Eurozone government debt still growing despite lower deficits October 22, 2012 LEVELS of government debt across the Eurozone climbed to another record high last year, according to data published by Brussels’ statistics office yesterday. While the size of deficits shrank, most governments still continued to load billions onto their debt piles. Debt climbed to 87.3 per cent of GDP across the euro area, up from 85.4 per [...]
Monster shares hit by lawsuit October 22, 2012 ■ Monster Beverage shares fell 14 per cent yesterday after news that it is being sued by the family of a 14-year-old girl who died after drinking two cans of its Monster Energy drink. US-listed Monster said it does not believe its drinks are “in any way responsible” for the girl’s death last December.
Siemens turns away from solar October 22, 2012 ■ German engineering group Siemens is pulling the plug on its loss-making solar energy business and is already talking to potential buyers as it tries to close the profitability gap with its peers. Demand for solar power has been hurt by top consumer Europe cutting back subsidies for green energy and the Eurozone debt crisis [...]
Electrolux is dour about demand October 22, 2012 ■ Swedish home appliances maker Electrolux sees market demand staying weak in Europe and will push ahead with cost and production cuts in the region. The firm reported a six per cent rise in sales for the third quarter and operating profit rose by a third to SKr1.46bn (£138m), though in Europe sales slipped four [...]
Small lenders fear new rules only aid giants October 22, 2012 FINANCIAL regulators are failing to promote competition in the banking sector and perpetuating the “too big to fail” problem, a small bank claimed yesterday, by favouring big lenders under new capital requirements. Paul Lynam, chief executive of Secure Trust Bank, pointed to Sir John Vickers’ proposals allowing a large bank to risk-weight mortgages at five [...]
Liikanen rejects Volcker claims that ring fence will not work October 22, 2012 EU BANK regulator Erkki Liikanen yesterday defended his ring fencing plans against claims that such a structure is impractical, telling a committee of MPs and peers that the universal banking model has served Europe well in the past, when run in a prudent way. US regulator Paul Volcker last week told the Parliamentary Commission on [...]
Swedish bank sees strong UK loan growth October 22, 2012 THE UK arm of Swedish group Handelsbanken recorded a large jump in consumer and business lending in the year to the third quarter, according to its results published yesterday, as well as a rise in deposits. Personal lending hit £2.6bn in the three months to September, up 29 per cent on the year. And lending [...]
Latest round of money printing cut credit costs October 22, 2012 QUANTITATIVE easing (QE) boosted market confidence again in the third quarter, the Bank of England said in a report published yesterday. And the policy of printing money to buy government bonds is still having the desired effect of pushing down corporate borrowing costs, despite fears that QE is gradually becoming less effective over time. The [...]
Pension funds look at ranking fund managers on activism October 22, 2012 BRITAIN’S pension funds are weighing up plans to rank fund managers based on their efforts to improve performance at the companies they back, in the latest sign of institutional investors flexing their muscles. Umbrella body The National Association of Pension Funds is leading a campaign to develop a framework that would rate fund managers according [...]
SVG Capital to refocus on new investments October 22, 2012 SVG Capital, the listed private equity giant, yesterday said it has shrunk its exposure to Permira’s portfolio of companies as it set its sights on investing in less mature assets. The FTSE 250 firm said it will sell its stake in Permira’s pan-European buyout fund Permira III for £90.2m but will keep a 50 per [...]
