PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS June 8, 2011 DISTRESSING FINANCES According to R3, the trade body for insolvency professionals, the number of people experiencing financial distress has increased to the highest level recorded. 8m people are due to go into their overdraft this month, with 2m believing that they will go into an unauthorised overdraft position. The findings also show that 6m people [...]
Big banks accused of talking down values June 7, 2011 STJ Advisors, the St James’s Place-based firm, is accusing the big banks that run the flotation process of charging high fees and of “distorting investor feedback” in order to get companies to lower their valuation, according to a sales document seen by City A.M. The document claims that “banks are conflicted” in the IPO process. [...]
MPs raise concerns over new panel’s independence June 7, 2011 CONCERNS have been raised over the independence of the new body being set up to spot potential crises in the British economy by an influential committee of MPs. The Treasury select committee said it was “not so clear” whether Alistair Clark, a former Bank of England employee, would be sufficiently independent to sit on the [...]
Cowdery’s buyout fund is dead man walking but shares still worth a look June 7, 2011 WHEN Clive Cowdery returned with the second incarnation of Resolution, his life insurance consolidation vehicle, he had ambitions to match the firm’s moniker. To be frank, he hasn’t resolved very much and today’s £250m buyback suggests he doesn’t plan to either. February’s “pause” on new acquisitions is now looking like a final stop. The zombie [...]
German factory orders recover June 7, 2011 German factory orders climbed 2.8 per cent in April compared to the previous month, reversing the 2.7 per cent drop seen in March. “Assuming the current reading persists in May to June, factory orders would be 1.5 per cent above the their quarter four [2010] level, providing a favourable indication for production output,” commented Barclays [...]
Barclays forced to pay out June 6, 2011 BARCLAYS is being forced to return $2bn (£1.2bn) in margin collateral to the trustee for the brokerage arm of Lehman Brothers, the collapsed US bank. US bankruptcy judge James Peck yesterday said the trustee, which is liquidating what is left of the brokerage business, is entitled to $4bn in margin assets that have been the [...]
Shares in OMV’s $1.3bn debt-cutting rights issue likely to be fully subscribed June 6, 2011 AUSTRIAN oil group OMV has had orders for all the shares on offer in its rights issue of up to $1.3bn (£1.2bn), two sources said yesterday. The issue of up to 27.3m new shares, on a subscription ratio of one for every 11 held, was part of OMV’s efforts to cut debt after two major [...]
Stocks suffer on global growth fears June 6, 2011 Stocks have fallen this morning on a hangover from weak US employment data on Friday, and falls in Asian markets overnight. US non-farm payroll data showing just 54,000 new jobs were created in May shocked the markets, leaving the Nasdaq 1.5 per cent lower. In Asia, the Nikkei fell to an 11-week closing low today [...]
UK car sales decline as private buyers stay away June 6, 2011 New car sales in the UK fell by 1.7 per cent in May compared with May 2010 as sales to fleets failed to offset a decline in purchases by individuals, new data shows. There were 150,431 new car registrations in May, the Society of Motor Manufacturers said. The decline was the smallest monthly fall since [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 5, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES PAULSON FUND FALLS 6PC IN MAY Paulson & Co, the world’s third- largest hedge fund, saw the value of its flagship fund drop close to 6 per cent in May, echoing losses across the industry. The loss tops negative returns in the first quarter at the $37bn (£22.5bn) New York-based money manager, famed [...]