US banks in homes fire sale February 16, 2010 MAJOR US banks are preparing to clear their books of troubled mortgages through “short sales”, where homeowners settle debts by selling their properties for less than the mortgage value. Short sales at banks such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup are expected to rise this year as house prices continue to [...]
VT slams bid from Babcock February 16, 2010 ENGINEERING firm VT Group will begin urgent talks with its major shareholders today following a £1.1bn unsolicited approach from Babcock, the shipbuilder. Chief executive Paul Lester will warn investors such as Invesco Perpetual and Newton against the “derisory” offer, which was immediately dismissed by VT’s board. Lester will argue that a tie-up with Babcock would [...]
Affluent tax dodgers pay out £373m as HMRC tightens net February 16, 2010 HM REVENUE & Customs’ (HMRC) crackdown on wealthy tax evaders is gathering pace after investigators clawed back £373m last year, an increase of 21 per cent on 2008’s haul. Hedge fund managers and investment bankers were among those targeted by HMRC teams who examined the affairs of more than 50,000 people earning in excess of [...]
Barclays top dogs decline bonuses as they defend ability to reward key staff February 16, 2010 BARCLAYS’ two top executives yesterday moved to soothe populist anger over the City’s remuneration culture by agreeing to forego their 2009 bonuses while emphasising their “gratitude” for state action to prop up the banking system during the crisis. Chief executive John Varley and president Bob Diamond, head of the lucrative investment bank Barclays Capital, declined [...]
Varley rejects calls for a break-up of universal banks February 16, 2010 JOHN Varley, the chief executive of Barclays, yesterday reiterated his defiant stance against calls for a break-up of the group’s retail and investment banks, challenging them to “bring science to the table instead of emotion”. Varley, who has been a vocal opponent of US President Barack Obama’s proposals to split up major banks, said he [...]
Profits surge at Barclays February 16, 2010 BARCLAYS yesterday lit a firecracker under the UK banking sector as it posted a 92 per cent surge in full-year profits, thanks to a sterling performance in its investment banking division and a one-off windfall from the sale of its asset management arm last year. Pre-tax profit rose to £11.6bn, up from £6.1bn in 2008, [...]
Stellar growth should silence sceptics February 16, 2010 YESTERDAY’S full year results should silence the doubters once and for all. Little over a year after the bank was forced to write to shareholders insisting it was not seeking new capital, and would post better-than-expected profits for 2008, the bank has triumphed again. Group pre-tax profit for 2009 almost doubled to £11.6bn compared to [...]
UK inflation surges to 14-month high February 16, 2010 Bank of England governor Mervyn King was forced to write his sixth explanatory letter to the chancellor yesterday after inflation hit a 14-month high of 3.5 per cent in January. The surge in the annual inflation rate, from 2.9 per cent in December, was caused by last year’s emergency VAT cut being reversed and higher [...]
ECONOMIST VIEWS: WHERE DO YOU THINK INFLATION IS HEADING LATER THIS YEAR? February 16, 2010 PHILIP SHAW | INVESTEC We are not especially fazed by the jump in inflation this month. There are clearly special factors involved. It is important to note that wage growth is very restrained and various measures of inflation expectations remain well behaved. The likelihood is that the UK is undergoing a period of inflation volatility. [...]
House prices continue to rise February 16, 2010 Britain’s housing market continues its recovery, with prices across the UK rising by 2.9 per cent over last year. This compares with an annual rate of 0.5 per cent in November, which was the first positive figure since June 2008, figures from the Department of Communities and Local Government showed yesterday. Last year prices rose [...]
