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 [...]
ECB nominates Portuguese February 16, 2010 Eurozone finance ministers have nominated the governor of Portugal’s central bank, Vítor Constancio, to succeed Lucas Papademos as vice-president of the European Central Bank in May. The move could pave the way for Germany’s Axel Weber to become ECB president next year when Jean-Claude Trichet steps down.
US manufacturing strengthens February 16, 2010 US manufacturers reported stronger than expected growth in the past month, according to the New York Empire State Manufacturing Index. It jumped to 24.91 in February, from 15.92 in January. Property search website Trulia reported that 21 per cent of US homes currently on the market have experienced at least one price cut. This is [...]
German confidence slips February 16, 2010 Confidence among German investors slipped for the fifth month in a row in February amid dim prospects for the retail, consumer goods, steel and chemical sectors. The ZEW Institute’s closely watched confidence index showed yesterday that optimism about the next six months dropped to 45.1 points from 47.2 points in January. That is still well [...]
Astra buys up arthritis drug February 16, 2010 AstraZeneca and Rigel Pharmaceuticals have signed a deal to develop a product for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The London based pharmaceutical company will pay Rigel $100m (£63m) up front in a deal worth up to $1.245bn if the product is a success. Chemically known as fostamatinib disodium, the Rigel product failed in a mid-stage [...]
