Wall Street surges as euro panic eases December 1, 2010 THE Dow and the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 posted their biggest gains in three months yesterday as efforts to resolve the European Union’s debt crisis helped push the S&P above 1,200, an important technical level that signals the potential for the rally to continue. The S&P 500 moved out of its recent trading range [...]
The world’s largest goldminer sees blue skies ahead as demand soars November 24, 2010 Aaron Regent, the chief executive of the world’s biggest goldminer Barrick Gold, straightens his tie and smiles – it’s a good time to be in the gold business. Regent, a 44-year-old with a middle distance runner’s build, is sitting in a meeting room in the recently refurbished Savoy Hotel, and can be forgiven for feeling [...]
GM in record float as raises over $23bn November 17, 2010 GENERAL MOTORS (GM) pulled off the biggest initial public offering in US history yesterday, raising $23.1bn after pricing shares at the top of the proposed range in response to huge investor demand. GM sold 478m common shares at $33 each, raising $15.77bn, as well as $4.35bn in preferred shares, more than the initially planned $4bn. [...]
Anti-banker populism is backfiring November 16, 2010 THIS is turning out to be a decent year for the global investment banking industry, despite weaker trading results and even though some firms are doing better than others. True, Wall Street’s total profitability – as defined by the broker-dealer operations of New York Stock Exchange members – will collapse 69 per cent this year [...]
GM ups stock offer by 30pc November 16, 2010 GENERAL Motors (GM) is boosting the size of its common stock offering by more than 30 per cent to $15.5bn, potentially making its landmark IPO the largest US offering ever. The expansion is in response to surging demand from investors, who had put in orders worth $70bn for GM’s common shares by late on yesterday. [...]
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 [...]