Freddie Mac asks for a fresh $1.8bn bailout as makes fourth loss in a row August 9, 2010 MORTGAGE lending giant Freddie Mac is seeking $1.8bn (£1.1bn) in aid from the US Government after bad home loans prompted its fourth consecutive quarterly loss. Freddie Mac, the second largest provider of funding for US residential mortgages, said it lost $6bn, or $1.85 per share, in the April-to-June period. The company is required to pay [...]
STRATEGY BEAR EYES A CELEBRITY LIFESTYLE August 5, 2010 SOCIETE Générale’s notorious über-bear strategist Albert Edwards has an axe to grind – and this time, it’s nothing to do with those of a sunnier disposition predicting equities are set on an unflinching upward course. Edwards, in his regular research missive yesterday, told the moving tale of his recent summer holiday, when he nearly lost [...]
Wall Street dips on new jobless claims August 5, 2010 US stocks edged lower yesterday as an unexpected rise in initial jobless claims and unimpressive July retail sales dimmed optimism ahead of the monthly payrolls report. Investors were cautious before today’s jobs report, and after a 10 per cent rise in the S&P 500 since July 2. Yesterday’s data showed initial claims for jobless benefits [...]
ANCIENT INDIAN SEXUAL WISDOM, PIPED LIKE MUSIC TO YOUR EARS August 4, 2010 HURRAH for technology: the days of keeping up appearances among fellow passengers by trawling through suitably intellectual reading material on the daily commute are officially over. The Kama Sutra, that literary fountain of Indian sexual wisdom, has been released in audio book format for the first time in its 1,600 year history. Publisher Beautiful Books [...]
Dollar boosts Wall Street to new high August 2, 2010 US stocks closed at their highest level in 10 weeks yesterday and the S&P 500 pierced key technical levels as a weaker US dollar lifted the energy and raw materials sectors. Strong results in Europe from BNP Paribas and HSBC added to the upbeat tone and lifted US bank stocks. JPMorgan Chase & Co rose [...]
Huang vows to spend big in Liverpool bid August 2, 2010 CHINESE businessman Kenny Huang has promised to give manager Roy Hodgson big money to spend in the transfer market if he succeeds in his bid to buy Liverpool. Huang, a former Wall Street stockbroker and now head of Hong Kong-based investment company QSL Sports Ltd, announced yesterday he had been in talks with Royal Bank [...]
Downbeat outlook for tech hits Wall St July 29, 2010 US stocks sagged in volatile trading yesterday after weak outlooks from technology companies and downbeat comments from a Federal Reserve official gave investors little reason to buy. The market has struggled to make headway this week. The S&P 500 fell for a third straight day. Friday’s Commerce Department report on second-quarter gross domestic product will [...]
Profits surge at CME as chief executive rules out another wave of consolidation July 29, 2010 DERIVATIVES giant CME yesterday posted higher-than-expected quarterly profit as heightened volatility in debt and stock markets boosted trading in the exchange operator’s futures contracts. Chief executive Craig Donohue also said that a recent trading slump will not spur it into a buying spree. CME stands to benefit from sweeping US rule changes that will drive [...]
AstraZeneca in drug victory July 28, 2010 ON THE eve of its first half results, US pharma company AstraZeneca scored a vital regulatory victory. US advisers backed a potential blockbuster blood thinner from the firm which will help to offset expiring patents on some of its best-selling medicines. Members of a Food and Drug Administration panel voted 7-1 to recommend approval of [...]
Japanese banks face uncertainty July 28, 2010 JAPAN’S third-biggest bank stuck to its full-year forecast yesterday despite reporting robust first-quarter earnings, due to uncertainty about the economic outlook. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SFMG) said net profit soared nearly three-fold to 211.8bn yen (£1.55bn) in the three months to the end of June. Citigroup analyst Hironari Nozaki had forecast the bank would earn [...]