn common shares at an average price of $10.77 [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR THE LSE? May 20, 2009 RUPAK GHOSE CREDIT SUISSE “The main area of positive surprise was from costs, around £10-20m better than expectations. We continue to believe that LSE is relatively fully valued and have an underperform rating on the stock – but given the better than expected costs we expect the share price to be relatively strong in the [...]
Sterling gains against dollar as bulls return May 20, 2009 STERLING is undervalued, according to almost a quarter of fund managers, marking a dramatic turnaround in optimism on the beleagured currency. The finding from Bank of America Securities-Merrill Lynch’s global monthly fund manager survey marks a rise from April when 17 per cent saw the pound as undervalued. The optimism comes as strategists predict a [...]
IMA recruits fund stars to its board May 20, 2009 ASSET management trade body the Investment Management Association (IMA) has appointed a slew of fund management heavyweights to its board including Alain Dromer, global chief executive of the £235bn Aviva Investors. The IMA, which speaks for the £3.4 trillion UK asset management industry, has named four new members also including Investec Asset Management boss Hendrik [...]
Pringles to cost P&G millions May 20, 2009 PROCTER & Gamble (P&G) will have to pay out tens of millions of pounds in VAT after it lost a legal battle over its Pringles snack yesterday. The Court of Appeal found in the Inland Revenue’s favour, saying that Pringles are a potato snack, which means they’re liable for VAT. Last summer, a High Court [...]
Loss of 17.6bn if banks sold May 20, 2009 TAXPAYERS would make losses of £17.6bn if the government sold out of Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) at today’s prices, Exane BNP Paribas said yesterday. The figures indicate that any sell-off of the government’s stake in either Lloyds or RBS is unlikely ahead of the next general election. BNP Paribas calculated [...]
Summer of discontent looms over bonuses May 20, 2009 A SUMMER of discontent over the pay of top executives looked more likely last night, as pressure groups urged shareholders to reject plans to pay vast bonuses for under-performance. Bailed-out bank Lloyds Banking Group and telecoms giant Cable & Wireless are next in the firing line over pay, as both have impending shareholder meetings that [...]
SEC proposes giving US shareholders more power May 20, 2009 THE US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed yesterday giving shareholders greater power to nominate corporate board directors, a process now tightly controlled by company management. Amid a push by investor groups for greater accountability by corporate America, the SEC voted 3-2 to propose two approaches aimed at giving shareholders an easier way to influence [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU EXPECT REMUNERATION PROTESTS TO RISE THIS SUMMER? May 20, 2009 CHRIS LESLIE NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK“I do – for people lower down the food chain, the targets for getting a bonus are set in stone, but it seems as if the top executives can just change their goals as they see fit. Good performance deserves a good bonus, but it has become commonplace to reward mediocrity.” [...]
Yell chair to go over Goodwin pension row May 20, 2009 YELL chairman Bob Scott – who as a Royal Bank of Scotland director rubber-stamped Sir Fred Goodwin’s £17m pension – said yesterday that he will not stand for re-election to the directory publisher’s board. Scott, who had been chairman of the Yellow Pages publisher since June 2002, bowed out after shareholders expressed their concern over [...]