Slaughter and May to advise Esure IPO February 27, 2013 Slaughter and May is advising esure Group plc ('esure') on its intention to proceed with an initial public offering of its ordinary shares, as announced on 27 February 2013. The law firm is based in London and is a member of the 'Magic Circle' of leading law firms. Our reporter Cathy Adams: Insurer Esure [...]
Big banks could be forced to hold more capital February 27, 2013 The Financial Services Authority chairman, Lord Adair Turner, is currently before the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards. Our banking reporter Tim Wallace is following proceedings: Turner: Big banks could be forced to hold extra capital against mortgage lending because their internal models give them too easy a ride — Tim Wallace (@Tim_Wallace) February 27, 2013 [...]
Arresting development over insider dealing February 27, 2013 The Financial Services Authority has reported that three men, 33, 37 and 39, are in custody awaiting questioning. The men have been arrested on suspicion of insider dealing and market abuse following dawn raids on their homes and offices in London this morning. (Release). Reuters reports that the FSA is currently prosecuting six others for insider dealing. It [...]
Baby on Board? February 27, 2013 Frustrated by the lack of power that the boards of Russian state-owned companies have, banking and media mogul Alexander Lebedev has recommended his own son for the board of Aeroflot. The news was released by the airline's press team. His son is 15-months old. Lebedev Tweeted: Мораль сей шутки такова:в советах госкомпании практически нет реальных полномочий-зачем [...]
Italy auction strong despite electoral woes February 27, 2013 A good auction saw all €6.5bn of bonds sell. The costs of Italian political uncertainty have been translated into higher borrowing costs, as the 10-yr 4.5 per cent bond sells at 4.83 per cent, when the same bond sold for 4.17% on Jan 30. Given the circumstances, a good auction and it looks like Italian risk is [...]
Vodafone takeover of Kabel Deutschland off February 27, 2013 Bloomberg is reporting that Vodafone's planned takeover of Kabel Deutschland Holding AG has been suspended. This has not yet been confirmed. Kabel Deutschland shares were indicated 6 percent lower in premarket trades, according to data from brokerage Lang & Schwarz. A source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters last week that Vodafone hired Goldman [...]
Bleak end to 2012 for the UK February 27, 2013 While many focus on that slight upwards revision to UK GDP for last year as a whole, the components of the last quarter GDP slump by 0.3 per cent are troubling. Government spending is up 0.6 per cent, while the coalition tells us that they are committed to austerity. As a smaller rise of 0.1 [...]
Revision sees UK growth in 2012 February 27, 2013 The UK's GDP growth has been revised up from stagnation to 0.3 per cent for 2012 while growth for the fourth quarter remains unrevised at -0.3 per cent.
Italian confidence falls ahead of crucial bond auction February 27, 2013 The ISAE index for Italian consumer confidence saw a fall to 77.4 in February from 80 last month. Not a terrible number, as the country remains locked in political uncertainty. Open Europe's Vincenzo Scarpetta discusses the role political uncertainty will play: Italy’s borrowing costs have been rising over recent days, but they remain well below [...]
European markets looking healthier February 27, 2013 Most European indices are in the green this morning: FTSE100 +0.38 per centDAX +0.44 per centCAC +0.69 per centIBEX +0.81 per centFTSE MIB +0.89 per cent There was some improved consumer confidence data out of Germany as the Gfk Consumer Confidence Survey increased from 5.8 to 5.9. French consumer confidence remained unchanged. Generally markets are calming after yesterday's Italian panic. [...]
