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 [...]
Shares in Avis spike on news of takeover June 14, 2011 SHARES in car hire firm Avis Europe leaped 58 per cent yesterday as investors rushed to benefit from its takeover by US counterpart Avis Budget. Avis Budget said it would pay £636m in cash for Avis Europe to reunite the two firms after 25 years and create a group with revenues of $7bn (£4.3bn). The [...]
HSBC sells Russian consumer banking division to Citigroup June 14, 2011 HSBC has agreed to sell part of its Russian retail banking business to Citigroup in a deal valued at around $10.7m (£6.5m). The British bank said in April that it would quit its Russian retail operations, becoming the latest in a string of international lenders to pull the plug on consumer banking in the country. [...]
FTSE climbs as risk appetite returns June 14, 2011 London stocks are gaining ground this morning after heartening economic data from China led Asia to a positive finish overnight and boosted commodities. Energy and metals prices are rising after data showed China’s inflation rate remains high at 5.5 per cent. That rate was better than some expected, though, while retail sales data also showed [...]
Avis Budget to pay £636m for Avis Europe June 14, 2011 Care hire company Avis Budget has agreed to buy its European counterpart Avis Europe for £636m in cash to create a group with revenues of $7bn (£4.3bn). The 315p-per-share offer is at a 60 per cent premium to Avis Europe’s share price at yesterday’s close and will reunite the two companies after 25 years. The [...]
Barclays goes it alone on PPI compensation June 13, 2011 BARCLAYS surprised its rivals yesterday by promising to settle customer complaints about its mis-selling of insurance with “no questions asked”. The decision means that the bank is likely to pay out the £1.1bn it has earmarked for the costs of wrongly selling payment protection insurance (PPI) far quicker than other banks will spend their provisions. [...]