BlackRock’s Fink pledges lower ETF fees September 10, 2012 BLACKROCK chief executive Larry Fink yesterday announced plans to lower fees on some of its iShares Exchange Traded Fund products with a strategy change this autumn. Speaking at the Barclays’ Global Financial Services Conference in New York, Fink said growing competition in the ETF sector meant the firm was going to unveil a new strategy [...]
South Korean stimulus fails to stir markets September 10, 2012 SOUTH Korea will engage in additional fiscal stimulus, in order to carry its export-driven economy through the world slowdown, it announced yesterday. Policymakers in Seoul cannot do anything about their beleaguered export markets directly, and are therefore adding nearly £3.3bn worth of stimulus to the near-£4.5bn announced in June. But markets were disappointed by the [...]
FTSE 100 opens flat as investors bide time September 10, 2012 The leading share index opened modestly lower this morning, as investors were cautious ahead of key Eurozone and US Federal Reserve meetings this week. A selection of miners and retailers led the index up. Specialist engineering company Lamprell added nearly five per cent in early deals on news that it signed a joint venture deal [...]
Lagarde backs ECB plan to buy Spanish bonds September 9, 2012 CHRISTINE Lagarde yesterday pledged to help the European Central Bank (ECB) in designing and monitoring its programme of bond buying, intended to help ease the pressure on indebted governments such as Italy and Spain. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) boss said those governments had taken enough action on state finances to merit more help from [...]
Financials and miners lead the FTSE 100 up September 7, 2012 The blue chip index rose in early deals this morning, following positive gains in Asia and the US as investors reacted positively to European Central Bank (ECB) plans to spend billions of euros shoring up troubled governments. Miners Evraz and Ferrexpo led the index up, by 8.51 and 7.11 per cent respectively, as the ECB’s [...]
Pressure on Barclays to reform September 6, 2012 INCOMING Barclays chairman Sir David Walker faces pressure from a committee of MPs and Lords to explain how he will clean up his bank’s damaged brand at a hearing next week, it was announced yesterday. He will be the first person to face the new Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards (PCBS), set up to investigate [...]
City Moves | Who’s switching Jobs September 6, 2012 BNP Paribas Real Estate Mike Chadburn has been appointed senior director of international investment at the real estate division of BNP Paribas. He was previously the UK partner to Azimuth Global Partners, where he sourced and acquired UK assets for Malaysian and Korean investors. Chadburn has also previously worked as director of Central London acquisitions [...]
FTSE rallies after ECB’s bond buying plan boosts investors’ confidence September 6, 2012 MINERS and banks led the rebound on Britain’s FTSE 100 yesterday, after investors gave an initial thumbs up to ECB president Mario Draghi’s bond buying plans, while strong US data also helped lift sentiment. The FTSE 100 100 closed up 119.48 points, or 2.1 per cent, at 5777.34 as the index recovered losses sustained over [...]
FTSE 100 up on ECB meeting hopes September 6, 2012 The blue chip index was up in morning trading, as markets were dominated by speculation over European Central Bank policy action at the monthly meeting later today. The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee minutes will also be released today, at 12 noon. Miners led the index up, as Lonmin was an early riser, adding [...]
Women execs in sharp rise across Europe September 5, 2012 A THIRD of all new board members at Europe’s biggest firms this year are women, new research reveals today, with women now holding almost double the number of board seats than just eight years ago. Female directors now make up 15.6 per cent of boards, up from just eight per cent in 2004, and eighty-six [...]