FSA GIVES GREEN LIGHT TO TWITTER HEDGE FUND May 9, 2011 GOOD news for Paul and Simon Hawtin, the brains behind the world’s first social media-based hedge fund, after the FSA yesterday gave the venture the green light to open for business. The approval for the fund, a spin-off of Derwent Capital that will monitor sentiment threads on Twitter to predict swings in the Dow Jones [...]
German exports surged in March May 9, 2011 German exports soared in March by 7.4 per cent compared to the previous month, official data showed yesterday. The spike saw the German trade surplus reach a six-month high of €15.3bn (£13.4bn), up from €11.2bn – the third sharpest monthly increase in the last nine years. Imports grew by 3.3 per cent compared to February. [...]
Weak banks and fears over Eurozone debt drag on FTSE May 9, 2011 BANKING stocks weighed on Britain’s leading share index yesterday, with the sector hit by their capitulation in a fight over loan insurance mis-selling, and by Eurozone debt concerns after S&P cut Greece’s credit rating. The British Banking Association said members would not appeal a ruling that they compensate customers wrongly sold payment protection insurance (PPI). [...]
Barclays takes £1bn hit on insurance claims May 9, 2011 Barclays is to take a £1bn provision to cover compensation for people who were mis-sold certain insurance policies, the bank said. Barclays and the country’s other banks will also drop a planned appeal against an earlier court ruling which had made them liable to the compensation claims over the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI). [...]
Barclays next to drop case May 8, 2011 BARCLAYS is to follow Lloyds in abandoning an industry-wide appeal against a high court ruling that will cost banks billions. The decision will leave other banks with little choice but to drop the case against the FSA on payment protection insurance (PPI). But City A.M. has learned that despite the likelihood of the banks giving [...]
Glencore float helps Nat Rothschild climb the list May 8, 2011 CITY high flyers feature prominently in this year’s Sunday Times rich list, as the driver of Britain’s economy continues to grow the wealth of the finance sector’s super rich. There are now 180 financial multimillionaires in the list, up ten on last year. Banking dynasty heir Nat Rothschild has usurped the wealth of his father [...]
Horta-Osório does a spot of kitchen sinking May 5, 2011 WAS Antonio Horta-Osório being entirely honest yesterday when he denied kitchen sinking at his first set of results? Not quite: what he did was gut the Lloyds kitchen entirely, clogged dishwasher and all. Then, not content with clearing out his own house, he broke into the homes of RBS, HSBC and Barclays, and stole their [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 5, 2011 Norton Rose The law firm has appointed renewable energy finance specialist Antje Günther as a partner in the firm’s Frankfurt office. Günther, who joins from DLA Piper, where she has worked since 2006, represents financial institutions, corporates and funds in domestic and cross-border transactions. Norton Rose opened a third German office in Hamburg on 1 [...]
Lloyds leads slide in banking stocks as FTSE loses ground May 5, 2011 SLIDING commodity prices thumped energy stocks and miners while Lloyds Banking Group led financials down, pulling Britain’s top share index lower yesterday, with technicals pointing to further weakness. Bearish investors came to the fore as heavyweight commodity stocks Royal Dutch Shell and Lonmin fell 1.8 and 4.1 per cent respectively on lower crude and metal [...]
BNP’s strong first quarter profit sets pace for rivals May 4, 2011 BNP Paribas, France’s biggest listed bank, beat first-quarter forecasts yesterday, driven by strong retail growth and resilient investment banking that bolstered investor confidence and set a high bar for rivals. BNP’s quarterly net income rose 14.6 per cent to €2.62bn (£2.36bn), compared with a a consensus forecast for €2.25bn. Revenue grew 1.3 per cent to [...]