Law bodies need reform May 26, 2010 THE LEGAL profession has to reassess its regulation structure if it is to survive, the Law Society president Robert Heslett warned last night. Speaking at the Said Oxford Business School, Heslett hit out at the overly-complex regulatory oversight system and the “blurry” boundaries between legal supervisory bodies. “The Act was designed to simplify a system [...]
Nationwidesuffers as profits halve May 26, 2010 NATIONWIDE, Britain’s largest building society, said it expected broad stability in the housing market over the next 6-12 months, when posting a near halving of full-year profit yesterday. House prices have recovered ground in recent months, though they fell in February and April, according to rival lender Halifax, raising questions over the strength of the [...]
SVB applies to FSA for bank licence May 26, 2010 SILICON Valley Bank (SVB), the US lender that backed the Twitter social networking phenomenon, has filed an application for a UK banking licence in an attempt to ramp up its operations on this side of the Atlantic. SVB yesterday handed its official application to the Financial Services Authority, a month after it emerged that the [...]
Disney pair charged with insider trading May 26, 2010 A WALT Disney employee and her boyfriend have been charged with trying to sell insider information to over 30 hedge funds, including a tip Disney was in advanced talks to sell its struggling ABC television network – which Disney said was false. Disney said it is fully cooperating with the investigation. “The reference in the [...]
US seeks auto recall power May 26, 2010 LEGISLATION giving regulators more power to force car recalls and create standards to prevent unintended acceleration is headed to the full US House of Representatives. Prompted by industry and regulatory shortcomings identified in the congressional investigation of recent Toyota recalls, the most sweeping auto safety legislation in nearly a decade would increase caps on fines [...]
Astaire ditches buyout strategy May 26, 2010 STOCKBROKER Astaire yesterday stunned the market after it announced a U-turn in strategy and the resignation of its senior management team. Edward Vandyk – the broking veteran who took the helm last year following a bitter takeover battle and changed the firm’s name from Blue Oar to Astaire – stepped down as chief executive of [...]
Bank lending weak from deleveraging May 26, 2010 MORTGAGE lending slumped in April to its lowest monthly level since February 2001 and the number of mortgage approvals only inched higher in what is typically a strong month for the housing market, fresh statistics from the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) showed yesterday. Banks’ net mortgage lending fell to £1.8bn in April compared with £2.3bn [...]
US home sales hit 2-year high May 26, 2010 SALES of newly built US single-family homes rose faster than expected in April to their highest level in nearly two years, government data showed yesterday, as buyers signed contracts to benefit from a popular government tax credit. The Commerce Department said sales jumped 14.8 per cent to a 504,000 unit annual rate, the highest since [...]
UK inflation expectations soar due to gas price hikes May 26, 2010 BRITONS’ expectations for inflation over the coming 12 months surged to a 19-month high of 2.8 per cent in May from 2.2 per cent in April, a survey by Citi/YouGov showed yesterday. Inflation expectations are now at their highest level since October 2008. Citi said expectations may have been boosted by surprisingly strong inflation data [...]
US durable goods orders rise May 26, 2010 Durable goods orders in the US increased 2.9 per cent last month to their highest level since September 2008, boosted by a 228 per cent increase in bookings for aircraft, data from the US Commerce Department showed yesterday. Excluding transportation, however, orders unexpectedly dropped one per cent. March’s orders were revised up to 4.8 per [...]
