EU review wants to ringfence investment banking October 2, 2012 EU advisers have recommended that banks should separate deposit taking activities from trading and other riskier operations in a report released today. Proprietary trading of securities and derivatives should be legally separated from retail banking with the objective of reducing “systemic risk” in banking activities, it said. The advisory group led by Bank of Finland [...]
FTSE 100 weak on Eurozone concerns October 2, 2012 The FTSE 100 opened down this morning, losing yesterday’s strong gains, as concerns over the health of the European economy and whether Spain might apply for financial help weighed on sentiment. A mixed bag made up the loserboard. Property group LSL Property led the fallers, shedding 4.61 per cent in early deals. Intellectual property firm [...]
Mass upgrade as banks’ cost of equity drops October 1, 2012 BRITISH banks have built up capital levels and cut down leverage more successfully than their European rivals, and should soon reap the benefits in a lower cost of equity, Liberum Capital forecast yesterday. And if the Eurozone stabilises further, risks to the industry outlook will fade and banks will be in an even stronger position, [...]
Who’s switching jobs October 1, 2012 Barclays Jim Murphy has been appointed director of financial institutions trade in Barclays’s trade and working capital team. He joins from HSBC, where he was a director in its project and export finance team. Murphy has also worked at Deutsche Bank. BlackRock James Wilkinson has been appointed European chief investment officer for BlackRock’s global real [...]
Not all doom and gloom for UK banks October 1, 2012 WE ARE now more than four years on from the collapse of Lehman Brothers, and it is longer still since the taxpayer bailed out Northern Rock. In that time, there has been little good news for financials and for the UK banking sector specifically. Reinforced by Moody’s decision to maintain its negative outlook on the [...]
FTSE 100 firmly up on Glenstrata deal October 1, 2012 Banks and miners led the blue chip index up in early trading, as the £56bn mining mega-merger of Xstrata and Glencore stole the headlines. Better-than-expected results from the Spanish bank stress tests boosted UK financial shares. Barclays was up 2.89 per cent in early trading, followed by RBS, which added 2.06 per cent. HSBC was [...]
Chinese manufacturing contracts for second consecutive month October 1, 2012 Chinese manufacturing fell for the second straight month in September, fuelling fears that China is continuing to struggle in the face of low demand from the US and Europe. The Purchasing Managers’ Index rose modestly to 49.8 in September from 49.2 in August, the lowest reading since November 2011. A reading below 50 indicates contraction. [...]
Fallon to shame top banks into lending more September 30, 2012 BANKS will be named and shamed if they do not increase lending under the enterprise finance guarantee scheme (EFG), business minister Michael Fallon warned over the weekend in a letter to the UK’s five big banks. The government has offered guarantees of up to £500m on loans to small firms, but the new business and [...]
More diverse financial services are critical to restoring trust in UK banking September 30, 2012 THE business of politics and the politics of business are rarely more intertwined than during the party conference season. Last week, the City of London was in the crosshairs of the Liberal Democrats, and it is likely to remain in sharp focus as Labour takes the stage in Manchester today. We all know that the [...]
FTSE 100 up on Spain’s austerity budget September 28, 2012 The leading share index opened up this morning. Headline mining shares rose as metal prices rallied. Spain’s austerity budget, unveiled yesterday, settled Eurozone nerves and dragged the FTSE 100 up, as the index went back above the 5,800 level in early trading. Aquarius Platinum topped the leaderboard this morning, up almost five per cent. Engineering [...]