Risk appetite sees German Bunds decline November 3, 2011 GERMAN Bunds fell yesterday as Greek politicians backtracked on the call for a referendum on the latest bailout package, reducing the chances of a disorderly default, while an ECB rate cut took the market by surprise and improved the outlook for risk. The yield spread of Italian and Spanish government bonds over German benchmarks narrowed [...]
Rebellion threatens to topple besieged leader Berlusconi November 3, 2011 PRESSURE rose on Italy’s besieged Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to quit yesterday, as six former parliamentary loyalists called for a new government and the squabbling cabinet failed to agree an urgent economic reform programme. European leaders have tried to push Berlusconi into bringing the country’s finances under control to avoid exacerbating the euro crisis. The [...]
Jefferies says EU exposure is only $38m November 3, 2011 JEFFERIES insisted it had no meaningful net exposure to European sovereign debt yesterday, as it sought to allay investor fears that had caused its shares to plunge and brought trading to a standstill. Shares in the US investment bank fell as much as 20 per cent yesterday to $10, their lowest since March 2009, prompting [...]
UK services slows in October increasing fears of recession November 3, 2011 THE SLOWDOWN in the UK economy has spread to the service sector, data from Markit revealed yesterday, adding to worries that the next two quarters will register contraction in GDP – an official recession. The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell from 51.5 in September to 51, indicating slowing growth. Numbers over 50 represent expansion. However, [...]
Bank of America mulls swapping preferred stock for new shares November 3, 2011 BANK of America, the second-biggest US bank, said it was considering swapping preferred stock for common shares or senior debt yesterday to cut its expenses and boost earnings. BofA said market instability linked to the Eurozone had reduced the value of its preferred stock, which has a higher claim on its assets and earnings and [...]
Greek bond haircut hurts BNP Paribas November 3, 2011 BNP PARIBAS took a €2.14bn (£1.8bn) hit on its Greek debt holdings in the third quarter of this year after writing down the bonds by 60 per cent, the French lender announced yesterday. The effect of the haircut alone was enough to push revenues down to €10bn, 7.6 per cent lower than in the same [...]
ING to cut 2,700 Dutch bank jobs as market turmoil bites November 3, 2011 DUTCH financial services group ING is to cut 2,700 jobs, it said yesterday, slashing headcount at its Dutch retail banking operations by ten per cent in the face of deteriorating markets. ING also took a €467m (£401m) pre-tax writedown on its Greek government bond holdings in its third-quarter results, and said it had now written [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 3, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES NEWS CORP LOSES HEAD OF HUMAN RESOURCES Beryl Cook is stepping down as head of human resources at News Corp, robbing James Murdoch of an ally in head office and becoming the latest figure to leave his father’s top team without being replaced in the office of the chairman. Ms Cook has worked [...]
RSA gains on global growth as UK slows November 3, 2011 DOUBLE-digit growth in its overseas divisions this year has put home and business insurer Royal & Sun Alliance on track to make a full-year profit, despite booking a £60m loss from storms, it said yesterday. RSA wrote £6.1bn of insurance premiums in the first nine months of the year, 11 per cent more than a [...]
King: EU could veto Vickers November 3, 2011 MAJOR parts of the government’s flagship bank and regulatory reform policy would be illegal under current drafts of EU law, Bank of England governor Mervyn King admitted yesterday. Confirming City A.M.’s revelation on Monday that the government believes its policy could be “subject to legal challenge” under the current version of EU capital rules, the [...]
