Miners and Vodafone drag but banks offer some cheer November 10, 2009 BRITAIN’S leading share index ticked down 0.1 per cent yesterday, ending a four-day winning run, as weakness in miners and Vodafone offset strength in banks, underpinned by a strong update from HSBC. The FTSE 100 closed 4.63 points lower at 5,230.55, after hitting a two-week high earlier in the session. “After last week’s slew of [...]
Conflicting signals halt winning streak November 10, 2009 US stocks closed mostly lower yesterday as differing views on whether the market can build on recent gains stalled the S&P 500’s six-day winning streak. The Dow industrials eked out a small gain to set a fresh 13-month high as cautious statements on the economic outlook from several Fed officials underscored the belief that easy [...]
BUSINESS LUMINARIES TOAST THEIR SUCCESS November 10, 2009 IT’S one thing to see the chancellor of the exchequer give up an entire evening to sit through a business awards ceremony, but quite another when he manages to have the audience in stitches during his speech as well. That’s right, folks: it seems that 18 months of surviving on a few hours sleep a [...]
GOLDMAN: OUR STAFF DESERVE EVERY PENNY November 10, 2009 THE boss of Goldman Sachs yesterday defended the bank’s pay policies, insisting his staff were paid more because they were “among the most productive in the world”. Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman’s chair and chief executive, also rejected calls to break up the bank and said the firm was easier to manage than its larger rivals. “I [...]
BRIGHT SPARK November 10, 2009 IMPERIAL Tobacco yesterday named Alison Cooper as its next chief executive, making her the youngest woman to run a FTSE 100 company. She will take over from current chief executive Gareth Davies, who is retiring after 37 years at the firm. The promotion for Cooper, 43, means that there are now five female chief executives [...]
Senator: Fed should not oversee banks November 10, 2009 THE US Senate’s top banking legislator has proposed plans to prevent a repeat of the credit crisis by creating a single US bank regulator and stripping powers from the Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd called for the creation of three new government agencies, regulating over-the-counter derivatives, and [...]
Good banks leave their weak rivals behind November 10, 2009 THERE are three main messages from Barclays’ and HSBC’s results yesterday. British banks are divided into two groups: strong, private firms that have continued to generate profits during the crisis; and weak players that had to be bailed out. It is simply wrong to claim that all banks are the same. It is also clear [...]
Bear managers acquitted November 10, 2009 TWO former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers were acquitted of fraud charges yesterday. In the first case against players in the US subprime mortgage meltdown that contributed to the financial crisis, a jury in a US District Court in New York found hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi, 53, and Matthew Tannin, 48, not guilty after [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 10, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES GM CHIEF PROMISES CASH FOR NEW-LOOK OPELGeneral Motors yesterday promised a more independent Opel and vowed to support its European unit with fresh money as the US carmaker tried to calm the fury sparked by last week’s decision to keep the unit. Fritz Henderson, head of GM, spoke after a series of meetings [...]
Oracle’s Sun takeover hits skids November 10, 2009 Oracle’s proposed £4.4bn takeover of Sun Microsystems was left in doubt yesterday after the European Commission raised objections to the deal. The commission has raised concerns that the takeover could hurt competition in the computer database market. Oracle said it would “vigorously oppose” the EC objections. The EC’s move is in contrast to the US [...]
