FSA is right to focus on bank liquidity October 5, 2009 FOR perhaps the first time this year, I agree (at least in the main) with a decision by the Financial Services Authority – and disagree with some of the criticisms leveled at it by opponents, reported on page 1. Before you ask, I haven’t suddenly joined the dark side – I have always thought that [...]
Boris backs City bankers October 5, 2009 LONDON Mayor Boris Johnson yesterday vowed to defend the banking community, which he said is viewed as a “leper colony” by the public, warning that the City’s role in bringing the UK economy back to health will prove critical. Johnson, speaking at the Conservative party conference in Manchester, said he knew how far he was [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 5, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMESUK COURT RELAXES CURB ON SAAD CASHA bitter legal dispute involving prominent Saudi Arabian businesses and families opened in the English courts yesterday, with Maan al Sanea failing to overturn a $9.2bn (£5.8bn) freezing order on his worldwide assets. The High Court eased the order to allow the billionaire $4m spending money a year [...]
Banks prepare for Latvia crisis October 5, 2009 Banks are preparing themselves for a full-blown economic and political collapse in Latvia, after reports leaked to a Swedish newspaper said that Sweden’s finance minister Anders Borg has secretly told banks that Latvia’s rescue talks were on the verge of breaking down.
Hedge funds forced to slash fees October 5, 2009 The hedge fund industry is experiencing another set back, with firms being forced to cuts their fees to lure investors back following a loss of faith in the industry, according Watson Wyatt. Some high profile closures have put the firms on the back foot in negotiations with demanding investors.
Trustees expect 26bn deficit October 5, 2009 Trustees believe that FTSE 100 companies should record an additional £26bn in pensions liabilities, according to research by Hewitt Associates. It said that most firms base their liabilities calculations on the assumption and that 60 year-old male will live until the age of 86, while trustees of the same firms estimate closer to 88.
Services set for recovery October 5, 2009 ADVANCED economies are firmly on track to register positive growth in the third quarter, a series of leading surveys revealed yesterday, supporting hopes that the revival in the global economy is now entrenched. The US services sector expanded for the first time in 13 months according to the non-manufacturing ISM figures for September, which rose [...]
Telenor makes peace with Alfa and plans $23bn merger October 5, 2009 NORWEGIAN Telenor and Russian Alfa Group have agreed to merge their Russian and Ukrainian holdings into a $23bn (£14.4bn) New-York listed telecoms firm, ending one of Russia’s longest corporate wars. Telenor’s stock surged 15 per cent on the news the row had ended. The dispute was seen as a major threat to foreign investment in [...]
BALLMER’S HI-TECH VISION October 5, 2009 MICROSOFT chief executive Steve Ballmer yesterday predicted the IT industry will play a key role in bringing the world out of the recession, creating 78,000 new jobs in the UK by 2013. Speaking at a lecture organised by employers’ organisation the CBI, Ballmer said: “These next few years are going to be the best yet.”
US Treasury misled public October 5, 2009 Senior US officials deliberately created the impression last year that banks receiving huge government cash infusions were healthier than was the case, Neil Barofsky, the inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Programme said yesterday. As a result, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke lost public credibility when the financial crisis [...]
