Biggest banks earmark £10bn to cover mis-selling claims November 1, 2012 THE BIGGEST banks have now set aside more than £10bn to cover PPI mis-selling compensation payouts, and analysts believe the total for the industry has smashed the £12bn mark. RBS today sets aside an additional £400m to cover the claims from aggrieved customers, taking its individual total to £1.725bn so far. And analysts believe HSBC [...]
LinkedIn profit double Wall St expectations November 1, 2012 PROFESSIONAL social network LinkedIn last night announced third quarter results that beat Wall Street profit and revenue targets, defying troubles that have afflicted internet rivals Facebook and Zynga. Profits at the jobs network hit $2.3m (£1.43m) in the third quarter, compared to a $1.6m loss in the same period last year. Excluding certain items, profit [...]
Credit Insurance Explained November 1, 2012 JULIE PALMER BEGBIES TRAYNOR The Christmas trading period is a “Russian Roulette” quarter for retailers, Julie Palmer, a partner at law firm Begbies Traynor explains. “The retailer has to decide to what level they are going to stock their stores, which places heavy demand on their cash flows to fully stock if the suppliers won’t [...]
OpCapita boss Jackson sees repeat of MFI November 1, 2012 HENRY Jackson, founder of OpCapita, is no stranger to the UK high street but his track record of turning companies around has been far from perfect. His company picked DIY chain MFI as its maiden takeover, snapping it up for £1 in 2006 and securing a £130m dowry before it collapsed into administration with huge [...]
Barclays vows to fight market fiddling charge November 1, 2012 BARCLAYS yesterday vowed to fight a US regulator’s claims that it rigged energy markets, arguing its staff’s actions had no impact on prices. The bank faces a $470m (£292m) fine from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which accuses traders of manipulating markets from 2006 to 2008. The four traders in question – Daniel Brin, [...]
Comet’s passing brings a brief celebration for rivals’ shares but the challenges they face haven’t gone away November 1, 2012 COMETS are said to burn across the sky on the death of a prince. The passing of this Comet was marked instead by the rise of its rivals’ share prices, with Dixons Retail Group doing especially well on the assumption that its chains will pick up business. But no one can pretend that kind of [...]
FERC: The US energy regulator issues its biggest ever fine November 1, 2012 The Federal Energy Regulation Commission (FERC) monitors the electricity, gas and oil markets in the US, with a particular focus on the wholesale side. That means it regulates sales, reviews merger and acquisition activity in the sector, and monitors market and trading activity – the final point covering the accusations levelled at Barclays. FERC was [...]
Nasdaq OMX in race to attract client support November 1, 2012 NASDAQ OMX is offering incentives to European trading firms in a bid to win support for its nascent futures exchange and ensure a strong start for a market aiming to boost competition in European futures trading. The New York-based exchange is talking with banks and other trading houses, encouraging them to use NLX, a London-based [...]
Invesco profit edges higher November 1, 2012 MONEY manager Invesco said yesterday its third-quarter profit rose two per cent as customers added almost $12bn to the firm’s funds. Net income attributable to common shareholders totaled $170.6m, or 38 cents per share, up from $166.9m, or 36 cents per share, in the same period a year ago, the Atlanta-based firm said in a [...]
AIG trumps forecasts but fears over its future growth weigh November 1, 2012 AMERICAN International Group (AIG) earned a larger-than-expected profit during the third quarter, due in part to big gains on its investment holdings. AIG reported an overall profit of $1.9bn, or $1.13 per share, for the period, compared with a loss of nearly $3, or $2.10 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Analysts had expected AIG [...]
