Banks hit by Greece loan delay June 20, 2011 Banking stocks took a pummeling in early trading today as Eurozone ministers stalled on loan payments to Greece creating more uncertainty surrounding the beleaguered country. Ministers said Greece would need to introduce harsh austerity measures before it received the 12bn euros (£10.6bn) in loans. The FTSE 100 was dented by the news and European markets [...]
Old Vic Productions in money drama June 19, 2011 Old Vic Productions, which co-produces and invests in shows from the West End to Broadway, has revealed a full-year pre-tax loss of £630,423 for 2010. The company has decided to close a US tour of Billy Elliot the Musical after the show’s Toronto run. The company, chaired by Barclays chief executive, Bob Diamond, said losses [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS June 16, 2011 Dalton Strategic Partnership The investment manager has appointed Keith Busuttil as an analyst on the European Absolute Return equities team, based in London, where he will work on the Melchior European equity long short strategies. Busuttil joins DSP from The Blackstone Group, where he was vice president in the European Debt Restructuring team. Prior to [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS June 16, 2011 BARCLAYS Deutsche Bank rates the bank “buy” with a target price of 386p. The broker notes that Barclays was keen to stress its flexibility in the face of regulatory shifts at a recent investor day, forecasting a 15 per cent return on equity for BarCap in 2013 even if revenues are subdued by rule changes. [...]
FTSE tumbles as Greek crisis prompts flight from equities June 16, 2011 BRITAIN’S top shares fell sharply yesterday as fears over the global recovery and a contagion impact from the Greek debt crisis prompted investors to sell out of riskier assets such as commodity stocks. The FTSE 100 ended down 43.74 points, or 0.8 per cent, at 5,698.81, back at levels last seen after the Japanese earthquake, [...]
Osborne: the Rock will be re-privatised June 15, 2011 Mansion House CHANCELLOR George Osborne last night announced that Northern Rock – the first casualty of the financial crisis – will be re-privatised. Treasury sources said they hoped the auction, which is expected to raise around £1bn for the exchequer, would be completed before the end of the year. The chancellor, who made the announcement in [...]
Markets shun banks on fear of ringfence June 15, 2011 BRITAIN’S four biggest banks saw £3.5bn wiped off their value yesterday as investors fretted that chancellor George Osborne’s support for a ring-fence of their retail arms could push up costs and erode returns. Barclays and RBS were the biggest fallers, losing 2.7 per cent and 1.9 per cent respectively due to their reliance on their investment [...]
Barclays cuts down Protium by a third June 15, 2011 BARCLAYS has already sold off almost half of the assets that it previously tried to hive off in the Protium accounting trick that it reversed in April, BarCap co-head Jerry del Missier told investors yesterday. Protium, the name given to a $12bn (£7.4bn) pile of risky assets that Barclays converted into a loan in 2009 to [...]
France’s inflation figures tread water during May June 15, 2011 CONSUMER price inflation (CPI) in France rose by 0.1 percentage point in May, but the annual rate of increase slowed to two per cent, the country’s national statistics institute Insee said yesterday. Energy prices declined 1.6 per cent, but remained above analysts’ expectations due to a smaller than expected drop in the cost of petrol and [...]
Weak banks help drive FTSE to three-month closing low June 15, 2011 BRITAIN’S top shares ended lower yesterday, weighed down by banks on worries over the UK government’s drive for tougher regulation and Europe’s debt crisis, while commodity stocks also pressured the index. The FTSE 100 closed down 60.58 points, or 1.0 per cent, at 5,742.55, its lowest finish since March 18. Banks fell ahead of chancellor [...]