US jobless claims fall to four-year low February 16, 2012 The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week to a near four-year low, suggesting the labour market recovery was gaining steam. “The job market is getting better and that’s really key. We’re still in the early innings of this but I’m glad to see another data point that adds [...]
GM profits lower than expected February 16, 2012 General Motors Co posted a weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter profit as disappointing performance overseas offset strong results in North America. Net income attributable to common shareholders was $500m (£319m), or 28 cents a share, compared with $500m, or 31 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter.
Banks hit by latest ratings blow February 16, 2012 The FTSE 100 fell this morning with the banking sector pegging back the index as Moody’s threatened to downgrade 17 banks and securities firms and the Greece bailout hit yet more hurdles. The ratings agency said it might cut the long-term credit rating of UBS, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley by as much as three [...]
FSA slaps former Punch broker Osborne with £350k fine February 16, 2012 ANDREW Osborne, the corporate broker at the centre of the Greenlight Capital insider dealing case, has been fined £350,000 by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for his role in the affair. The FSA has already fined the US hedge fund manager David Einhorn from Greenlight £7.2m for trading in shares in Punch Taverns in 2009 [...]
Kingfisher profits to jump by a fifth February 16, 2012 Kingfisher, Europe’s biggest home improvements retailer, said it would meet forecasts for a 20 per cent rise in year profit after posting sales growth and market share gains in its fourth quarter. “Our established programme of self-help initiatives has continued to serve us well and so we expect to announce full year adjusted profit in [...]
Spanish GDP shrinks but bond auction sees strong demand February 16, 2012 The Spanish economy shrank for the first time in two years in the fourth quarter, the start of what economists fear could be a prolonged slump as Madrid implements harsh austerity measures to deflate a massive budget deficit. Gross domestic product shrank by 0.3 per cent in the fourth quarter on a quarterly basis, as [...]
BAE profits fall in military spending squeeze February 16, 2012 Europe’s biggest defence contractor BAE Systems reported a seven per cent fall in full-year profit, hit by continued cuts to military spending by the United States and Britain, a delay in key orders and the end of the Iraq war. BAE Systems posted underlying earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITA) of £2.02bn for the [...]
RBS launches China desk February 16, 2012 Royal Bank of Scotland has formed a new London-based team focusing on helping European and Chinese companies tap into each other’s markets, as Britain aims to boost London’s role as a key offshore trading hub for China’s yuan currency. RBS, which is 83 percent owned by the British government following a state bailout during the [...]
Former Olympus executives arrested in fraud swoop February 16, 2012 Four months after one of Japan’s biggest corporate scandals, police and prosecutors on Thursday arrested seven men, including a former Olympus Corp president and ex-bankers, over their role in a $1.7bn (£1bn) accounting fraud at the medical equipment and camera maker. Also arrested were former bankers Akio Nakagawa and Nobumasa Yokoo and two others suspected [...]
Moody’s in downgrade threat to 17 financial companies February 16, 2012 Moody’s warned on Thursday it may cut the credit ratings of 17 global and 114 European financial institutions in another sign the impact of the euro zone government debt crisis is spreading throughout the global financial system. It was reviewing the long-term ratings and standalone credit assessments of a range of banks, Moody’s added. Markets [...]
