Deutsche beginning to make its presence felt September 12, 2011 NOTWITHSTANDING worries over the Eurozone and jitters about the state of the investment banking sector, there were some happy bankers at Deutsche Bank yesterday. Deutsche is the lead adviser on US group Colfax’s £1.5bn bid for Charter that was made yesterday, higher than a rival bid from the UK group Melrose. There are not many [...]
Weak commodities take toll on FTSE but banks rebound September 12, 2011 BRITAIN’S leading share index fell yesterday, on weakness in heavyweight mining and energy issues as commodity prices retreated, while a partial recovery by banks brought blue-chips back from intra-days lows for the month. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was down 85.03 points, or 1.6 per cent, at 5,129.62, having bounced off the session [...]
Hope of help for Italy lifts stocks September 12, 2011 US stocks rose yesterday, bouncing back in late trading, as hopes that Italy could get financial support from China tempered investors’ worst fears over the Eurozone’s sovereign debt crisis. Traders started the day braced for a possible downgrade of France’s top banks by Moody’s rating agency, but sentiment improved as various European officials succeeded in [...]
Banks to take £7bn hit from Vickers reforms September 12, 2011 Britain’s banks should shield their retail operations from riskier investment banking units and boost capital levels to protect taxpayers from future crises, according to far-reaching proposals that could cost the industry £7bn a year. The Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) also said banks must hold core capital of at least 10 per cent in their [...]
Why bank reform is all in the detail September 11, 2011 BAIL-INS, not bailouts: that ought to be the motto of any banking reformer worthy of the name – it will be interesting to see how much space is devoted to the concept in today’s report by the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) (the document will include lots of good ideas, and also some rather silly [...]
Independent Commission on Banking report will hit FTSE September 11, 2011 AT 7am this morning the Independent Commission on Banking report on reform will be published. It’s widely expected that the main thrust of the report will be to recommend that retail banking is separated – ringfenced – from the investment banking side. That’s a potentially monumental impact on the likes of RBS, Lloyds and Barclays. [...]
Factory input costs fall but prices stay high September 9, 2011 Prices for manufactured UK goods stuck at a record high in August despite a fall in the costs of raw materials as fuel costs dipped, official data shows. Factory gate inflation stayed at July’s upwardly revised reading of 6.1 per cent, the highest annual rate since October 2008. Analysts had forecast a 5.9 percent increase. [...]
Why buying property is no panacea September 8, 2011 ANYBODY interested in the housing market and in trying to preserve their wealth in these uncertain times should take a look at a fascinating new book. Safe as Houses: a Historical Analysis of Property Prices is full of useful facts – and a stark reminder that investing in residential property isn’t as sure a bet [...]
Demand falls for EU output September 8, 2011 EXPORTS and imports declined in July in Germany, according to figures released yesterday by the Federal Statistical Office (FSC). German exports fell by 1.5 per cent, following June’s 1.3 per cent decline. Imports fell by 0.3 per cent, reducing the country’s trade surplus to €10.1bn (£8.8bn), its lowest since January 2010. Analysts point to sluggish [...]
Bank keeps interest rates at 0.5 per cent September 8, 2011 The Bank of England has kept interest rates at 0.5 per cent for another month, in line with expectations, following a run of weak economic data. Purchasing managers’ surveys have shown the UK manufacturing sector, once the bright spot in Britain’s lacklustre recovery, contracting for the last two months. An equivalent survey of services firms [...]