London is suffering as Olympic boost outweighed by losses July 31, 2012 SOMETIMES, we don’t need statistics to tell us what is happening to the economy. London during the past few days has been a case in point: the Olympics are a great success, of course, and those retailers and companies positioned to cash in (such as the Westfield Stratford shopping centre) are doing a roaring trade. [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 31, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Insurers warn on too big to fail plans Regulators’ plans to designate big global insurers as too big to fail could have unintended consequences that risk “destabilising the financial system”, an industry body has claimed. The Geneva Association said they might prompt insurers to cut holdings of government bonds as well as bank [...]
Positive US data gives Fed more food for thought July 31, 2012 SEVERAL positive reports on the health of the US economy provided a rosy backdrop to the start of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting yesterday. The Fed will announce tonight whether its Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is to deliver even greater stimulus measures to try to kick start the US recovery. Worrying economic data [...]
Moody’s cuts UK growth forecast July 31, 2012 Ratings agency Moody’s has trimmed its growth forecasts for the UK due to the “rising challenges” faced by the coalition in reducing the country’s debts while the Eurozone crisis rumbles on. Moody’s, which has the UK on a negative outlook for its triple-A rating, expects the economy to grow 0.4 per cent this year, and [...]
Nomura set for slap on the wrist July 31, 2012 Nomura could face relatively light penalties following a leak investigation by Japan’s securities regulators. The investigators closed a three month probe into leaks of company share issuance plans in 2010 yesterday, and urged that the bank receive an order to improve its compliance practices, described by one expert as a “slap on the wrist”. The [...]
Apple stock split rumours mount July 31, 2012 Shares in Apple yesterday rose 2.6 per cent – their biggest jump in two months – on rumours the company could split its stock and list on the Dow Jones. Research firm Bernstein said Apple is considering the move following its recent decision to pay a dividend. The 30-member Dow Jones index has not been [...]
UBS investment bank suffers in Facebook flop July 31, 2012 EARNINGS at UBS dropped sharply in the second quarter, the Swiss institution’s results showed yesterday, with large losses from Facebook’s public launch hitting the investment banking arm hard. Net profit came in at SFr425m (£277.8m), down 58.1 per cent from SFr1.015bn in the same period of 2011, with profits in the year to date down [...]
Barclays office raided as Libor investigation spreads to Italy July 31, 2012 ITALIAN prosecutors yesterday raided a Barclays office in Milan as part of a probe into possible Euribor manipulation – the euro equivalent of Libor. Police seized documents, computer material and emails, acting on a court order granted in the southern city of Trani. The probe follows an extensive investigation into the key interbank rates by [...]
BBVA earnings dip as it starts to write off bad housing loans July 31, 2012 SPANISH bank BBVA surprised analysts by reporting a 35 per cent fall in net profits in the first half of the year – a lower drop than analysts had expected. Although the bank is one of the three believed to be strong enough to survive without Spanish government help, it still had to write off [...]
BP woes mount as profit hit and spill costs rise July 31, 2012 OIL giant BP’s earnings were thumped yesterday as it set aside an extra $847m (£540m) to pay costs and litigation fees over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The multinational reported underlying adjusted profits had dropped from $5.71bn a year ago to $3.68bn for this quarter, as it continued to struggle with safety concerns [...]
