King: we were right to hold rates June 15, 2011 THE Bank of England could have stopped inflation rising above target but chose to prioritise economic output by keeping rates at their historic low, governor Sir Mervyn King told the City last night. Raising interest rates “would have meant a weaker recovery, or even further falls in output, despite our having experienced the worst downturn [...]
Qatari conglomerate pulls IPO June 15, 2011 SPECIAL INVESTIGATION: CITY AT WAR QATARI conglomerate Aamal has pulled its plans to sell up to $600m (£371m) in shares on the London Stock Exchange. Management at the company, which owns a range of industrial businesses in the Middle East, will postpone the listing until autumn at the earliest following a meeting with advisers yesterday. [...]
Osborne: the Rock will be re-privatised June 15, 2011 Mansion House CHANCELLOR George Osborne last night announced that Northern Rock – the first casualty of the financial crisis – will be re-privatised. Treasury sources said they hoped the auction, which is expected to raise around £1bn for the exchequer, would be completed before the end of the year. The chancellor, who made the announcement in [...]
Chancellor right that banks must be allowed to fail June 15, 2011 IT is a shame that much of the City will be focused on the crisis in Greece and its repercussions on global markets this morning, for there were some surprisingly good ideas on banking regulation at Mansion House last night. There was a clear shift in attitude on display: the chancellor’s pronouncements were by far the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 15, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES CQS SHUTS FUND BUILT ON SUBPRIME TO NEWCOMERS CQS, the London-based credit hedge fund that is one of the biggest of its kind globally, is preparing to shut to new investors its asset-backed securities fund – known for its successful bets in the US subprime mortgage market. The move marks a further step [...]
King defends his new role as super-regulator June 15, 2011 MERVYN King last night defended the Bank of England’s new regulatory powers, arguing that the financial crisis demonstrated the limits of monetary policy in maintaining stability. “Before 2007, central banks successfully set short-term interest rates to combine steady growth of output with low and stable inflation,” King said, speaking at the Lord Mayor’s banquet at [...]
City cheers Hunt decision on Broadgate June 15, 2011 THE City of London’s top executive yesterday thanked City A.M. for its campaign to allow the redevelopment at Broadgate, after culture secretary Jeremy Hunt confirmed that he would not award the estate listed status. Stuart Fraser, chairman of policy at the City of London, said: “I would like to thank City A.M. for their support [...]
CITY VIEWS: ARE YOU GLAD BROADGATE HAS NOT BEEN LISTED? June 15, 2011 ANDY REASON | CITYNET “It’s different from most buildings in London, but it doesn’t have anything inside which has any particular use for people that work in the City.” PETER THORNHILL | STEVENI KESSLER “The building was a disaster, nothing of merit which warrants attention; they need modern architecture to be relevant and portray the [...]
Markets shun banks on fear of ringfence June 15, 2011 BRITAIN’S four biggest banks saw £3.5bn wiped off their value yesterday as investors fretted that chancellor George Osborne’s support for a ring-fence of their retail arms could push up costs and erode returns. Barclays and RBS were the biggest fallers, losing 2.7 per cent and 1.9 per cent respectively due to their reliance on their investment [...]
This policy wouldn’t have saved Northern Rock or Lehman Bros June 15, 2011 THE chancellor’s support for ringfencing the retail sections of banks from their investment arms might have made headlines – but it won’t solve any future banking crises. Ringfencing wouldn’t have prevented the financial crash, the resulting recession or the bailout of banks by the taxpayer. Northern Rock and Lehman Brothers were both relatively simple banks, [...]
