Greek bailout wishlist sets up showdown with Europe leaders June 21, 2012 GREECE’S new government promised yesterday to renegotiate the terms of the country’s bailout without endangering its future in the euro, responding to intense pressure to ease mounting social tensions but also risking a showdown with European powers. The three-party coalition called for changes to the deal that is helping Greece avoid bankruptcy after the announcement [...]
IMF urges bond buys and direct banking support June 21, 2012 THE International Monetary Fund urged the Eurozone yesterday to channel aid directly to struggling banks rather than via governments and called for the European Central Bank to cut interest rates, saying the future of the euro was at stake. The stark message from IMF managing director Christine Lagarde, delivered to Eurozone finance ministers who met [...]
Investors flee Spanish bonds June 21, 2012 THE SPANISH government saw borrowing costs jump sharply in a €2.2bn (£1.8bn) bond auction yesterday, as investors fled the risky assets. Yields on five-year debt hit a euro-era high of 6.072 per cent, up from 4.96 per cent a month ago. Meanwhile French government borrowing costs dropped as investors favoured the safer nation.
Eurozone sees surplus drop June 21, 2012 THE EUROZONE current account surplus narrowed in April 2012, according to data from the European Central Bank published yesterday. Shrinking from €10.3bn to €4.6bn it was still the second highest level of the last year, as part of a cumulative €18.8bn surplus since April 2011. Surpluses in goods and services were partially offset by a [...]
MERKEL GETS AGREEMENT ON FISCAL PACT June 21, 2012 ANGELA Merkel’s government and the opposition reached an agreement yesterday on economic growth measures for Europe that will allow Germany’s parliament to approve the permanent bailout scheme for the Eurozone and the fiscal pact next week. Merkel needs opposition support to get a two-thirds majority in parliament on 29 June to ratify the plans.
Severn Trent to target bonds at retail investors June 21, 2012 INDIVIDUAL investors will have the chance to buy bonds from FTSE 100 utilities firm Severn Trent, the company announced yesterday. The company hopes to raise up to £100m from the scheme, which will offer individuals a return of 1.9 per cent above retail price inflation (RPI) over the next 10 years. “There’s a lot of [...]
ADVISERS June 21, 2012 BARCLAYS TOBY CROASDELL CHARLOTTE WEIR Severn Trent’s inflation-linked bond issue is the first move by a water company into the fast-growing market for RPI-linked bonds. The deal was jointly arranged by Investec and a Barclays team that included directors Toby Croasdell of the fixed income syndicate and Charlotte Weir of corporate debt capital markets. This [...]
ICAP finalises purchase of Plus Markets June 21, 2012 TROUBLED exchange operator Plus Markets appears to have entered its final weeks after finalising the sale of its stock exchange unit to ICAP yesterday. Completion of the controversial deal to sell Plus-SX – which will leave shareholders with around £640,000 – means that the group will press ahead with plans to wind-up the rest of the [...]
Worldwide M&A volume drops a quarter in 2012 June 21, 2012 GLOBAL M&A volume has fallen by a quarter so far this year compared to the same period in 2011, according to research unveiled yesterday. Data from Thomson Reuters shows that worldwide M&A volumes have hit just $1,002bn (£640bn) so far in 2012, a decline of 25 per cent, as the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the Eurozone [...]
Addleshaws to cut staff as fee income rises June 21, 2012 LAW firm Addleshaw Goddard said yesterday it had begun a restructuring process that could see it lose up to 24 of its fee earners, as it reported a 37 per cent rise in profits per partner (PEP). Overall profits at the firm rose by 30 per cent, from £34.4m to £44.9m, while PEP – a [...]
