RIM builds up warchest as losses slow September 27, 2012 BLACKBERRY maker Research in Motion yesterday reported a better than expected $235m (£144m) second quarter loss as it builds a cash war chest ahead of the make-or-break launch of its new operating system next year. The Canadian company, which said it had shipped 7.4m BlackBerrys over the quarter, improved on its net income loss of [...]
PPI fuels surge in complaints about banks September 27, 2012 BANKS defended their customer service reputation yesterday as figures showed that complaints have soared nearly two thirds in the last six months, fuelled by the payment protection insurance (PPI) scandal. The Financial Services Authority received a whopping 3.6m complaints in the first half of the year, as grievances lodged about PPI more than doubled to [...]
Lawyer says trader at UBS did not act alone September 27, 2012 THE lawyer for accused UBS rogue trader Kweku Adoboli said in court yesterday that Adoboli did not act alone but in close cooperation with fellow traders who later “stabbed him in the back”. Adoboli, 32, denies charges of fraud and false accounting that cost the Swiss bank $2.3bn. His lawyer, Charles Sherrard, told Southwark Crown [...]
French politicians stand up for defence giants’ mega-merger September 27, 2012 THREE cross-party members of the French Senate have vigorously defended the mega-merger between BAE and EADS, calling it the “best news the European defence industry has received for some time”. Writing in a French paper, Jean-Louis Carrère and Daniel Reiner of the dominant Parti Socialiste and Jacques Gautier of the UMP called the announcement of [...]
Goldman pays $14m SEC fine September 27, 2012 GOLDMAN Sachs agreed yesterday to pay more than $14m to settle federal and state charges after it violated “pay-to-play” rules, in a case involving campaign contributions to former Massachusetts governor candidate Timothy Cahill. In what the SEC described as its first “pay-to-play” case involving contributions other than cash, Goldman settled without admitting or denying the [...]
Revised output figures suggest UK recovery … September 27, 2012 THE SIZE of the second quarter drubbing to the UK economy was revised down again yesterday, as extra data showed that manufacturing, construction and production fell less than previously thought. GDP fell 0.4 per cent between the first and second quarters, the Office for National Statistics revealed, 0.1 percentage points down on the first revision, [...]
Just 250 homes sold through government’s NewBuy scheme September 27, 2012 JUST 250 houses have been sold through the government’s flagship scheme to help first-time buyers onto the property ladder, figures revealed yesterday. The NewBuy programme offers mortgage guarantees to purchasers of new-build homes, even if they can only raise a five per cent deposit. Then-housing minister Grant Shapps had said that 100,000 households will be [...]
Finance regulators tell banks to issue equity to up capital ratios September 27, 2012 BANKS need to raise capital externally if they are to hit regulatory targets and increase lending, rather than shrinking their balance sheets to hit incoming capital requirements, according to the Financial Policy Committee’s (FPC) minutes published yesterday. In the past the key Bank of England committee has told banks to retain earnings and cut pay [...]
Scottish Power owner in talks to sell stake in electricity grid September 27, 2012 SPANISH power firm Iberdrola is negotiating the sale of a minority stake in its UK electricity grid, valued at £4.5bn, as part of its strategy to cut debt. Infrastructure and sovereign funds are the main potential buyers of the grid, owned by Scottish Power, unnamed sources close to the talks said. The sale of up [...]
… but second-quarter current account hits worst ever deficit September 27, 2012 THE UK current account slumped to its biggest ever deficit in the second quarter, data from the Office for National Statistics revealed yesterday. Rocketing to £20.8bn, the deficit was not only the biggest recorded in money terms, but also, at 5.4 per cent of GDP, the biggest relative to the size of the economy – [...]
