Did the UK’s double-dip happen? February 27, 2013 Sky's Ed Conway has looked more closely at the ONS' re-estimate of GDP for the first quarter of 2012. The present estimate shows a contraction of only -0.083 per cent. Ed notes that re-estimates are common practice: The ONS continuously updates its estimates of economic growth in previous years as new, more comprehensive data flows in. [...]
FTSE up on Fed boost February 27, 2013 THE blue chip index rallied this morning, gaining around 0.3 per cent in early deals, as strong sentiment from the US Fed boosted trading. Last night US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke leapt to the defence of its unprecedented QE programme. A slew of positive earnings updates from large-cap companies also lifted investor sentiment. In [...]
Slaughter and May to advise Esure IPO February 27, 2013 Slaughter and May is advising esure Group plc ('esure') on its intention to proceed with an initial public offering of its ordinary shares, as announced on 27 February 2013. The law firm is based in London and is a member of the 'Magic Circle' of leading law firms. Our reporter Cathy Adams: Insurer Esure [...]
Big banks could be forced to hold more capital February 27, 2013 The Financial Services Authority chairman, Lord Adair Turner, is currently before the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards. Our banking reporter Tim Wallace is following proceedings: Turner: Big banks could be forced to hold extra capital against mortgage lending because their internal models give them too easy a ride — Tim Wallace (@Tim_Wallace) February 27, 2013 [...]
Arresting development over insider dealing February 27, 2013 The Financial Services Authority has reported that three men, 33, 37 and 39, are in custody awaiting questioning. The men have been arrested on suspicion of insider dealing and market abuse following dawn raids on their homes and offices in London this morning. (Release). Reuters reports that the FSA is currently prosecuting six others for insider dealing. It [...]
Baby on Board? February 27, 2013 Frustrated by the lack of power that the boards of Russian state-owned companies have, banking and media mogul Alexander Lebedev has recommended his own son for the board of Aeroflot. The news was released by the airline's press team. His son is 15-months old. Lebedev Tweeted: Мораль сей шутки такова:в советах госкомпании практически нет реальных полномочий-зачем [...]
UK economy contracted by 0.3 per cent at end of 2012 February 27, 2013 The UK economy contracted by 0.3 per cent in the final quarter of 2012 as originally estimated, according to the Office for National Statistics official estimate out today. Annual growth for 2012 was revised up to 0.3 per cent, up from the original flat estimate, the ONS said. The Office for Budget Responsibility initially forecast [...]
Italy auction strong despite electoral woes February 27, 2013 A good auction saw all €6.5bn of bonds sell. The costs of Italian political uncertainty have been translated into higher borrowing costs, as the 10-yr 4.5 per cent bond sells at 4.83 per cent, when the same bond sold for 4.17% on Jan 30. Given the circumstances, a good auction and it looks like Italian risk is [...]
Vodafone takeover of Kabel Deutschland off February 27, 2013 Bloomberg is reporting that Vodafone's planned takeover of Kabel Deutschland Holding AG has been suspended. This has not yet been confirmed. Kabel Deutschland shares were indicated 6 percent lower in premarket trades, according to data from brokerage Lang & Schwarz. A source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters last week that Vodafone hired Goldman [...]
Bleak end to 2012 for the UK February 27, 2013 While many focus on that slight upwards revision to UK GDP for last year as a whole, the components of the last quarter GDP slump by 0.3 per cent are troubling. Government spending is up 0.6 per cent, while the coalition tells us that they are committed to austerity. As a smaller rise of 0.1 [...]
