Equitable Life policyholders hit by £400m cap on payouts July 22, 2010 POLICYHOLDERS of mutual insurer Equitable Life, which nearly collapsed a decade ago, face a £400m cap on compensation payments for their losses, the coalition government said yesterday. The figure produced by an independent review is less than a tenth of the £5bn of government compensation sought by policyholders. Britain’s oldest mutual insurer, with 1.5m policyholders [...]
SEC grants six-month reprieve on ratings for asset-backed debt July 22, 2010 ISSUERS?of asset-backed securities in the US have been given a six-month grace period that allows them to submit regulatory filings without credit ratings, amid fears they are unable to comply with President Obama’s tough financial reforms. Borrowers are finding it impossible to get rating agencies to allow them to use their ratings in public filings, [...]
Credit Suisse falls on weak client activity July 22, 2010 CREDIT Suisse shares fell yesterday after the bank disappointed investors with news of ongoing weakness in its private client division and crumbling investment banking income. Analysts had expected the slump in pre-tax corporate finance earnings, which more than halved quarter-on-quarter to SwFr784m (£492m), but were surprised by the poor performance from Credit Suisse’s traditionally reliable [...]
Credit Suisse July 22, 2010 DON’T say you didn’t see it coming. Like just about every investment bank that has reported before it, Credit Suisse found the second quarter tough going. The reasons are well-rehearsed: meeker clients lost their verve and volatility took its toll. Profit before tax in the investment bank was off from SwFr1.66bn last year to SwFr784m, [...]
High Street cheers after World Cup fillip July 22, 2010 WARM weather and the World Cup encouraged Britons back to the high street last month, boosting retail sales volumes by 0.7 per cent in June, official data showed yesterday. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) also revised up the May increase to 0.8 per cent. Consequently, retail sales volumes rose 1.7 per cent in the [...]
UK poised to record its fastest growth rate in three years July 22, 2010 BRITAIN is expected to have recorded its fastest economic growth in three years between April and June when second-quarter GDP figures are released this morning. Much of the acceleration is likely to come from a rebound in industrial output – economists estimate that it expanded by around 1.2 per cent in the three months to [...]
US HOME SALES HIT THREE-MONTH LOW July 22, 2010 SALES of previously-owned homes in the US hit a three-month low in June while new claims for jobless benefits surged last week. Existing home sales fell 5.1 per cent to an annual rate of 5.37m units, the National Association of Realtors said. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits jumped 37,000 to 464,000 last week.
UK car production jumps in June July 22, 2010 UK car production jumped 28.6 per cent last month compared to June 2009, figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed yesterday. Almost 118,000 cars were produced in June, marking the eighth month in a row that production increased. However, it was at a slower rate than the 54 per cent rise [...]
IMF cancels Haiti’s $268m debt July 22, 2010 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced yesterday that it had cancelled the $268m debt it was owed by Haiti and approved a new loan worth $60m to boost international reserves in the earthquake-hit nation.
Eurozone factory orders rise July 22, 2010 Eurozone industrial new orders rose in May at their fastest annual rate in 10 years, data showed yesterday, outpacing expectations and pointing to economic recovery despite the currency area’s debt problems. Industrial new orders increased 3.8 per cent month-on-month and 22.7 per cent year-on-year, the EU’s research body Eurostat said.
