BT posts strong earnings February 3, 2012 Lower regulatory charges, cost cuts and strong demand for a wide range of services enabled Britain’s BT to post solid third-quarter core earnings on Friday and lift aspects of its forecasts. BT, which has offset falling revenues in recent years by deep cost cuts and an improving operational performance, said revenues for the three months [...]
Panasonic lurching towards record £6bn loss February 3, 2012 Japan’s Panasonic Corp forecast a record net annual loss of £6.4bn, joining beleaguered rival Sony Corp in a sea of red ink, both struggling to fix their broken TV businesses and overcome criticism that they have lost their way. Panasonic, posting quarterly results, said it was headed for a loss of 780bn yen (£6.46bn) for [...]
GLENCORE SET FOR £50BN MEGA-DEAL February 2, 2012 MINING giants Xstrata and Glencore have revealed they are in talks over a merger that would create the world’s fifth largest commodities company, potentially worth over £50bn and with revenues of nearly $200bn. If the deal goes ahead, Glencore’s outspoken chief Ivan Glasenberg is set to cede the chief executive spot to his long-time rival [...]
Facebook surges in grey trade February 2, 2012 THE VALUE of Facebook hit $123bn in grey market trading yesterday, after the social networking phenomenon announced it would raise $5bn in a public offering later this year. Financial spread betting firm IG Group, which is running a grey market in Facebook, said the website had attracted an “unprecedented” level of demand. IG Index’s chief [...]
Regulator now costs £580m February 2, 2012 THE CITY regulator has demanded an extra £80m from the firms it supervises in order to cover a 16 per cent rise in costs in the run-up to its abolition. The Financial Services Authority, which admitted several failures in the period leading up to the financial crisis, said it would need £578.4m for 2012-13, up [...]
FSA is missing a trick on living wills February 2, 2012 ENTIRELY unsurprisingly, the FSA is increasing its budget, by a cool 16 per cent. One thing it should do with the money is to accelerate its plans for a new bankruptcy code for complex banks. This crucial reform – known as a special resolution scheme – would be based around living wills: a detailed guide [...]
Fed: cut harder but slower February 2, 2012 AMERICA’S public finances are “clearly unsustainble”, Ben Bernanke said yesterday – although the Federal Reserve chief advised the government against immediate strong cuts. Referring to the need for fiscal consolidation, Bernanke told the House budget committee that “even more aggressive strategies than have been pursued recently are warranted over the longer term”. Yet he warned [...]
Ban on bonuses looms at Fannie and Freddie February 2, 2012 US SENATORS have voted to block bonuses for directors at bailed-out mortgage financers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. America’s upper chamber moved to ban the payouts, worth nearly $13m, under a bill amendment put forward by Republican John McCain and Democrat John Rockefeller. The bill, approved by a huge majority of 96-3, also needs to [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 2, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES RISKY DEBT USE ON REPO MARKET HITS 2008 LEVELS The use of lower-rated debt in a key US funding market has returned to pre-crisis levels, fuelling fears that the so-called shadow banking system is becoming riskier. The repo market is an important part of the shadow banking sector, which consists of unregulated financial [...]
Global vision helps Foster to build profit February 2, 2012 THE DESIGN house run by Lord Foster has increased sales and profits for a year in which it completed a series of major projects in London, Spain and America. Foster + Partners, which is responsible for some of the best-known buildings in the City, took turnover up 18.8 per cent to £159.27m while operating profit [...]
