EC plan to stop ratings in crises October 20, 2011 BLACKOUTS will be forced on credit ratings of weak sovereigns at crucial moments, if the European Commission (EC) gets its way with proposals to be unveiled next month. The EC would not confirm the reports, based on a leaked document, as internal discussions are ongoing. However, a source told City A.M. the plan is to [...]
Greek austerity bill gets the nod October 20, 2011 FINAL approval was given to Greece’s latest austerity bill in a vote last night. The bill was the latest in a series of measures cutting wages and increasing taxes. If rejected, Greece would not have received the latest €8bn tranche of its EU and IMF bailout. The measures prompted a 48 general strike, starting on [...]
Turner: new powers could prove useless October 20, 2011 THE Bank of England’s grand new idea of “macro-prudential” regulation could be useless to deliver credit growth, FSA chairman Lord Adair Turner told the City last night. In a speech at Mansion House, Turner suggested that the overhaul of the regulatory system being brought in by the coalition government might not be able to smooth [...]
Mifid to hit UK’s overseas investments October 20, 2011 WALLS are going up around the EU’s financial markets, with monitored gateways only allowing access to agreed participants, according to critics of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid2) proposals, which were published yesterday. Commissioner Michel Barnier told a press conference that the EU is willing to negotiate with other countries on financial rules, particularly [...]
Polyus ups size of free float October 20, 2011 POLYUS, the Russian miner planning a share issue in London, is understood to be increasing the size of its free float from 13 per cent to around 20 per cent to help press its case for a premium listing that would allow it to join the FTSE 100. Normally companies need a 25 per cent [...]
Inquiry call amid Dexia asset sales October 20, 2011 BELGIAN politicians have demanded an investigation after documents emerged showing crippled bank Dexia was warned last year over its “fragility”. The Green Party called for a parliamentary inquiry after letters emerged showing Autorité de contrôle prudentiel (ACP), the French regulator, wrote to French arm Dexia Crédit Local (DCL) in August and September last year to [...]
Omega backs Byrne in line with Invesco October 20, 2011 OMEGA, the Lloyd’s insurer courted for a takeover for almost a year, will push ahead with plans to sell a 25 per cent stake to Haverford after its biggest investor turned down rival bidder Canopius yesterday. Canopius walked away from Omega after ten months of talks that ultimately rested on whether Neil Woodford, manager of [...]
Stamp costs to rise on Ofcom plan October 20, 2011 Stamp costs could go up dramatically under new plans from the communications watchdog to let Royal Mail set its own prices for almost all deliveries. Ofcom yesterday proposed giving Royal Mail greater power to raise revenue to help keep the UK’s universal postal service going in an increasingly email-driven world. It said Royal Mail should [...]
Actelion shocks with poor results October 20, 2011 Shares in Actelion, Europe’s biggest biotech firm, fell 9.7 per cent yesterday after it posted far lower quarter revenues than expected and said the outlook for 2012 was even worse. Revenues fell seven per cent year-on-year to SwFr1.4bn (£987m), four per cent below the consensus forecast, as low sales of its flagship Tracleer hypertension drug [...]
Eni hits huge gas find off Africa October 20, 2011 Italian oil major Eni said it had made the biggest natural gas find in the company’s history off the coast of east African nation Mozambique yesterday. The discovery, at a first exploration well in the Mamba South area, exceeded all expectations and could add as much as 2bn barrels of oil equivalent to Eni’s reserves.
