Law set to cut energy prices October 17, 2012 ENERGY companies will be forced by law to put their customers onto the cheapest possible tariff, David Cameron said yesterday. “We will be legislating so that energy companies have to give the lowest tariff to their customers,” he told parliament at Prime Minister’s Questions. The new rules will ensure consumers enjoy the cheapest possible gas and [...]
City Views | Is London’s labour market improving? October 17, 2012 SIMON WILLIAMS HYDROGEN GROUP I’ve seen a lot more activity in the City and with corporates. I mainly deal with M&A. It’s probably due to more confidence, and in my case with the corporates not wanting to be so reliant on banks. MARTIN SMITH SIX DEGREES I think it’s improving in London as we expand [...]
Progress for RBS as it drops state insurance cover October 17, 2012 STATE-BACKED bank RBS yesterday exited the scheme set up to insure its toxic assets at the height of the financial crisis, indicating the lender and regulators have confidence that it is moving back to health. The Asset Protection Scheme (APS) was established to backstop a £282bn portfolio of risky loans and investments, as part of [...]
Analyst Views | Is RBS right to leave the Government’s asset protection scheme? October 17, 2012 CORMAC LEECH LIBERUM CAPITAL This represents a positive catalyst given the implicit vote of confidence from the Financial Services Authority – it sends a very strong signal that the regulator is willing to give the all-clear to a move that increases the risk profile of the group. That is why shares went up, despite the [...]
Firms turning to bond market to raise money October 17, 2012 LARGE companies are turning to the bond market in growing numbers as more traditional sources of cash remain in the doldrums, research out today claims. In the first eight months of the year, non-financial firms raised $75bn (£48bn) in corporate bonds, compared to £35bn raised in syndicated loans, according to TheCityUK, an interest group for [...]
Volcker warns bank ringfence is too weak to improve market October 17, 2012 THE BANKING ringfence in the UK may fail as the investment and retail operations will still be too closely linked, former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker said yesterday, arguing a full separation of entities is more appropriate. “These things tend to be permeable over time. You want to separate operations decisively? Don’t put them in [...]
Direct Line sells extra shares October 17, 2012 Newly-floated Direct Line Group yesterday announced that 34.5 per cent of the company’s shares were sold in its initial public offering, after Goldman Sachs exercised an over-allotment option. This leaves RBS owning 65.3 per cent of the insurance group following the firm’s float on the London Stock Exchange. The bank’s remaining shares are expected to be [...]
Portugal’s short-term yields fall October 17, 2012 Portugal successfully shifted hundreds of millions of euros of short-term bonds at drastically lower yields yesterday, in its first debt auction since it returned to the bond market earlier this month. It sold €770m (£624.9m) worth of 12-month debt at yields averaging 2.1 per cent – well down on the 3.5 per cent it paid [...]
Eurozone construction improves October 17, 2012 Construction production in the Eurozone recovered slightly in August, according to data released by Eurostat yesterday, but output was still well down on 2011. Seasonally adjusted production in the construction industry rose 0.7 per cent between July and August, the data showed, but this left output some 5.5 per cent below the same month a [...]
Credit Agricole sells Greek unit Emporiki for €1 October 17, 2012 FRENCH bank Credit Agricole yesterday sold its Greek subsidiary to Alpha Bank for €1 (£0.81), taking a multi-billion euro loss on the entity as it at last managed to slash its exposure to the recession-struck economy. The bank is taking a €2bn writedown on the Emporiki unit, and has increased its recapitalisation of the subsidiary [...]
