Surprise drop in US industry February 16, 2011 US industrial output unexpectedly fell in January as a return to normal winter temperatures caused a sharp fall in utility output, while production from mines also fell, a Federal Reserve report showed yesterday. Industrial production fell 0.1 per cent after an upwardly revised 1.2 per cent jump in December, which had been driven by unseasonably [...]
SocGen profit up as capital growth stalls February 16, 2011 SOCIETE Generale (SocGen) moved back into profit last year, bringing its returns on equity up to 9.8 per cent after they ended 2009 in barely positive territory at 0.9 per cent. Group pre-tax profit rose more than sevenfold, from €800m (£674.5m) to €5.8bn in 2010, with every business line in the bank improving its performance except [...]
ING preparing insurance sale February 16, 2011 ING is ready to embark on two initial public offerings (IPO) of its insurance business, it announced at its full-year results yesterday. The sale, mandated by the Dutch government after a €10bn (£8.4bn) bailout during the crisis, will take place in 2012, the bank said. The sell-off of its insurance arm will cut ING’s size [...]
StanChart decides to shut Asian loans trading unit February 16, 2011 EMERGING markets-focused lender, Standard Chartered has shut its global loans trading unit, ending a unique experiment in Asia. The roughly 10-person trading team with desks in New York, London and Singapore, was established in 2002 and led by global head of secondary trading Rafael Valbuena. “We are rationalising the secondary loan trading business,” said a [...]
Moody’s cuts ratings on Danish banks February 16, 2011 MOODY’S cut the long-term ratings of five Danish banks, saying yesterday that the government had become less willing to bail out depositors and creditors in the event of a bankruptcy. The move came after small bank Amagerbanken earlier this month became the tenth lender to fall into state hands in the wake of the global [...]
3i acquires Japanese lender Mizuho’s debt management business for £18.3m February 16, 2011 PRIVATE equity group 3i has bought the debt management unit of Japanese lender Mizuho Corporate Bank for £18.3m. Mizuho Investment Management (MIM) is one of Europe’s biggest debt managers with assets under management (AUM) of £3.7bn. 3i’s existing debt management activities will be merged with MIM to create a new specialist division handling £4bn of [...]
The fat lady hasn’t sung February 16, 2011 THE across-the-board improvement in SocGen’s results will give some relief to chief executive Frédéric Oudéa after a ropey 2009. Analysts remain tepid on the stock but investors reacted positively yesterday with the share price gaining a solid 4.9 per cent by the end of the day. The bank still has to show that it can [...]
BHP buyback fails to cheer shareholders February 16, 2011 BHP BILLITON’S shares fell yesterday following its half-year results, as some investors called into question the mining giant’s strategy of a share buyback rather than the pursuit of acquisitions. As analysts pored over BHP’s results statement yesterday, which included a record $10.7bn (£6.7bn) attributable profit and a below-forecast 46 cents dividend payment, its London-listed shares fell [...]
Shell’s $12bn biofuel firm goes ahead February 16, 2011 SHELL’S ethanol joint venture with Brazilian oil firm Cosan will have a market value of $12bn (£7.5bn), the firms confirmed yesterday. The firms said in a statement that a new entity called Raizen, which is due to launch in the first half of this year, will produce 580m gallons of ethanol per year for the [...]
Tullow falls on Mauritanian oil disappointment February 16, 2011 TULLOW OIL was one of the biggest fallers in the FTSE 100 yesterday after it abandoned a well in Mauritania and French oil firm Total and said it was renegotiating its deal to buy a stake in Tullow’s oil fields in Uganda. The offshore well was plugged after hitting poor quality oil reservoirs. Tullow is [...]
