News Corp climbs as board mulls split June 27, 2012 SHARES in News Corp continued to climb yesterday while the company’s board members gathered in New York to discuss plans to separate its publishing and entertainment divisions. New Corp’s shares added 2.5 per cent, after jumping more than eight per cent on Tuesday when it emerged that the conglomerate could finally be about to respond [...]
Merkel acts out charm offensive with Hollande June 27, 2012 GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel joined French President Francois Hollande for dinner in Paris last night, in a bid to patch up relations ahead of today’s crunch EU summit over the future of the Eurozone. Merkel has appeared at loggerheads with some Eurozone leaders, including Hollande, who are more keen to introduce debt sharing measures to [...]
Italian debt costs keep rising ahead of crucial EU summit June 27, 2012 ITALY’S six-month borrowing costs neared three per cent at auction yesterday, their highest since December, piling pressure on the government as it pushes for steps to ease market tensions at an EU summit starting today. Italy sold €9bn of six-month bills at an average 2.96 per cent yield, up from 2.10 per cent it paid [...]
Monte dei Paschi details aid plan June 27, 2012 Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena laid out a painful restructuring plan yesterday, a day after the world’s oldest bank was forced to take state aid, and said it would be looking to new investors in seeking to raise up to €1bn in new equity capital over the next five years. Under the plan the [...]
Second Greek minister resigns June 27, 2012 The chairman of Greece’s privatisation agency, Ioannis Koukiadis, resigned for “strictly personal” reasons, a statement by the agency said yesterday. Ioannis Koukiadis, a professor of law at Thessaloniki’s Aristotelio University, had been appointed to head the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund in July 2011.
EU regulators clear Bankia state aid June 27, 2012 Spanish lender Bankia gained temporary approval yesterday for its state bailout, but Spanish authorities will need to present a restructuring plan within six months to offset this support, the European Commission said. The EU executive said the state aid included a conversion of existing state-owned preference shares of €4.465bn into equity and a liquidity guarantee [...]
Slow growth to haunt Eurozone for next 2 years June 27, 2012 THE EUROZONE is set for years of stagnation and slow growth, according to Ernst & Young research published this morning. Even the best case scenario is “mild recession in 2012, depicted by the Eurozone shrinking 0.6 per cent, with a weak recovery of 0.4 per cent in 2013,” according to the latest forecast from the [...]
Economic data offers a glimmer of hope for Germany and Italy June 27, 2012 ECONOMIC data published yesterday offered a glimmer of hope for the embattled Eurozone countries. Germany, Europe’s largest economy, saw its consumer price inflation ease by more than expected reflecting a sharp drop in oil prices, while Italy said confidence among its businesses had improved unexpectedly in June. The only downbeat note came from Spain which [...]
Europe’s finance ministers detail rescue plan for Spain and Cyprus June 27, 2012 BOTH Spain and Cyprus had their bailout requests formally accepted by Eurozone finance ministers yesterday. In a statement, the Eurogroup estimated that Spain, which officially asked for access to the €100bn (£80bn) offered by Brussels to shore up its debt-laden banks on Monday, would need between €51bn and €62bn. It said it would provide an [...]
Wall Street initiates coverage of Facebook with low expectations June 27, 2012 FACEBOOK was greeted half-heartedly yesterday when Wall Street analysts initiated coverage of the overhyped stock 40 days after its Nasdaq debut. Morgan Stanley, the lead investment bank on Facebook’s flotation, rated the social network’s stock as “overweight”, even though the shares are currently trading at 13 per cent below their IPO price. The bank, whose [...]
