Secret French bank merger deal denied October 26, 2009 FRENCH bank Credit Agricole said it had no plans for talks on a merger with rival Société Générale and insurer Groupama, after reports that Agricole was studying such a deal. “Credit Agricole says it has not engaged Société Générale and Groupama in any talks and has no intention of doing so,” an Agricole spokeswoman said. [...]
Shareholders back cash call at Ladbrokes October 26, 2009 BOOKMAKER Ladbrokes yesterday announced its shareholders have agreed to buy more than 95 per cent of the shares offered in its underwritten £275m cash call. Ladbrokes, which runs 2,700 betting shops, unveiled a surprise rights issue earlier this month to pay down debt after revealing revenue had dived by 15 per cent in its third [...]
Lloyds shares tumble on rights issue October 26, 2009 SHARES in Lloyds Banking Group slumped yesterday as investors readied themselves for a possible £22bn-£25bn capital raising exercise that is likely to include a heavily discounted share issue. Lloyds shares closed the day down 7.2 per cent at 89.3p. Analysts said the discount on the share issue part of the financing could be as high [...]
Barclays seals deal to buy StanLife Bank October 26, 2009 BARCLAYS yesterday agreed to pay £226m for the banking division of Standard Life, allowing the Edinburgh-based life insurer to refocus on its core business. The relatively modest deal will add £5.5bn in deposits and 287,000 new accounts to Barclays’ massive base of 15m current account customers. The banking unit last year became a thorn in [...]
TUC mediates more talks on postal strikes October 26, 2009 CRUNCH talks to avoid further postal strikes enter their second day this morning, as Royal Mail bosses and Communication Workers Union (CWU) leaders thrash it out at the TUC headquarters in London. The talks come after two days of industrial action from postal workers last week, which threw businesses into turmoil, drew criticism from politicians [...]
Deutsche cuts BA rating after doubts over American tie-up October 26, 2009 AILING airline British Airways (BA)was dealt a further blow yesterday, after Deutsche Bank cut its rating for the airline from “sell” to “hold” ahead of its second-quarter results. “We believe that the main positive catalysts for the stock – the merger with Iberia and anti-trust immunity with American – are at risk,” said Deutsche’s Geoff [...]
PAY CUT FOR BOSSES OF JUST 1 PER CENT October 25, 2009 CHIEF executives of FTSE 100 companies saw their total pay cut by just 1.5 per cent over the past year to an average £3.3m despite cash bonuses falling by nearly a third, research released today shows. Income Data Services (IDS) found average bonuses for blue chip bosses remained above £500,000 even as corporate profits plunged [...]
Tories: no more cash bonuses October 25, 2009 GEORGE OSBORNE will today call on the Treasury and Financial Services Authority to stop high street banks paying out cash bonuses of more than £2,000. Retail banks such as state-owned Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland must be banned from paying out cash bonuses, he will say, to allow profits to be pumped [...]
Banks near to FSA deadline October 25, 2009 THE UK’s biggest banks have just a week left until they are forced to submit intricate details of their remuneration policies to the Financial Services Authority (FSA), in a drive to reduce risk in the sector. As part of the regulator’s new code of practice on remuneration, the 26 largest British banks have been given [...]
Slump in tax receipts proof of deep crisis October 25, 2009 THE quality of Britain’s official statistics isn’t as bad as it used to be. But I wouldn’t be surprised if the 0.4 per cent decline in GDP reported on Friday is eventually revised upwards – time and again, the Office for National Statistics has rewritten economic history, sometimes radically, with the benefit of hindsight. There [...]
