Plus grows its market share September 28, 2009 PLUS Markets Group yesterday said its first half losses more than doubled due to weak capital markets activity and litigation costs, despite growing its share of UK equity trading to over 10 per cent last month as it continued to win business from rivals. Plus, which last week concluded a £5m equity fundraising with Middle [...]
LABOUR CONFERENCE NEWS September 28, 2009 Prime Minister Gordon Brown promised new legislation to curb bankers’ bonuses was forthcoming. Chancellor Alistair Darling accused Tories of “playground politics” and said their policies would have turned a recession into a depression. Business secretary Lord Mandelson said Labour were “underdogs” but could win the general election. Just one in three Labour MPs believe they [...]
CITY VIEWS: IS THE GOVERNMENT’S RENEWED ASSAULT ON BONUSES JUSTIFIED? September 28, 2009 MARK HUNTER INVESTIT“The bonus culture is the thing that differentiates London as a financial centre. We do need checks in place but the City has been through the mill on that. There is an issue with the public and bonuses but it is perception rather than reality.”GORDON MILNE SAVILE GROUP“It is not justified and it [...]
Mandelson in rallying cry to Labour party September 28, 2009 LABOUR politicians are in the “fight of our lives”, business secretary Lord Mandelson said yesterday, but insisted that the general election was still “up for grabs”. In a speech designed to unify the party in readiness for a difficult election campaign, Mandelson admitted Labour were the “underdogs” but savaged the Tories over their approach to [...]
UBSboss wants to buy its way out of government bad bank deal September 28, 2009 UBS chief executive Oswald Grubel yesterday said that the bank is aiming to sever its ties with the Swiss government by buying its way out of a “bad bank deal”. UBS is currently paying expensive rates on the bad bank scheme for protection against big losses on its toxic assets. But its plans to ditch [...]
Banks to be asked for billions to shore up FDIC deposit fund September 28, 2009 US BANK regulator the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is today expected to pass a measure to ask banks to pay $36bn (£22.7bn) to shore up is dwindling deposit insurance fund. The FDIC board is set to meet today and will ask US banks to pay three years of regular contributions in advance to boost [...]
Class action lawsuit hits BoA bosses September 28, 2009 INVESTORS in a class-action lawsuit against Bank of America (BoA) over the Merrill Lynch takeover are trying to collect “billions of dollars” in damages, Ohio’s attorney general said yesterday. Attorney General Richard Cordray spoke after filing a 155-page complaint in Manhattan federal court that accuses BoA of fraudulently concealing Merrill’s soaring losses even as it [...]
UK firms set to rush LSE listings September 28, 2009 Smaller UK firms are from next week expected to bombard the London Stock Exchange to take advantage of an FSA rule change making them eligible for a less costly and rigorous “secondary listings” that will allow them to raise money quickly. But only firms with full compliance procedures will be included on FTSE indices.
King’s Swedish trip hurts pound September 28, 2009 The pound dropped further yesterday after it emerged that Mervyn King last week visited Sweden to hold talks with its central bank, known for its radical negative interest rates. News of the meeting reinforced concerns the Bank is planning to alter the rate it pays on commercial banks’ reserves.
Yen soars on intervention pledge September 28, 2009 The yen yesterday hit an eight-month high against the dollar after Japan’s finance minister appeared to tone down comments suggesting he would intervene to stem its recent rise. The currency reached 88.23 yen per dollar – the highest since January’s 13-year high of 87.10.
