Buffett buys into financials November 15, 2010 WARREN Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway sold shares in industrial, consumer and capital goods companies during the third quarter and added to positions in financial shares, according to a regulatory filing yesteday that gave a small peak into his latest thinking. Buffett no longer held stakes in used car retailer Carmax, home improvement retailer Home Depot or [...]
Wall Street falls as banks and strong dollar weigh November 8, 2010 WALL Street retreated from a two-year high yesterday, weighed down by financial stocks and a stronger dollar. The broad S&P 500 has risen five straight weeks, supported by the Federal Reserve’s plan to buy $600bn of treasuries to lower interest rates and reinvigorate a sluggish economy. With those gains, traders said most S&P sectors were [...]
Dow rockets after Fed stimulus boost November 4, 2010 US stocks extended a rally that started in September to close at two-year highs yesterday, a day after the Federal Reserve unveiled a plan to boost the economy. A bullish read on consumers also boosted shares as many retailers posted stronger-than-expected sales for October. The S&P retail index gained 1.7 per cent and apparel maker [...]
Santander UK float rocked by chief’s exit November 3, 2010 SANTANDER faces an uphill struggle to float its UK operations successfully on the London Stock Exchange next year, after chief executive António Horta-Osório’s shock defection to Lloyds Banking Group. Santander – which last night confirmed it had appointed Ana Patricia Botín, daughter of veteran group chairman Emilio Botín, to replace Horta-Osório – confirmed last week [...]
KKR reports profits plunge in the third quarter as fee income drops November 3, 2010 PROFITS at private equity house Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) plummeted by 61 per cent in the third quarter, a result of its private equity portfolio failing to appreciate and a reduction in its income from fees. Economic net income was $317.3m (£197m) for the third quarter at the New York-based firm, down from $822.7m in [...]
NYSE Euronext profit off as trading slumps November 2, 2010 NYSE Euronext quarterly profit dropped 12 per cent on a global slowdown in share trading, but the results were better than expected and the trans-Atlantic exchange operator said it would continue its joint-venture approach to any new swaps ventures. Management stressed that trading was unusually quiet in the third quarter and said this was unlikely [...]
Ambac shares hit as it warns of bankruptcy November 1, 2010 AMBAC Financial Group, which was the second-largest US bond insurer before suffering huge losses on risky mortgages, said it may file for bankruptcy protection as soon as this year after skipping a bond interest payment. Ambac shares fell as much as 59.8 per cent before closing down 50.4 per cent, or 41.9 cents, at 41.2 [...]
In search of the modern El Dorado October 31, 2010 THE world has been watching South America. Yesterday saw the Brazilian presidential election, while Argentina has been surprised by the death of Néstor Kirchner – an event that, slightly worryingly, sparked a huge rally in the Argentinean stock market. More prominent still were the Chilean miners whose plight last month captivated millions. Given all that, [...]
Algo crackdown is an awful idea October 19, 2010 HIGH frequency traders are getting a bad press at the moment. They have been widely blamed for the so-called “flash crash” on 6 May, and the latest noises coming out of the European Commission suggest that when its review of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) is finalised next year it may well look [...]
China’s Mr Private Equity explains the new frontier’s hopes and risks October 17, 2010 VICTOR ZHIKAI Gao is staying at the Langham Hotel, down the road from the Chinese Embassy. Just off a plane from Beijing, and sipping green tea to stay ahead of his jet lag, he is in London to brief an investment bank on China’s rapidly developing private equity sector. Although jaded, he manages to be [...]