British policymakers sending sterling lower September 15, 2009 IT WAS all go on the City’s currency trading floors yesterday morning. What sparked the furious trading was Bank of England governor Mervyn King hinting to the Parliamentary Treasury Select Committee that the Bank would implement a cut in the interest rate that banks receive on their deposits with the Bank of England. Immediately, the [...]
CARRY TRADE NOW FUNDED BY DOLLARS September 15, 2009 BORIS SCHLOSSBERGDIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT One of the more curious developments over the past month has been the appreciation of the Japanese yen along with high-beta risk currencies such as the euro, the pound and the Australian dollar. Since the start of this decade, the dynamic that dominated currency trading saw the yen decline [...]
Zloty is looking less dodgy as stimulus policy boosts Poland September 15, 2009 ON THE face of it, things are looking a bit dodgy for the Polish zloty at the moment. Last week, the currency sunk against the euro. The euro has strengthened against the currency, rising to 4.16 zloty today from 4.0864 on 7 September. On top of this, there was a failed government bond auction last [...]
City warns of flaws in living wills proposal September 15, 2009 THE CITY yesterday flagged up flaws in proposals that will force banks to write “living wills” to help regulators wind them up in the event that they collapse.Chancellor Alistair Darling said yesterday that the government was planning to introduce legislation in November which would require banks to make their corporate structures more simple and provide [...]
WOULD LIVING WILLS FOR BANKS BE A GOOD IDEA OR NOT? September 15, 2009 NIC CLARKE CHARLES STANLEYLiving wills would not be simple to draw up and might prove to be far more complicated for some banks to implement than others. But a safety valve needs to be imposed which would mean that no institution is ‘too big to fail’, as a bank could be wound up quickly, with [...]
German sentiment disappoints September 15, 2009 German market sentiment rose less than expected in September, dampening hopes that Europe’s biggest economy could be headed for a strong recovery. The ZEW economic think tank said that its expectations index for Germany rose to 57.7 from 56.1 in August, its highest point since April 2006, but still much less than analysts expected. The [...]
Depressed Brits turn to herbs September 15, 2009 UK vitamins & supplements company Neutrahealth yesterday said that sales of St John’s Wort – the herbal anti-depressant – has increased by 10 per cent as people struggle to come to terms with job losses or the inability to find new jobs. The group said revenue rose by 43 per cent in the six months [...]
Dunelm sales surge in downturn September 15, 2009 Homewares retailer Dunelm yesterday reported a surge in recent sales growth and said it planned to create up to 1,000 jobs this financial year, boosting its shares 16 per cent to a new high. Dunelm, which sells products like curtains, bedding, blinds, rugs and lighting, said sales at stores open at least a year jumped [...]
Slaughters and friends feel the heat September 15, 2009 CITY solicitors are hooked on league tables, and the latest one feeding their addiction is a new ranking that details which law firms are bagging FTSE 100 instructions. Movement at the top has got tongues wagging, as the historically dominant Slaughter and May has seen its position challenged for the first time in years, triggering [...]
HOW HURDLES CAN SAVE THE BONUS September 15, 2009 DAVID MARDLEHEAD OF EUROPEAN VENTURE CAPITAL, TAYLOR WESSING THE City’s “bonus culture” has come in for criticism since the onset of the credit crunch. Traditional models of share-based remuneration, while encouraging long-term growth, have lost much of their appeal in an era of shrinking corporate valuations. But skilled people still need to be paid well. [...]
