US Bancorp: Results go skywards in last quarter January 20, 2010 US Bancorp, one of a handful of US regional banks that has expanded during the financial crisis, said yesterday that fourth quarter profit nearly doubled, helped by a rise in fee income. The bank reported profit of $602m (£370m), or 30 cents per share, up from $330m, or 15 cents per share, a year earlier. [...]
Morgan Stanley hit by Tarp repayments January 20, 2010 MORGAN Stanley yesterday posted net losses for the year of $907m (£557m). Income from ongoing operations at the bank reached $1.15bn – up from a $246m loss in 2008 – but Tarp repayments and preferred share dividends to Mitsubishi pushed them back into the red. Total losses applicable to Morgan Stanley shareholders were $907m, with [...]
Wells Fargo: Unexpected earnings leap takes Wall Street by surprise January 20, 2010 WELLS Fargo surprised Wall Street yesterday when it reported a profit for the fourth quarter. The San Francisco-based bank said it earned $394m (£242m) after paying preferred dividends, or eight cents per share, compared with analysts’ expectations for a loss of one cent per share. Earnings were reduced by 47 cents per share due to [...]
Bank of New York Mellon: Q4 rise due to asset management January 20, 2010 BANK of New York Mellon reported a sharp rise in fourth quarter earnings yesterday on the back of rising assets under management. BNY Mellon, one of the world’s largest custody banks, said earnings soared from $50m (£31m) to $712m year-on-year. Assets under custody and administration were up 10 per cent to $22.3 trillion at the [...]
Cadbury deal is first in an M&A boom for 2010 January 20, 2010 KRAFT’S takeover of Cadbury will not change our love of Dairy Milks and Creme Eggs, but it will take time before we start thinking of Cadbury as an American, rather than a British, institution. Before the year is out, though, we might have to get used to other much-loved businesses going the same way. Market-watchers [...]
THE TIPSTER January 20, 2010 EQUITIES are coming under pressure. The threat of a collapse in gold prices is worrying the mining sector while the slew of fourth quarter losses by US banks is also sure to weigh on general sentiment towards equities. Some are suggesting that a correction is overdue and a sell-off could well be imminent. Current IG [...]
A DERIVATIVE THAT covers all the bases January 20, 2010 ALEXANDRE HOUPERT HEAD OF LISTED PRODUCTS, NORTHERN EUROPE, SOCIETE GENERALE THERE was a time when people were frightened to enter into investments. The financial crisis meant that many investors took a painful hit, and elected to steer clear of the markets. But 18 months on, and investors are starting to come back. As before, many [...]
The unstoppable rise of exchange-traded funds January 20, 2010 WHEN one of Europe’s largest hedge funds, Marshall Wace, announced earlier this week that it would be launching an exchange-traded fund (ETF) to track its flagship strategy, it was further confirmation that ETFs are entering the mainstream on this side of the Atlantic. In their standard form, ETFs passively track the performance of an underlying [...]
NEW BREED OF ETFS SPREAD DEFAULT RISK January 20, 2010 MARK WEEKS CHIEF EXECUTIVE, ETF EXCHANGE FOLLOWING the financial crisis and the collapse of Lehman Brothers, investors are more keenly aware of the problems that can ensue if a financial institution were to collapse. Those using passive investment tools such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are also more conscious about liquidity and index replication. ETFs have [...]
Lending restrictions in China turn the screw on the miners January 20, 2010 TOP shares recorded a three-week closing low yesterday as more signs of fiscal tightening in China hurt commodity stocks. The FTSE 100 closed down 92.34 points, or 1.7 per cent, at 5,420.80 – the lowest closing level since December 31, 2009. It posted its biggest one-day fall in a month. The index is up 57 [...]
