London property boosts UK’s April sales increase April 25, 2010 HOUSE prices in England and Wales rose by an annual 1.8 per cent in April, their fastest pace of increase since January 2008, property data company Hometrack reports today. But monthly house price growth slowed to 0.2 per cent in April from 0.3 per cent in March on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, according to Hometrack’s [...]
Euro states to take tougher line on Greece April 25, 2010 GERMANY and France yesterday vowed to take a hard line with Greece in exchange for financial support as doubts emerged over whether a €45bn (£39.2bn) aid package was sufficient to prevent a default. Greece bowed to intense pressure from financial markets on Friday, requesting funds from the European Union and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in [...]
IMF warns it is shortsighted to oppose a global bank levy April 25, 2010 COUNTRIES that weathered the global economic crisis with their financial systems relatively unscathed are being shortsighted by opposing a global bank levy, the IMF’s chief said this weekend. International Monetary Fund managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn suggested a bank tax would be helpful in preparing for crises that could strike anywhere and indirectly criticised countries that [...]
Geithner: Pact agreed on raising fresh capital for the World Bank April 25, 2010 WORLD Bank members have agreed to pour more capital into the lender and give developing countries a greater voice in running the bank, US Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner said yesterday. “We can feel proud that we have concluded agreements on a transformative financial and governance reform agenda, along with new capital for the World Bank [...]
Gloves off as Goldman ups SEC defence April 25, 2010 GOLDMAN Sachs at the weekend distanced itself even further from the man at the centre of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s fraud case, publishing a raft of damaging personal emails to demonstrate differences of opinion within the bank. Goldman’s retaliatory move came just hours after a Senate subcommittee released a number of potentially explosive email [...]
Barclays in line for strong profit haul April 25, 2010 BARCLAYS will this week continue the bumper first quarter earnings trend set by the major US banks, with profits set to be buoyed by declining impairment charges and a strong start to the year in investment banking. Barclays is expected to post first-quarter pre-tax profits of between £1.8bn and £2bn when it unveils numbers on [...]
ITV could make a surprise bid for its rival channel Five April 25, 2010 ADAM CROZIER may kick off his reign at ITV with a bid for rival broadcaster Five. It is thought ITV, the UK’s largest commercial station, is considering an acquisition of the loss-making channel to bolster its commercial audience share. Despite attracting eight per cent of this audience, Five has struggled to convert it into revenue. [...]
Barclays April 25, 2010 AS oxymorons go, “good credit crisis” is right up there with “classy strip club” and “luxury studio flat”. But compared to rivals, Barclays has emerged from the near meltdown of the financial sector in fine fettle. Over the last seven years, top line income has grown by a compound annual growth rate of 18 per [...]
Ireland to buy 35pc of BoI April 25, 2010 The Irish government is on the brink of buying up a 35 per cent stake in the troubled Bank of Ireland as part of a €3.4bn (£2.96bn) emergency fundraising. Ireland’s biggest bank by market value needs to raise the capital to satisfy new regulatory requirements and compensate for writedowns on discounted loan transfers to the [...]
Dubai forced to invest in UK firms April 25, 2010 The Dubai sovereign wealth fund controlled by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al-Maktoum has been forced to pump millions into troubled UK ventures. Dubai International Capital (DIC) invested heavily in UK private equity but has been stung after banks requested cash injections for firms including Travelodge and Alliance Medical, which are struggling under the weight of [...]
