China GDP growth beats forecasts January 17, 2012 China’s economy grew at its weakest pace in two and a half years in the latest quarter and it appeared headed for an even sharper slowdown in the coming months as export demand fades and the housing market falters. The fourth-quarter year-on-year growth of 8.9 per cent, although slightly stronger than the 8.7 per cent [...]
Eurozone bazooka shot down by S&P January 16, 2012 THE EUROZONE’S plan to convince top-flight investors to buy its debt was dealt a major blow last night as Standard & Poor’s hit its “big bazooka” bailout fund with a downgrade. S&P said that since a large number of the fund’s guarantors are no longer triple-A rated, the fund itself could not keep the gold [...]
Carnival shares plummet as rescue continues January 16, 2012 THE capsizing of the Costa Concordia cruise liner has wiped £700m off the value of Carnival, the ship’s owner, with shares in the FTSE 100 firm shedding 16.4 per cent yesterday. Six people have died so far in the accident off the Italian coast while another 29 remain unaccounted for. Analysts predict the total insurance [...]
Sumitomo to buy RBS jets January 16, 2012 ROYAL BANK of Scotland has sold its aircraft leasing business to Japanese banking giant Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group for $7.3bn (£4.7bn), marking the bank’s biggest disposal since its government bailout three years ago. Sumitomo batted off competition from several interested parties including China Development Bank and Wells Fargo, ending a two-year attempt by RBS to [...]
Rating agencies are still far too soft January 16, 2012 MANY people have been outraged by Standard & Poor’s downgrades of so many countries, including France and Austria – and last night, of the European bailout fund itself, now no longer backed by enough AAA-nations to be deemed safe. But those who are angry are deluding themselves. The only scandal is why it has taken [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 16, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES MORRISON COOLS INTEREST IN IRELAND Wm Morrison’s interest in Iceland Foods is cooling, raising doubts about whether Britain’s fourth biggest supermarket chain by market share will mount a £1.5bn bid for the frozen food specialist. Morrison was one of the companies expected to make an offer for Iceland Foods, for which second round [...]
Banks made to reveal pay January 16, 2012 SEVERAL City banks including Goldman Sachs, Citi, UBS and JP Morgan have revealed some details of pay packages for top UK workers, thanks to new EU rules. Goldman Sachs said it paid 95 “code staff” – workers identified as taking risks within the firm – a total of $269.5m in cash, plus 2m restricted stock [...]
BofA chief exec Moynihan gets board backing January 16, 2012 BANK of America chairman Chad Holliday yesterday gave his “100 per cent” support to his under-pressure chief executive Brian Moynihan, who has presided over a steep decline in the group’s share price. Bank of America is the parent company of BoA Merrill Lynch, which employs thousands of bankers in the City. Holliday made the comment [...]
Wiseman brothers to lap up £100m from sale to Müller January 16, 2012 THE family behind Robert Wiseman Dairies is set for a windfall of nearly £100m after agreeing the sale of the firm to German group Müller. Four members of the family – brothers Robert, Alan and Gavin Wiseman and Alan’s wife Margaret – who own 35 per cent of the milk producer, will pocket £98.1m from [...]
Family’s 65 years of the white stuff January 16, 2012 Milk was still sold in cans and delivered by horse and cart when Robert Wiseman set up his dairy in the new town of East Kilbride, near Glasgow, in 1947. The group listed in London in 1994 and today the family business stretches from Keith in northern Scotland to Cornwall, processing and delivering more than [...]
