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 [...]
Investors looking for bargains among battered stocks power the FTSE rally September 7, 2011 Britain’s top share index notched up solid gains yesterday, led by banks and commodities, as investors sought out bargains among battered stocks, but analysts, eckoned the rally was unsustainable. The FTSE 100 ended 161.75 points, or 3.1 per cent, higher at 5,318.59, building on Tuesday’s 1.1 per cent advance. It had shed nearly six per [...]
Lehman wars with Barclays over bonuses September 7, 2011 LEHMAN Brothers Holdings, whose North American business was taken over by Barclays in 2008, asked a US judge yesterday to force the British bank to return $500m (£312.9m) it says was meant to go to employees. In the latest round of a long legal dispute, Lehman told a hearing in US Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan that [...]
LORD FINK WARMS UP FOR PARTY MARATHON September 7, 2011 HE HAS survived running the world’s largest hedge fund and managing the books for the Conservative Party. But the test that will really prove the making of Lord Stanley Fink is a 24-hour, country-hopping bender from London to Spain. Next Thursday, Fink and his business associate David Johnstone, who co-founded the luxury brands holding company [...]
Upbeat Burford sees sales soar September 7, 2011 COMMERCIAL dispute financier Burford Capital yesterday said half-yearly revenue rose to $11.5m (£7.19m). The 187.5 per cent rise for the six months to 30 June comes after the Aim-listed firm expanded its range of litigation-related investments. Pre-tax profit increased more than sixfold to $7.14m. The investment company, registered in Guernsey, is headed by Sir Peter [...]
LLOYDS HIT BY SURGE IN PPI COMPLAINTS September 6, 2011 LLOYDS (led by Antonio Horta Osorio, pictured) was the most complained-about bank in the first half of 2011 after being hit by a flood of disputes over mis-sold payment protection insurance, the financial ombudsman service said yesterday. It received 37,696 complaints against Lloyds Banking Group, of which about 26,910 were related to PPI. Barclays received [...]
Exports struggle to keep EU afloat as consumer demand slides even further September 6, 2011 OVERALL growth slowed dramatically across Europe from April to June, figures released yesterday confirmed – but growing demand from other countries helped the 27 member states in positive figures. GDP across the European Union grew by a meagre 0.2 per cent in the second quarter, taking growth for the 12 months to June to 1.7 [...]
A rally in commodities gives a rare fillip to the FTSE 100 September 6, 2011 A RALLY by hard-pressed commodity issues hauled Britain’s top share index higher yesterday as investors fished choppy waters for bargains after sharp falls in the past two sessions. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was up 54.26 points, or 1.1 per cent, at 5,156.84, having hit a peak of 5,190.2 in the morning and [...]
FTSE tumbles on bank fears September 5, 2011 THE FTSE shed £49bn yesterday after slumping to a loss of nearly four per cent, with investors spooked by a barrage of bad news. RBS dragged the index down, falling 12 per cent on the news it is being sued by the US Federal Finance Housing Agency (FHFA) over allegations it misled buyers of mortgage portfolios [...]
French growth defies sluggish Euro activity September 5, 2011 ACTIVITY growth in the Eurozone service sector has fallen to a two-year low, according to figures released yesterday. At 51.5 in August, the area’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) is down 0.1 on July. A PMI of 50 means no change in activity. Performance is varying wildly across the continent, though, with Spain and Italy experiencing [...]