FTSE 100 remains steady despite the political rout and a bit of profit taking June 8, 2009 THE FTSE 100 shed 1 per cent, or 33.34 points, to close at 4,405.22 yesterday, weighed down by weak energy and mining stocks, while banks fell as recent bullish sentiment soured. “Caution is creeping back into financial markets after what was largely a positive week for equities,” said David Evans, market analyst at BetOnMarkets.com. “There [...]
Blank’s exit won’t end Lloyds’ troubles May 17, 2009 IT was always Sir Victor Blank, one of the Labour Party’s favourite businessmen, who was most likely to be Lloyds Banking Group’s sacrificial lamb. It was he, after all, who was the main driver of Lloyds TSB’s ill-fated takeover of HBOS; he first discussed the idea of the deal with Gordon Brown over drinks in [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 28, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES TERRA FIRMA INJECTS MORE CASH INTO EMITerra Firma has been forced to inject more cash into EMI for the second time in six months, after the debt-laden UK music group behind the Beastie Boys and Depeche Mode missed targets imposed in its banking covenants. Guy Hands’ private equity group injected £28m into EMI [...]
Banks lead the FTSE higher and bulls reboot interest in sofware companies May 18, 2009 THE FTSE 100 sprung to life yesterday, driven by banks which were led higher by confirmation of Lloyds Banking Group’s rights issue and the announcement that Sir Victor Blank would step down as its chairman. The index erased almost half of last week’s losses, closing 2.3 per cent, or 98.34 points, higher at 4,446.45 points. [...]
HSBC profits hit as bad debt surges August 5, 2008 Europe’s largest bank announces a 28 per cent drop in earnings as crunch bites HSBC chairman Stephen Green insisted yesterday that his bank’s performance was “resilient”, despite a 28 per cent fall in profits and a surge in bad debt charges to more than $10bn (£5bn). Interim pre-tax profits at Europe’s largest bank fell from [...]
Mayor calls on business expertise December 8, 2008 London mayor Boris Johnson has recruited the help of 47 top-flight business leaders to offer him guidance and advice, it was announced yesterday. The International Business Advisory Council for London has been set up and will be chaired by Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of advertising group WPP. The council will advise the mayor on [...]
British banks given access to Vietnam September 10, 2008 HSBC and Standard Chartered have become the first foreign banks to be given permission to set up wholly owned subsidiaries in Communist Vietnam, the country’s state bank said yesterday. The two companies will be allowed to operate as commercial banks for a period of 99 years, according to a statement from the State Bank of [...]
Banks set for worst results in City history August 4, 2008 Markets brace for a raft of bad news from HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland and others HSBC will today kick off another disappointing week of banking results as the credit crunch continues to wreak havoc in the City. HSBC is forecast to reveal $2bn-$3bn (£1bn-£1.5bn) of credit market provisions in its global markets business. Europe’s [...]
Tokyo Mitsubishi is in the frame for a stake in Lehman as suitors drop out September 4, 2008 The saga over bids for a stake in Lehman Brothers assets entered a new chapter yesterday, as another potential suitor entered the fray and several parties rumoured to be interested dropped out. Reports from Japan suggested that the country’s banking powerhouse, Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, was monitoring the situation closely, with a view to making a [...]
Banking tragedy fails to lift market players August 4, 2008 You could say the UK banks reporting season is turning into a comedy of errors but perhaps a Shakespearean tragedy would be more apt. It was an awful first act for the sector last week but the drama will reach its crescendo this week as we await downbeat numbers from HSBC, Barclays and RBS. The [...]