Novae set to make move for Omega May 31, 2011 INSURER Novae is putting together a bid for Omega Insurance Holdings today, having been in discussions about a deal with its weakened rival. City A.M. understands that Novae intends to formally announce its interest in buying Omega today, but will not indicate a potential purchase price. Omega has already announced that it has received bids [...]
Bank customer complaints up May 31, 2011 CUSTOMERS in the UK and Ireland are increasingly dissatisfied with their bank, new research shows. A survey of 2,500 current account holders by Accenture found 73 per cent were satisfied with their bank, compared to 84 per cent in 2007. Only 46 per cent planned to buy their next financial product from their bank, compared [...]
Lagarde eyes Brazil backing May 31, 2011 FRENCH finance minister Christine Lagarde pledged to push reforms to give Brazil and other emerging economies more influence at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as she kicked off a worldwide tour yesterday to win support for her candidacy to lead the global lender. The backing of Brazil could help ease discontent among developing countries over [...]
Green shoots for lending to small firms May 31, 2011 LENDING to small manufacturing businesses has picked up in the second quarter of the year, a leading industry body announced today. Just as many small companies reported a rise in the availability of loans over the past two months, as those that reported a fall. The result marked a strong upturn in credit supply to [...]
Bank of England inflation forecasts come under fire May 31, 2011 THE Bank of England will face intense criticism from a Westminster think tank today for its increasingly wayward inflation forecasts. The Bank predicted inflation of 1.9 per cent on average between August 2007 to May 2010, yet the out-turn was actually 3.2 per cent, the Centre for Policy Studies claims. “Considering that inflation was only [...]
Spanish inflation slowed in May May 31, 2011 Spanish inflation eased slightly in May, according to the harmonised European Union measure, released yesterday. Consumer price inflation (HICP) came in at 3.4 per cent, down from 3.5 per cent the previous month. Meanwhile, Belgian consumer price inflation held steady at 3.4 per cent. “Given further increases in food and core inflation, in combination with [...]
Eurozone retail sales take a dip May 31, 2011 Retail sales in the Eurozone fell for the first time in three months, according to a survey released yesterday. The retail purchasing managers’ index for the single currency area, compiled by Markit, slipped to 48.8 in May, from 52.2 in April. Figures below 50 signal a contraction in activity. Italian retail sales fell at sharpest [...]
Canada’s GDP growth at 3.9pc May 31, 2011 Canada’s economy grew at an annualised rate of 3.9 per cent, official data revealed yesterday. Growth in the final three months of last year was revised down to a year-on-year rate of 3.1 per cent, from 3.3 per cent. Meanwhile, current account deficit narrowed in the first quarter on strong exports of energy products to [...]
Moncler gets IPO go-ahead May 31, 2011 ITALIAN fashion brand Moncler yesterday got the green light from regulators to raise up to €500m (£433.8m) in an initial public offering. The Milan stock exchange gave clearance for a float of more than 50 per cent of Moncler’s capital, which the firm hopes to complete by the end of June, according to reports. Moncler [...]
Two exchanges ruled out of LCH. Clearnet tie-up talks May 31, 2011 CLEARING house LCH.Clearnet confirmed at the weekend it was in talks about a possible takeover or merger, as confusion reigned over the identity of the interested companies. The London Stock Exchange ruled itself out of the fight, after earlier reports named the bourse as a contender, while a person close to Deutsche Boerse told City [...]
