Federal Prosecutors sue BoA for $1bn in mortgage fraud lawsuit October 24, 2012 BANK of America defrauded the US government in a scheme called “the Hustle”, US federal prosecutors, which are seeking $1bn (£624m) in compensation, alleged yesterday. In the civil lawsuit Countrywide Financial, which Bank of America bought in 2008, is accused of selling thousands of toxic home loans to US government agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie [...]
Greenback eases after Federal Reserve sticks with stimulus October 24, 2012 THE DOLLAR drifted off a two-week peak against a basket of major currencies last night after the Federal Reserve stuck to its stimulus programme known as QE3. Following a two-day meeting, the Fed repeated its vow to maintain rates near zero until mid-2015 and to support growth even as some parts of the economy looked [...]
Zynga fights to keep hold of Facebook fans October 24, 2012 THE COMPANY behind Facebook games such as Farmville last night announced a share buyback plan and provided more details about an ambitious turnaround programme that may go some way towards placating furious investors. Zynga beat analysts’ low expectations to announce a small increase in revenue to $317m (£198m) for the third quarter, producing a net [...]
Investment bankers on TNK-BP deal to take home up to £30m October 24, 2012 INVESTMENT bankers working on the BP deal with Rosneft to take over TNK-BP will net between $30m and $50m (£19m and £31m) combined, according to figures from Freeman Consulting. This is less than expected for this kind of deal, Freeman noted, as the deal was a “mandatory” one – meaning BP was pressured to sell [...]
Eurozone debt piles grow to 90pc of output October 24, 2012 SOVEREIGN debts across Eurozone countries grew to nine tenths of the joint size of their economies, data revealed yesterday, just as other data suggested the Eurozone had slipped even deeper into recession. Euro area government debt hit €8.52 trillion (£5.32 trillion) – 90.0 per cent of the seventeen countries’ total GDP – in the second [...]
Greece finalises cuts and gets time on bailout October 24, 2012 GREECE has been granted its long-standing plea for additional time to push through austerity cuts that have been finalised after months of negotiations, the finance minister said yesterday. But Portugal’s government saw the next €1.5bn (£1.2bn) tranche of its bailout approved by the IMF, in stark contrast with the tortuous Greek negotiations. “Today, we obtained [...]
Draghi defends bond purchases to German MPs October 24, 2012 EUROPEAN Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi faced a two hour grilling from German politicians in the Bundestag yesterday, yet took the opportunity to defend the central bank’s debt-buying plans. Struggling Eurozone states will have their borrowing costs weighed down by the ECB snapping up their bonds, it announced last month, so long as they [...]
EU set for more downgrades as debt crisis shows no end October 24, 2012 THE EUROZONE debt crisis will continue to drag down economic growth next year, raising the chance of firms’ credit ratings being downgraded, according to a report out yesterday from ratings agency Standard and Poor’s. Corporate debt defaults increased in the year – in the 12 months to September, the junk bond default rate was 2.3 [...]
Barclays defends itself in key interest swap misselling suit October 24, 2012 BARCLAYS was yesterday gearing up to face down interest rate mis-selling claims, with the Guardian Care Homes (GCH) suit set to come before a judge on Monday. The pre-trial hearing will see GCH present its accusations at the Commercial Court, while Barclays will defend itself. The judge will then decide which, if any, of the claims [...]
Bank reforms slammed by Cruickshank October 24, 2012 NEW BANKING rules will fail to promote competition in the sector, City grandee and former banking reformer Sir Donald Cruickshank warned yesterday. The government has called for the expansion of so-called challenger banks to take market share off the bigger players and give consumers more choice. Increased competition “would oblige bankers to think about the [...]
