Greece clinches vital debt deal March 8, 2012 THE VAST majority of private sector Greek bondholders agreed to take a massive writedown on their investments last night, opening the way for the second bailout to go ahead. Around 95 per cent of creditors said they will swap their holdings into a mixture of cash and long-term debt worth a fraction of the bonds’ face [...]
Aviva: we’ll be the last to quit UK March 8, 2012 AVIVA has pledged its future to London, with chief executive Andrew Moss telling City A.M. that his firm will not follow the Prudential and consider a move abroad: “We’re here to stay. Trust me, if Aviva were to redomicile then you’d been turning the lights out in the City – because everyone else would have left first.” Speaking [...]
Draghi: Worst may be over March 8, 2012 THE IMMEDIATE threat to the Eurozone has receded, European Central Bank (ECB) boss Mario Draghi said yesterday, but he warned that economic growth will be weaker than expected just a few months ago. At-risk governments like Italy and Spain have been helped by the “powerful impact” of the ECB pumping over €1 trillion (£838bn) into [...]
Greek deal won’t save the Eurozone March 8, 2012 IT was long a foregone conclusion that enough bondholders would sign up to the Greek plans. But it would be a terrible mistake to believe that as a result all of the Eurozone’s problems have gone away. They haven’t. Two issues have been kicked into the long grass; all the others remain. Greece will be [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 8, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES DEUTSCHE BANK TAPPED ECB FOR UP TO €10BN Deutsche Bank took as much as €10bn of European Central Bank emergency funding last week, despite deep reservations over the programme voiced by outgoing chief Josef Ackermann. Investors briefed by Deutsche Bank’s finance director and investor relations executives say the bank was persuaded by the [...]
Murdoch probe intensifies March 8, 2012 OFCOM has stepped up its probe into the propriety of James Murdoch’s position as BSkyB chairman by creating a dedicated team to monitor evidence emerging from police investigations, parliamentary committees and the Leveson inquiry. The question of whether James Murdoch and News Corp are “fit and proper” persons to own a broadcast licence was discussed [...]
BNP sells half its Klepierre stake March 8, 2012 BNP Paribas is set to pocket €1.5bn from the sale of more than half its stake in real-estate company Klepierre to Simon Property Group. SPG will become Klepierre’s biggest shareholder with a 28.7 per cent stake, leaving BNP – which is said to be considering exiting Klepierre completely – with a 22.2 per cent stake.
BMW announces record results March 8, 2012 BMW posted record sales as profits jumped 51 per cent to €4.9bn on 14 per cent increased group revenues of €68.8bn. The German car maker said it would raise its dividend more than 75 per cent to €2.30 after a year in which high demand from emerging markets drove up sales of luxury vehicles. BMW [...]
KPMG’s chair to be announced March 8, 2012 The audit and consulting group KPMG has told its employees that it intends to announce its next UK chair on Monday who will later this year succeed John Griffith-Jones. There is said to have been no clear leader in the race, which is down to the last three: Simon Collins, Alan Buckle and Oliver Tant.
Market rally spurs hedge fund bounce March 8, 2012 THE GLOBAL hedge fund industry has bounced back from the turmoil of 2011 to record its best start to a year since 2000. Equity hedge funds led the recovery in the $2 trillion industry, as stock markets rallied on hopes of stronger growth and an increased resolve to tackle the Eurozone debt crisis. The HFRI [...]
