Bank pumps £50bn more into the economy July 5, 2012 The Bank of England has announced that it is raising its quantitive easing programme by £50bn. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has already spent £325bn to date on asset purchases aimed at kickstarting the economy. The bank kept the base rate of interest at its historic low of 0.5 per cent. Official GDP figures have [...]
FTSE creeps up as investors await BoE decision July 5, 2012 The FTSE 100 edged up in early trading as investors awaited the Bank of England’s next move on interest rates and quantitative easing to be announced at midday. Investors were also watching the unravelling Libor (the London Interbank Offered Rate) scandal with ratings agency Moody’s today threatening to downgrade Barclays over the damage to its [...]
Moody’s threatens Barclays downgrade July 5, 2012 Moody’s has threatened to downgrade Barclays’ credit rating because of the impact on the management structure of the Libor scandal. The ratings agency warned over the difficulty of replacing key senior staff including the former chief executive Bob Diamond. The agency also said it was concerned about the cultural changes needed at Barclays, an issue [...]
House prices nudge up in June July 5, 2012 House prices rose unexpectedly in June, though the housing market is likely to hold broadly steady in the remainder of 2012, mortgage lender Halifax said on Thursday. Halifax said house prices rose by one per cent in June, confounding economists’ forecasts for a 0.2 percent decline. House prices in May rose by 0.4 percent, a [...]
GKN confirms £633m deal for Volvo Aero July 5, 2012 Engineering group GKN has agreed to buy the aerospace division of the world’s number two truck maker Volvo to boost the capacity and range of its engine component portfolio to meet booming demand. Confirming a Reuters report from Wednesday, GKN said it would pay £633m for the aero engine division, comprising £513m of equity value, [...]
Aviva to offload 16 units to save costs July 5, 2012 Insurer Aviva said it would sell or close 16 underperforming businesses as part of a strategic shake-up aimed at bolstering its finances and reinvigorating its flagging share price. The businesses earmarked for disposal include its South Korean arm and its British large-scale bulk purchase annuity unit, and contribute £300m to after-tax profit, Aviva said. The [...]
Diamond feared nationalisation July 4, 2012 BOB Diamond yesterday told MPs that he feared Barclays could have been nationalised if the bank did not reduce its Libor interest rate submissions in October 2008. At that time Barclays was reporting funding costs at the top end of the scale, even though other banks were in much worse condition. “They might say to [...]
Row grows as chancellor accuses Balls of Libor role July 4, 2012 Senior Labour politicians fiercely denied any involvement in the Libor fixing scandal yesterday, after George Osborne said those around Gordon Brown “were clearly involved” in rate rigging, and former Barclays boss Bob Diamond said the bank was in regular contact with ministers. Meanwhile Labour MPs said Bob Diamond’s failure to answer all the Treasury select [...]
Pity Osborne isn’t this passionate when talking about growth July 4, 2012 WHAT a shame. Yesterday’s grilling of Bob Diamond, Barclays’ swashbuckling former boss, while not quite a damp squib, did not really clarify a great deal. There were some intriguing revelations – including that the relationship between the FSA and Barclays had been bad for months and that Diamond was worried that the government would nationalise [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 4, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES VW to buy rest of Porsche for €4.46bn Volkswagen has agreed to buy the remaining half of Porsche’s carmaking operations that it does not already own for €4.46bn. The two car groups yesterday finalised plans to speed up the creation of the combined car group. The integration will take effect from 1 August. [...]
