Moynihan is committed to Merrill Lynch August 10, 2011 BANK of America chief executive Brian Moynihan yesterday vowed to keep its investment bank Merrill Lynch as he defended his performance and strategy to the bank’s biggest shareholder. Moynihan, who has come under fire for BofA Merrill Lynch’s recent share price falls, took the rare step of holding a conference call with Bruce Berkowitz of [...]
Murdoch vows to stay on as News Corp boss to clean up August 10, 2011 RUPERT Murdoch yesterday told investors he has no plans to step aside as boss of News Corp. During a bullish results call he said: “Let me be clear about this, I have run this company for over 50 years… The board and I believe I should continue in my role as chief executive… I am [...]
Fund manager puts his faith in US financials August 10, 2011 AS investors across the world took fright from financial stocks, Bruce Berkowitz took a large step in the other direction. His Fairholme Capital Management group recently placed a $5bn bet on the resurgence of Wall Street in a strategy that has seen him buy stakes in Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America. [...]
King hints at more easing still to come August 10, 2011 MORE quantitative easing could be in the pipeline for the UK, after Bank of England governor Mervyn King left the door open for the programme dubbed “QE2”. Following hot on the heels of the Federal Reserve’s notably dovish statement on Tuesday, the Bank yesterday painted a gloomy picture of growth prospects and hinted at even [...]
The Bank warns of slow growth on the horizon August 10, 2011 THE BANK of England downgraded the UK’s growth prospects yesterday, with governor Mervyn King warning that the economy is still in the midst of a crisis. GDP growth will come to around 1.5 per cent this year, the Bank estimates — down from the 1.8 per cent forecast in its last inflation report. In 2012 [...]
CITY VIEWS: ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT THE UK’S GROWTH? August 10, 2011 STEVE GODFREY | ADVANTAGE BUSINESS SYSTEMS “I’m a little concerned about the economy – we’re entering unknown times. I don’t think there’s much the banks or government can do about it; it’s a global event fuelled by global economies’ debt that’s just got out of proportion” MARTIN WALTER | BROADSWORD PRODUCTIONS “I’m more worried after [...]
IS STANDARD LIFE’S turnaround WORKING? August 10, 2011 ABID HUSSEIN | JEFFERIES The investment spend over the last 18 months is starting to deliver netflows ahead of expectations. Standard Life is also benefiting from a first-mover advantage in the pre-RDR market by increasing its market share in SIPPs. Our concern remains that spend will remain high beyond 2012 to defend its market share. [...]
Standard Life gets share boost after a surprise jump in Canadian earnings August 10, 2011 UK life insurer Standard Life enjoyed a share price rally yesterday as the market welcomed a surprise 44 per cent leap in its first-half operating profits. Standard Life delivered an exceptional change of fortunes in its Canadian business, where operating profit leapt 66 per cent to £103m as its management changed products and asset allocations. [...]
HSBC seals sale of card arm for £20bn August 10, 2011 HSBC clinched the sale of its US credit card business to lending and banking group Capital One for a better than expected $32.7bn (£20bn) yesterday. The deal hives off the capital-intensive credit card division of the bank and leaves HSBC with just its core private and premier banking businesses in the US, part of the [...]
Three US flotations pulled as volatile markets hit pricing August 10, 2011 THREE US companies became the latest to postpone their planned initial public offerings (IPOs) yesterday, as American floats struggle to get away in volatile markets. Employee benefits provider WageWorks has indefinitely delayed its $49m (£30.3m) float, while Loyalty Alliance Enterprise’s listing has also been sidelined. The marketing and data analytics company was slated to raise [...]
