BofA pays out $2.8bn to ease mortgage row January 3, 2011 BANK of America shares soared yesterday on news it had agreed to pay Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac $2.8bn (£1.8bn) to settle claims it sold the mortgage companies bad home loans. Bank of America shares rose 6.37 per cent to $14.19 on the New York Stock Exchange. The deal triggered hopes that other banks may [...]
THE MONTH AHEAD in association with GFT January 3, 2011 COMPANY NEWS ● International seed and fertiliser company Monsanto publishes its first-quarter earnings on Thursday. ● Spread betting company IG Group publishes its interim results on 18 January. ● AstraZeneca, BSkyB, Charles Stanley and Vedanta Resources all publish earnings announcements on 27 January. ● Aluminium producer Alcoa traditionally kicks off the US’s fourth-quarter earnings season, publishing [...]
The City is back but under new management December 21, 2010 BRITAIN’S financial landscape has been transformed since we last shone a light on the City’s most powerful figures two years ago. The City A.M./CityJet Power Hundred 2011 list ranks the most influential figures in UK finance as we head into the new year. It should be no surprise that it is very different from 2009. [...]
US government plans exit from AIG December 21, 2010 THE US Treasury department plans to sell a large part of its stake in nationalised insurance giant American International Group in two stock offerings next year, officials told Reuters. It would sell any remaining stock in AIG in 2012, the sources said. The government will own 92.1 per cent of AIG after a recapitalisation plan [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 16, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES CLEGG WARNING TO BANKS ON BONUSES Nick Clegg has warned Britain’s banks that the government would not stand on the sidelines if they paid out lavish bonuses and failed to increase lending, increasing pressure on David Cameron to toughen his stance on the City. “They don’t operate in a social vacuum,” he told [...]
Wall St boosted by FedEx’s bullish view December 16, 2010 US stocks, bucking a trend of late-day selloffs, ended higher yesterday as economic bellwether FedEx offered a bullish profit outlook that augured well for broad growth. Stocks that performed well in 2010 were among yesterday’s biggest gainers as investors sought to boost returns by the year’s end. Advancing stocks outnumbered decliners by more than two [...]
Wall Street drops three days in a row December 15, 2010 US stocks suffered a third straight late-day sell-off yesterday suggesting it may be difficult to chalk further gains as the year comes to a close. After hitting two-year highs this week, a sustained rise in Treasury yields has sparked worry that rising borrowing costs could stifle the recovery. Banks, heavily dependent on loan demand, faded [...]
Chinese cheer fades across Wall Street December 13, 2010 The Nasdaq closed lower and ended eight straight days of gains yesterday while the Dow and S&P 500 ended flat as optimism faded over China’s move to tame its growth. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 18.24 points, or 0.16 per cent, to end at 11,428.56, well off its intraday high of 11,480.03. The Standard [...]
More insider trade talk hits markets December 7, 2010 US stocks eked out a small gain yesterday as investors’ enthusiasm over a tax cut extension deal was short-circuited by rising bond yields and reports regulators were stepping up an insider-trading probe. The S&P 500 hit a two-year intraday high after US President Barack Obama cut a deal with Republicans to renew Bush-era tax cuts. [...]
AGL to buy natural gas player Nicor for $2.4bn December 7, 2010 AGL Resources, a major natural gas distributor in the US Southeast, said it will buy peer Nicor for about $2.4bn (£1.52bn) in cash and stock, nearly doubling its customers at a time of surging gas output in the country. Natural gas production has boomed in recent years, helped by new gas fields like the Marcellus [...]