Fears over strict financial reform weigh on Wall St June 24, 2010 THE S&P 500 fell for the fourth straight day yesterday as fresh signs of consumer weakness and worries about stringent financial regulation provoked investors to unload positions. The S&P 500 has lost 3.8 per cent in four days, with retailers among the biggest decliners. Banks were pressured by fears Congress would pass stringent rules in [...]
Dutch group plans trip to US to stop the oil spillage June 24, 2010 A GROUP of Dutch engineers plan to travel to the Gulf of Mexico within two weeks to try to stop the oil spill, backed by a €5m (£4.1m) donation. Crane company Mammoet, which raised the Kursk submarine in 2001 after numerous attempts by other firms, contacted BP, Transocean and the US government last week with [...]
Time to rejig your finances June 24, 2010 HE had promised us a tough Budget and on Tuesday, chancellor George Osborne gave us one – most households will be worse off as a result of the measures announced. But it’s not like we weren’t warned – ever since the coalition government gained power last month, it has been austerity, austerity, austerity. It should [...]
Manage your risk when trading the markets June 24, 2010 For many years, trading the financial markets and spread betting in particular, was felt to be the reserve of City professionals. But advances in technology over the last decade or so and an increased awareness of the impact that the gyrations of financial markets can have on our everyday lives have meant that financial trading [...]
Cowdery buys Axa’s UK arm in £2.8bn deal June 24, 2010 RESOLUTION will reshuffle the leadership of its insurance consolidation project after agreeing to pay £2.8bn for the British life and pensions businesses of French group Axa yesterday. Axa’s UK arm will be merged with Resolution’s existing holding, Friends Provident, to create Friends Life. Trevor Matthews will stay as chief executive but David Hynam, Graham Harvey [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS June 24, 2010 PAY BY CARD TO GAIN REWARDS Savvy shoppers could earn substantial rewards by whacking all their day-to-day spending on the plastic. Based on an average household spend of £386.30 per week on a reward credit card, and by paying off the balance in full each month, Confused.com research shows after just one year, some of [...]
Resolution cash call breaks new ground June 24, 2010 JUST weeks after two separate studies of rights issue fees were launched, Resolution revealed a £2bn cash call which will pay investors more commission than investment banks. Total fees on the rights issue will come to 2.7 per cent, below the market average of 3.25 per cent. Shareholders, who agreed in advance to sub-underwrite more than [...]
Credit Suisse rejigs its top management June 24, 2010 CREDIT SUISSE has named Eric Varvel as its investment bank chief executive as part of an overhaul of the bank’s executive board. Varvel, who was serving as the unit’s acting chief executive, will officially step into the role next week. He assumed the role last September when it emerged that the investment unit’s chief Paul [...]
To be young, gifted and green June 24, 2010 He’s just about to set up his fourth environmental fund and he’s not yet 30, but Ben Goldsmith has emerged as a leading force in environmental investing since he set up the UK’s first clean technology venture capital fund in 2004. This is all through Wheb (soon to be Wheb Partners). There are now two [...]
Entrepreneurs will welcome Budget June 24, 2010 THE Emergency Budget was one of the most severe for decades, with some hefty tax rises – notably VAT – and cuts to public spending. Yet in spite of this, the chancellor made provisions to encourage growth and laid out initiatives to foster entrepreneurial activity. The extension of the enterprise finance guarantee (EFG) scheme will [...]
