IT’S OFFICIAL: BANK PROFITS ARE BACK August 2, 2009 BRITAIN’S biggest banks will this week herald a return to the gilded banking days of old as they post bumper interim profits, despite the impact of their mounting bad debts. Barclays is this morning expected to reveal a first-half pre-tax profit of £3.5bn, boosted by a stellar performance in its investment banking division, Barclays Capital, [...]
House dip to last two more years August 2, 2009 THE HOUSE price slump will continue apace this year and next, according to a starkly bearish annual forecast from the National Housing Federation (NHF) released today. In a gloomy report the group has warned of a sharp 12.2 per cent fall in total in England during this year, and a further 4.6 per cent fall [...]
Geithner eyes more stimulus August 2, 2009 US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner yesterday said more actions may be necessary to firm up economic recovery, including extended unemployment aid, and he declined to rule out future tax hikes to reduce massive budget deficts. Geithner also said the government needed to show the will to reverse massive deficits after the recovery, including raising tax [...]
How finance can salvage its reputation August 2, 2009 FINANCIAL institutions almost never win the PR wars. When banks lose money, politicians and the media are angry. When they make money, politicians and the media are equally angry. The only time this golden rule breaks down is at the height of a bubble, when everybody – even the industry’s fiercest critics – gets drunk [...]
Ford in July sales uptick August 2, 2009 BELEAGUERED US carmaker Ford said last night it sold more cars in July than the same month last year, its first year-on-year sales rise since November 2007. The group will today become the first major US automaker to report a sales rise since the financial crisis kicked off, thanks to a surge of orders under [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 2, 2009 THE SUNDAYSThe Sunday TelegraphDSG CHAIR ABANDONS CRYSTAL BALLThe outgoing chairman of DSG International, the Currys owner, has described the reduction in the retailer’s market size as “painful” and admitted he failed to see the downturn coming. Sir John Collins said he told John Browett, the electrical retailer’s chief executive, not to worry about the prospect [...]
AstraZeneca plans move to W2 August 2, 2009 Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca is ditching its Mayfair offices to move to Paddington, it is thought, as it looks to slash its costs to weather the downturn. The firm is set to join Rio Tinto and Norwegian oil firm Statoil at the W2 hub, as FTSE 100 giants like J Sainsbury also consider moving their offices.
WTO calls signs of trade revival August 2, 2009 The World Trade Organisation, the Geneva-based international trade regulator, said a $250bn (£150bn) package of financial aid to revive the global system is starting to take effect, especially in Asia. Director-general Pascal Lamy said trade is picking up, although the WTO is maintaining its forecast of a 10 per cent contraction this year.
Grey panther made head of APA August 2, 2009 Former Credit Suisse banker Jeremy Bennett has been named as interim head of the Asset Protection Agency (APA), which runs the government’s £600m toxic bank asset scheme. Bennett was one of the “grey panther” regulators at the Financial Services Authority, who prowl insurers looking for rules failures.
King calls for strict stance on regulation August 2, 2009 BANK of England governor Mervyn King said yesterday that tougher measures on banking regulation were still needed, and added that some bonuses being paid to executives were “absolutely astronomic” and could not be justified. “Executives at the top are earning vast sums, beyond the dreams of ordinary people, for doing a job which it’s very [...]
