BOMB KILLS TOP SYRIAN GOVERNMENT STAFF July 18, 2012 A BOMB blast in Damascus killed key staff in Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime yesterday, including his defence minister Dawoud Rajiha (pictured) and his brother-in-law Assef Shawkat, as a 16-month-old popular uprising took a fresh violent turn. The UN Security Council is today due to vote on the West’s latest efforts to halt the bloodshed.
BAML boosts profits in cost cutting drive July 18, 2012 MORE JOB cuts could be on the way at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoAML), it emerged yesterday, as tough market conditions push firms across the sector to slash costs in an effort to shore up profits. The bank reported second quarter profits of $2.46bn (£1.57bn), strongly up on the $8.83bn loss a year ago. [...]
BlackRock earnings and assets are hurt by market turbulence July 18, 2012 ASSET manager BlackRock reported a 10.5 per cent drop in net income to $554m (£353.9m) for the second quarter, and warned that skittish global markets could hamper its progress for the rest of the year. Assets under management slipped to $3.56 trillion, down three per cent compared to both last quarter and last year, pushed [...]
Eurozone takes heavy toll on BNY Mellon’s earnings outlook July 18, 2012 PROFITS slumped in the second quarter as BNY Mellon settled a pricey lawsuit and struggled with falling client activity thanks to the heightened Eurozone crisis. Rock bottom interest rates also hit earnings as the custodian was forced to waive money market fund fees, because returns were too low to levy a charge. Earnings came in [...]
NEWS CORP INVESTORS CALL FOR NEW CHAIR July 18, 2012 EIGHTEEN investors including Aviva, F&C and the Co-op have urged News Corp to hire an independent chairman and split the role of Rupert Murdoch, who is currently both chairman and chief executive. The institutions said in an open letter to the board that the firm is “in need of independent leadership” in the wake of [...]
Credit Suisse in capital boost to counter critics July 18, 2012 CREDIT Suisse bowed to market and central bank pressure yesterday, announcing major new measures to bolster its capital position. The plan was revealed as the bank published relatively positive earnings figures, showing profits rising in the second quarter as it cut costs. It plans to raise SFr15.3bn (£10bn) by the end of this year, beginning [...]
More sandbags are helpful but their necessity isn’t reassuring July 18, 2012 YESTERDAY’s announcement from Credit Suisse was intended to eliminate any doubt raised by the Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) June financial stability report. The trouble is, it’s not just banks the SNB doubted. Its take on the economic situation was stark: “early signs of a possible recovery… have vanished”; “the risk of a rapid and marked [...]
Two cheers for infrastructure support plans July 18, 2012 INDUSTRY groups came out in favour of the Treasury’s new UK Guarantees scheme yesterday, but economic think-tank the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) was opposed. “The business community will be heartened to see signs of innovative thinking on infrastructure financing,” said Adam Marshall at the British Chambers of Commerce. Other business lobby groups including the [...]
Employment has its best quarter for 22 months July 18, 2012 UNEMPLOYMENT plummeted in the three months to May, while employment grew healthily, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) yesterday. Unemployment was down 65,000 or 0.2 per cent, and stood at 8.1 per cent, while employment flew up by 181,000, the largest quarterly increase for 22 months. Though employment is still [...]
London Stock Exchange hit by lack of IPOs July 18, 2012 LONDON Stock Exchange group (LSE) yesterday announced revenue growth in line with expectations but admitted that it has been hit by sluggish performance in its core capital markets business. “The group has made a good start to the new financial year, although market conditions have remained weak and the summer period is expected to be quiet,” chief [...]
