Friends defend director at heart of Barclays pay row April 22, 2012 FRIENDS of the senior Barclays director responsible for pay awards were last night suggesting that she is being unfairly singled out for the row that has engulfed the bank. The re-appointment of Alison Carnwath as head of the bank’s remuneration committee is likely to be rejected by up to 15 per cent of shareholders, with [...]
LONDON REPORT April 22, 2012 UK investors are set for a busy week with a slew of earnings both here and on Wall Street, the release of Britain’s quarterly GDP rate and a decision from the Fed on the US Bank rate. Both the Nationwide Housing Prices report and Nationwide Consumer Confidence report are due out this week and today’s [...]
FTSE shored up by banks April 20, 2012 The FTSE 100 was broadly flat this morning as investors turned their attention to an IMF meeting later today and French Presidential elections at the weekend. IMF leaders gathering in Washington want a big boost in funding to handle the Eurozone dent but Brazil has called for more power in the organisation for emerging nations. [...]
One Savings Bank plans to double revenues April 20, 2012 One Savings Bank, a new British lender backed by US private equity firm JC Flowers, aims to double its assets to £4.5bn and could make acquisitions to boost lending to small businesses. The company was created in February 2011 after JC Flowers injected fresh capital into the mutually owned Kent Reliance Building Society, a casualty [...]
Barclays in olive branch to investors April 19, 2012 BARCLAYS made a peace offering to its angry UK shareholders yesterday by inserting a new condition into the bonuses awarded to its top executives and saying it would prioritise raising its dividend. Chief executive Bob Diamond and chief financial officer Chris Lucas will now see only half of their 2011 bonuses if they do not [...]
Persimmon says government scheme is boosting enquiries April 19, 2012 PERSIMMON yesterday said it enjoyed a strong start to the year, with the government’s NewBuy scheme helping boost demand during the spring selling season. The housebuilder, whose brands include Charles Church and Westbury, said it continued to outperform, with visitor levels to its sites over the first 15 weeks of 2012 up 10 per cent [...]
FTSE up as Spanish debt fears ease April 19, 2012 The FTSE 100 edged up this morning but trading was light as investors digested the results of a Spanish debt auction. Spain’s 10-year government bond yield surged above six per cent earlier this week, raising fears it may have to seek an international bailout. But this morning’s auction saw 10-year bonds sold at a yield [...]
Fed asks banks to bid for risky assets portfolio April 18, 2012 THE NEW York Federal Reserve said yesterday it has asked eight investment banks to bid on risky assets from its Maiden Lane III portfolio, which was created during its 2008 bailout of insurer American International Group (AIG). This move would trim the US central bank’s balance sheet which about tripled from the emergency measures it [...]
Car sales slump in Europe but Britain enjoys a revival in March April 17, 2012 EUROPEAN car sales fell for a sixth straight month in March, industry data showed yesterday, as the deepening slump in France and Italy outweighed a fragile recovery in Germany and Britain. Registrations dropped 6.6 per cent to 1.5m cars across the EU plus Switzerland, Norway and Iceland – their lowest March level since 1998, the [...]
Bouncing back banking shares see FTSE jump by nearly two per cent April 17, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index gained nearly two per cent yesterday, led by a rebound in banking stocks after a well-covered Spanish bill auction eased some concerns about banks’ exposure to Eurozone debt. Barclays was the top sector performer, rallying 4.6 per cent after BofA Merrill Lynch said earnings upgrades could be on the horizon for [...]