Alex Salmond backed RBS’s ABN disaster January 11, 2012 SCOTLAND’S first minister Alex Salmond’s enthusiastic backing of Royal Bank of Scotland’s disastrous takeover of ABN Amro returned to haunt him yesterday. A letter, released yesterday, shows that Salmond wrote to RBS boss Sir Fred Goodwin (pictured) in May 2007 to throw his weight behind the bank’s disastrous purchase. Signing the note, “Yours for Scotland”, Salmond [...]
Small win, but no safeguards, in euro treaty January 11, 2012 A NEW draft of the Eurozone’s “fiscal compact” emerged yesterday that appeared to show some movement towards the UK’s negotiating position. The draft, published by the think-tank Open Europe, takes out all reference to the single market – the whole EU – in favour of applying new fiscal rules only to Eurozone members. But it [...]
UK ready to cough up for IMF billions January 11, 2012 BRITAIN will contribute billions to boost the firepower of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) alongside other shareholders, chancellor George Osborne told MPs yesterday. Significantly, he refused to rule out the idea that the UK could cough up more in proportion to its 4.5 per cent shareholding of the fund than other countries. In fact, with [...]
Barnier: EU to create rival Vickers ring-fence regime January 11, 2012 EUROPE will propose its own regulations for structural reform of the banking sector within months, EU commissioner Michel Barnier declared yesterday, throwing open the possibility of a rival proposal to the Vickers Commission being imposed by Brussels. Barnier told reporters yesterday: “Before the end of January, I will put in place, in agreement with [European Commission] [...]
Fitch: ECB could pay up to save euro January 11, 2012 A “CATACLYSMIC” collapse of the euro could take place if the European Central Bank (ECB) does not step up bond buying to save Italy from its enormous debts, credit ratings agency Fitch warned yesterday. David Riley, head of sovereign ratings at Fitch, had already warned that Italy could face a downgrade later this month. The [...]
Merkel and Monti try to inspire hope January 11, 2012 SPENDING cuts and economic reforms are making Italy stronger and provide a vital contribution to the stability of the euro, Angela Merkel announced yesterday as she and Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti (both pictured below) tried to persuade investors that Italy was no longer a risky place to put cash. “High interest rates could have [...]
Bond deal close in Greece but deficit target missed January 11, 2012 GREECE is in the “final stage” of negotiations with private bond-holders on the debt swap which should pave the way for a second bailout, according to European Commissioner Olli Rehn. An agreement will be reached “in the coming weeks,” with the vital cash coming shortly after. Despite lying about its finances to join the single [...]
Spain fears looming recession January 11, 2012 Spain is close to recession, budget minister Cristobal Montoro warned on news that Spanish industrial production fell seven per cent in November from the previous year – the most in over two years. The decline had been forecast at just over the five per cent mark after a fall of 4.2 per cent in October. [...]
BlackRock UniCredit stake in focus January 11, 2012 Italian market watchdog Consob is looking into two contradictory statements made by BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, over its stake in UniCredit, a source close to Consob said yesterday. BlackRock said yesterday its holding in the Italian bank stood at 3.09 per cent, retracting an earlier statement which said it had cut its stake [...]
German debt auction success January 11, 2012 Investors seeking a safe haven in which to save their cash enthusiastically purchased new German bonds yesterday. A €4bn (£2.6bn) auction of five-year debt saw twice as much demand as bills on offer. The average yield came in at 0.9 per cent – the lowest since the euro was launched. Germany sold short-term debt at [...]
