Banks told to prepare for gloom March 10, 2010 UK banks have been ordered by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to prepare for a double dip recession, another crash in house prices and a sharp increase in unemployment. The 2010 stress test targets set by the regulator are even more stringent than last year and have been heavily criticised by institutions already short of [...]
EU to look at a swaps ban March 10, 2010 THE European Union has been asked by a group of Europe’s leading economies to look into banning speculative trading in credit default swaps (CDS). France and Germany are leading the attack and want more control in tackling extreme speculation and to police the deficit spending of other member states. The move by Europe’s two leading [...]
The City is not in love with Osborne March 10, 2010 SOMETHING has gone badly wrong for the Tories. Not only is their lead in the national opinion polls looking too low to prevent a hung parliament – they are on just 37 per cent, against 32 per cent for Labour, according to YouGov’s latest poll – it is now clear that they have failed to [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 10, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES SHINSEI IN CAPITAL DRIVE AS MERGER FALTERS Shinsei, the Japanese bank, is preparing to raise about Y75bn ($830m) in fresh capital as a merger with a rival domestic lender once seen as a lifeline is in danger of collapse. Shinsei has concluded that a merger with Aozora, the Japanese bank part-owned by Cerberus [...]
MEPs want a Tobin tax March 10, 2010 MEMBERS of the European Parliament have taken the extraordinary step of voting in favour of a Tobin tax on financial transactions. The resolution was passed by 536 to 80 votes yesterday and the European Commission will now investigate a levy. A financial transaction tax at the European level is still a long way down the [...]
Tory lead increases by a point March 10, 2010 The Conservatives saw their lead return to 5 points yesterday, according to a daily YouGov poll. Labour support stayed the same on the day the chancellor confirmed the budget date for 24 March. The Lib Dems lead fell three per cent. The Tories are now on 37 per cent, Labour on 32 per cent and [...]
Dubai creditors get repayment March 10, 2010 Lenders to Dubai World will get a range of options including full repayment once Abu Dhabi decides how much additional support it will give its debt-laden neighbour, sources close to the discussions said yesterday. Bankers in London and the Gulf are divided over how Dubai should restructure the $26bn debt pile dogging its flagship holding [...]
Rules on pay disclosure to be tightened March 10, 2010 TENS of thousands of investment bankers could be forced to disclose the size of their pay packet, in a government move that will send shock waves through the City. City minister Lord Myners yesterday revealed government plans to further tighten policy proposals first put forward by Sir David Walker in a corporate governance report last [...]
Cazenove’s Calvert found guilty of insider trading March 10, 2010 MALCOLM Calvert, a former partner at Cazenove, has been found guilty of five counts of insider trading and faces up to seven years behind bars. The verdict was reached at Southwark Crown Court yesterday and he will be sentenced at 2pm today. Calvert, from the stockbroker belt village of Cobham in Surrey, is the fifth [...]
Vikram Pandit plans Citigroup return to profit March 10, 2010 THE battered US banking giant, Citigroup, will look to earn as much as $20bn (£13bn) by the end of 2012 as the company looks to get back on its feet. Vikram Pandit, Citigroup’s chief executive, believes the bank can turnaround its fortunes by focusing on its core businesses. He claims Citicorp, which makes up the [...]
