Firms head for a $46 trillion credit crisis May 10, 2012 FIRMS worldwide are heading for a “perfect storm” as they desperately try to raise up to $46 trillion (£25 trillion) to refinance their debts and fund fresh spending just as banks seek to scale down their balance sheets further to reduce risk, according to an influential report. Non-financial companies in the Eurozone, UK, US, China [...]
US and UK plan to end too big to fail this year May 10, 2012 THE UK and US now expect large banks to have resolution plans or “living wills” in place by the end of this year – despite a delay caused by the EU – which they hope will prevent taxpayers from having to bail out a failing bank ever again. The FSA said yesterday that its publication [...]
Warren Buffett gives backing to improved bid for Avon cosmetics May 10, 2012 WARREN Buffett yesterday gave his financial backing to a sweetened $10.7bn (£6.6bn) takeover bid from cosmetics firm Coty for its far larger rival Avon. In April Coty made an offer to buy Avon, which is three times its size in revenue, for $23.25 per share. It has since raised its offer 6.5 per cent to [...]
Facebook announces App Store ahead of $90bn IPO May 10, 2012 FACEBOOK yesterday announced plans to launch its own application store, opening up a new revenue stream and allowing it to charge an upfront fee for software. The announcement comes ahead of the internet giant’s long-waited IPO, due next week in New York which could value the firm at up to $96bn (£59bn). Facebook makes most [...]
WHAT’S IN A LIVING WILL? May 10, 2012 ■ The problem of banks being “too big to fail” refers to the failure of systemically important banks like RBS and HBOS whose collapse could destroy large parts of the financial system. Instead of going bust, they are bailed out, creating moral hazard. ■ The key tool regulators will use to solve the problem is [...]
BT hikes payout as profits grow on cost cut plan May 10, 2012 BT yesterday announced a full year dividend hike of 12 per cent and said its shareholder payout will grow by an annual 10 to 15 per cent over the next three years. The country’s leading telecoms company posted a full year adjusted pre-tax profit of £2.42bn, an increase of 16 per cent, as operating profit [...]
Pesky regulators dash hope of top line growth May 10, 2012 IT SHOULD come as no surprise that BT chief Ian Livingston, a well-respected former bean counter, can cut costs. Operating costs fell by six per cent last year, enabling the group to grow earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) by three per cent to £6.1bn. That means the company has met its £6bn [...]
Martin Currie fined £8.6m in US and UK May 10, 2012 REGULATORS in Britain and the US have slapped fines worth £8.6m on asset manager Martin Currie for the way it handled a conflict of interest. The Financial Services Authority handed Currie a £3.5m penalty, its largest ever in a conflict of interest case, and the US Securities and Exchange Commission dished out a £5.1m fine [...]
Deutsche Telekom beats forecast May 10, 2012 Deutsche Telekom reported better-than-expected quarterly core earnings yesterday as it lost fewer customers in the US and signaled a stabilisation in its European business. First-quarter earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (ebitda), excluding special items, were flat at €4.48bn, at the top of analyst expectations.
Layton is new Freddie Mac boss May 10, 2012 Freddie Mac, the No. 2 provider of US mortgage money, yesterday named financial industry veteran Donald Layton as its next chief executive, putting him atop a government-controlled firm that most politicians want to shut down.
