RBS to repay £163bn of loans to government May 3, 2012 ROYAL Bank of Scotland (RBS) is set to announce today that it will finish repaying £163bn in emergency loans it owes to the UK and US governments. RBS, which is 82 per cent owned by the British government, will unveil the plan when it publishes its first quarter results today – which are expected to show a slight [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 3, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Banks look to farm out SME lending Several large European banks are weighing the idea of outsourcing a portion of their core small business lending to a new crop of loan funds, in a further sign of the growth of the “shadow banking” industry in Europe. A number of banks including UBS and [...]
US jobless numbers fall sharply May 3, 2012 The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless aid dropped by the most in a year last week, easing fears the labour market recovery was stalling, official data showed yesterday. But separate figures on the vast US services sector was less upbeat, with the rate of growth slowing more than expected and a gauge [...]
Spain’s borrowing costs up again May 3, 2012 Spain saw yields jump at a bond auction yesterday, the first after its recent downgrade to triple-B by credit ratings agency Standard and Poor’s. However, demand remained solid, largely from domestic banks. The government raised €2.5bn (£2.03bn) as planned, paying 4.96 per cent on five-year debt, compared with 3.696 per cent at the last similar [...]
Facebook IPO pricing values firm at $96bn May 3, 2012 FACEBOOK last night valued itself at up to $96bn as it set out the pricing range for its hotly anticipated IPO. In a new regulatory filing, the social network said it would seek to sell 337.4m shares at between $28 and $35 a share, raising up to $13.6bn in total, and netting founder Mark Zuckerberg, [...]
Polls predict close finish in mayoral race May 3, 2012 LONDONERS yesterday went to the polls and selected their mayor for the next four years – but the result will not be known until late this evening. A final YouGov poll issued yesterday morning suggested that Boris Johnson was on track for a 53-47 victory over Ken Livingstone once second preference votes are taken into account. [...]
China chews up Weetabix in £1.2bn buyout May 3, 2012 A CONTROLLING stake in historic breakfast cereal firm Weetabix has been sold to China in a £1.2bn deal in the latest swoop for British assets. State-owned Bright Foods, based in Shanghai, has taken a 60 per cent stake in the Weetabix Food Company in the largest foreign acquisition by a Chinese food group. Weetabix, which [...]
New figures reveal full extent of Heathrow passport control chaos May 3, 2012 THE FULL extent of the border crisis at Heathrow was laid bare yesterday in new figures that showed passengers wait up to three hours to clear immigration. Airport owner BAA showed that the UK Border Force failed to hit time targets at Heathrow on most days in April – and one in four passengers from [...]
RSA moves away from motoring with growth in newer markets May 3, 2012 INSURANCE group RSA said it was off to a good start to the year as newer markets offset a slump at its car insurance business, More Than. Net written premiums rose five per cent to £2.2bn in the first quarter of the year, thanks to a rate hike coupled with a one per cent uptick [...]
Legal & General sales flat as nervous Brits save less cash May 3, 2012 LIFE insurance group Legal & General posted flat overall sales yesterday, as customers bought more general insurance coverage but shied away from saving or investing their cash. The 176-year old insurer wrote £434m of new business in the first three months of the year, compared to £433m a year ago. Gross premiums for general insurance [...]
