King remarks propel pound October 21, 2009 STERLING surged to one-month highs against both the US dollar and the euro yesterday as traders saw an extension of quantitative easing (QE) as less likely following the publication of the Bank of England minutes. The pound hit $1.6636 and the euro slid more than 1.2 per cent on the day to 89.98p, as a [...]
Federal Reserve’s Beige Book reports small improvements October 21, 2009 US economic conditions stabilised or improved modestly in most parts of the country, according to a Federal Reserve report yesterday that suggested the economy was slowly clawing out of a recession. In its “Beige Book” of anecdotal reports on the economy, which was based on information collected before 13 October, the central bank noted improvement [...]
Sweden could ditch hedgie leverage caps October 21, 2009 Sweden, holder of the European Union presidency, wants to ditch a proposed borrowing limit for hedge funds in a move that will please Britain but anger France and others seeking tougher control of the secretive industry. Although hedge funds did not play a central role in the financial crisis, politicians remain suspicious of their activity, [...]
Goldman boss speaks up for bonus culture October 21, 2009 LORD Griffiths, the vice-chairman of investment bank Goldman Sachs, has put his head over the parapet after claiming the public should tolerate bumper City bonuses for the good of the UK economy. Griffiths, a former special adviser to Margaret Thatcher, said he was not “ashamed” of the generous reward policy at Goldman, which last week [...]
City Airport owner snaps up Gatwick October 21, 2009 THE UK’s second largest airport, Gatwick, is facing a massive shake-up after BAA yesterday sold it for £1.5bn to City Airport owner Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). The new owner said that it wants to challenge rival Heathrow by overhauling services and could add new destinations. Michael McGhee, the GIP partner leading the acquisition, said the [...]
Goldman sends LSE shares down despite praise for CEO October 21, 2009 The FTSE 100 was all about the power of the analyst today, with a number of individual movers spurred up or down by words of wisdom from the City’s finest. The London Stock Exchange (LSE) shed 2.2 per cent to close at 914p after Goldman Sachs cut its rating on the stock to “neutral” on [...]
WALL STREET STOCKS FALL ON ANALYST NOTE October 21, 2009 US stocks closed weaker yesterday after an influential bank analyst recommended selling Wells Fargo, while the euro broke above $1.50 for the first time in 14 months on expectations US interest rates will stay low. The Dow Jones industrial average closed 0.92 per cent lower at 9,948.83, after Rochdale Research analyst Richard Bove cut his [...]
US SLASHES PAY OF BAILED OUT BOSSES October 21, 2009 BARACK Obama’s pay tsar is planning to slash the salaries of the top 25 executives at seven bailed out firms by a staggering average of 90 per cent. And total compensation for the 175 executives will fall by an average of 50 per cent, as the US Treasury Department’s special master of compensationKenneth Feinberg cracks [...]
Posties walk out as talks fail October 21, 2009 Royal Mail’s national strikes will go ahead as planned today after union bosses accused the company’s management and the government of undermining last-ditch negotiations. Dave Ward, the deputy general secretary of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), last night confirmed the strikes will go ahead, despite the talks over pay, jobs and modernisation having made some [...]
FSA and Brown take on King October 21, 2009 THE FINANCIAL Services Authority (FSA) and Prime Minister Gordon Brown yesterday hit back at Bank of England governor Mervyn King who has said that banks which are “too big to fail” should be broken up to prevent another financial crisis. The FSA will publish a paper today which will argue that carving up retail and [...]
