EU moves closer to enforcing strict new hedge fund rules May 4, 2010 EUROPEAN Union lawmakers are close to introducing fresh new hedge fund legislation that would make it harder for offshore funds to raise money from EU investors. Under the new legislation, European investors would be prevented from sending money to countries that fail to meet strict criteria set out by the EU politicians. According to Jean [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF STANDARD CHARTERED’S RESULTS? May 4, 2010 NIC CLARKE | CHARLES STANLEY RESEARCH “Our recommendation is ‘accumulate’. Standard Chartered remains our preferred favoured stock in the UK banking sector. It appears the bad debt position has improved. The performance of the wholesale bank is strong but we would like to see an improved share of group profits from consumer banking.” RICHARD CURR [...]
Fixed income drives UBS to robust profits May 4, 2010 SWISS banking giant UBS yesterday went some way towards putting to rest stubborn fears over its financial health, smashing City expectations with its strongest set of profits in three years. UBS – which took a mighty hammering in recent years from the financial crisis, heavy withdrawals and a bitter US tax fraud investigation – posted [...]
This recovery may be brief May 4, 2010 A YEAR into his turnaround mission, chief executive Oswald Gruebel appears to have earned the right to say the bank is “back in business again.” The Swiss bank’s first quarter pre-tax profit of SwFr2.81bn (£1.69bn) thrashed analyst expectations of SwFr2bn, and the net loss of SwFr1.98bn in the 2009 quarter. But there is one key [...]
Candidate for Labour brands PM the worst May 4, 2010 GORDON Brown was left red-faced yesterday after one of his own candidates branded him the “worst Prime Minister we have had in this country.” Brown had been furiously campaigning after a rallying speech on Monday appeared to galvanise the Labour support. But less than 24 hours later – typical of an election campaign that has [...]
Unite gives Labour £1m but City money is on a Tory win May 4, 2010 UNITE the Union handed Labour £1m last month in a desperate bid to stave off meltdown at tomorrow’s general election, new figures reveal. The workers’ body was joined by Sir Ronald Cohen, known as a pioneer of British venture capital for his founding role at Apax Partners, who gave Gordon Brown’s embattled government £250,000. The [...]
City: Hung house is most likely result May 4, 2010 THE City believes a hung parliament with the Tories as the biggest party is the most likely election result. A staggering 58.3 per cent of the City A.M./PHI panel believe there will be a Tory minority after the votes are counted. A Tory overall majority came second in the poll, with 37.5 per cent of [...]
Banks and champagne are out, but the Tory big beast is still standing May 4, 2010 KEN Clarke has gone awol. He left the last campaign stop at the same time as his chief of staff, who has long since arrived, but is nowhere to be seen. “He insists on driving himself,” one aide tells me, with an exasperated look. Eventually, forty-five minutes after we’re supposed to meet, he storms into [...]
BP launches a relief plan to plug oil leak May 4, 2010 BP launched its campaign to prevent one of the world’s worst environmental disasters yesterday by stepping up efforts to stop oil from further flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. The British energy giant started drilling a relief well with hopes of intercepting and isolating the spillage. More than 200,000 gallons of oil have flowed into [...]
Aberdeen warns of a hung parliament as profits treble May 4, 2010 ABERDEEN Asset Management warned of the perils of a hung parliament yesterday even as it delighted markets by tripling its pre-tax profits. Chief executive Martin Gilbert told City A.M. the board was “very pleased” with the 181 per cent jump in underlying earnings to £92.6m in the six months to 31 March. But Gilbert said: [...]
