Toxic assets blow hole in SocGen profit February 16, 2012 FRENCH lender Société Générale surprised markets yesterday by reporting a sharp decline in revenues in the fourth quarter of last year, with losses from legacy assets and Greek debt write-downs coming on top of a slowdown for its investment bank. Overall, fourth quarter pre-tax profits for the group fell 60 per cent, with the investment [...]
Zurich gains despite disaster February 16, 2012 INSURER Zurich Financial took a $1bn hit on natural disasters last year but still plans to pay a bumper dividend after increasing profits by 10 per cent. Overall net income for 2011 amounted to $3.766bn, missing the $4.041bn expected by analysts, but the Swiss firm said it would pay a dividend of SFr17 per share [...]
US posts lowest jobless statistics for four years February 16, 2012 THE US posted strong unemployment figures, manufacturing output and housing data yesterday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 1.12 per cent on the back of the encouraging figures, as new jobless claimants fell to their lowest level since March 2008. The Labor Department figures registered a fall of 13,000 to 348,000 last week, well [...]
EU plan set to end final salary pensions and cost hundreds of billions of pounds February 16, 2012 THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION (EC) came under fire from British pension funds, employers and investors after it appeared to ignore concerns that proposed pension rules will cost hundreds of billions of pounds, force the closure of all final salary schemes and even bankrupt some businesses. It wants to impose rules on pension funds similar to the [...]
NYSE signals a new era with swoop for Fixnetix February 16, 2012 NYSE Euronext is attempting to bounce back from its failed merger with Deutsche Boerse by taking a 25 per cent stake in UK trading technology company Fixnetix. The index will pay £17.5m initially in a deal valuing Fixnetix at £100m. It has the option to buy the rest of the business by 2015. Stanley Young, [...]
AXA income up 50pc due to disposals February 16, 2012 AXA, Europe’s second-biggest insurer, yesterday announced that full-year 2011 net income rose by 49 per cent, mainly due to asset sales. Earnings rose to €4.32bn (£3.58bn) last year, assisted by €2.3bn of income from the sale of its stake in Chinese insurer Taikang Life and other disposals in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Total revenue [...]
NEW STRIKES BUT FEWER DELAYS ON UK TRAINS February 16, 2012 Despite an ongoing strike by station cleaners, Network Rail gave commuters a reason to be cheerful yesterday when it revealed record punctuality figures for some routes last month. Overall, 91.4 per cent of trains ran on time in January, Network Rail claimed, up from 90.3 per cent a year ago. Passengers on c2c routes such [...]
Markets trust Spain as debt costs stay low February 16, 2012 SPAIN’S promises of economic and budget reforms have dragged down the country’s borrowing costs from dangerous highs in late 2011 to much more manageable rates, with even Greece’s woes not taking bond yields back to unsustainable levels. French borrowing costs also fell, though weak car registration data provided a reminder that Europe’s economies remain in [...]
GOLD DEMAND AT 14-YEAR HIGH February 16, 2012 Central bank demand for gold hit its highest level since 1971 last year, and overall global demand stood at a 14-year high of 4,067.1 tonnes, the World Gold Council reported yesterday. The price swung between $1,920.30 and just above $1,300 per ounce, making the year one of the most volatile ever. Demand from China stood [...]
EU seeks shadow bank rules February 16, 2012 Financial operators on the fringes of the traditional bank system could be made to hold more capital, and mainstream banks forced to limit exposure to risk in the $60 trillion (£38.07 trillion) shadow banking sector, a draft EU paper showed. In the draft consultation document obtained by Reuters, the bloc’s executive European Commission said shadow [...]
