WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 17, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BALLS WARNS KING ON BANK CREDIBILITY Ed Balls, shadow chancellor, has criticised Mervyn King, Bank of England governor, saying he should step out of the political arena and stop tying his credibility to the coalition’s “extreme” deficit-reduction plans. In an interview with the Financial Times, Balls drew comparisons between King’s stance and the [...]
Naguib Kheraj leaves Lazard February 17, 2011 HIGH-flying banker Naguib Kheraj yesterday walked away from his chief executive role at Lazard after just six weeks in the post. Kheraj, a former JPMorgan Cazenove chief executive and Barclays finance director, resigned as chief executive of Lazard International to focus on philanthropic work. His departure surprised many in the City as much as his [...]
Core price pressures grow for US February 17, 2011 AMERICA’S recovery was boosted yesterday, with several data releases boding well for the world’s largest economy. However, the Federal Reserve faces more criticism after core inflation rose at its highest rate for over a year. Consumer price inflation for January came in higher than expected, at 0.4 per cent month-on-month. Core prices – excluding food [...]
Jobless claims in US rise again February 17, 2011 Unemployment claims in the US rose more than expected last week, official figures revealed yesterday. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 25,000 to a seasonally adjusted 410,000, the Labor Department said, partially reversing the prior weeks hefty decline. “We see this move as a continued unwind of the weather-related distortions to the previous weeks [...]
London flat as weak miners are offset by strong financials February 17, 2011 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 share index closed slightly higher yesterday, as strong gains from banks offset weaker miners and optimism on corporate earnings outweighed Middle East political concerns. Banks advanced by upbeat broker comment and hopes for further good earnings reports from the sector, and overall sentiment on equities remained fairly positive. The FTSE 100 closed [...]
US inflation in higher-than-expected rise February 17, 2011 US core consumer prices rose at the fastest pace in more than a year in January, indicating a long period of slowing inflation had run its course. The US Labor Department said its core Consumer Price Index, which excludes food and energy costs, increased 0.2 per cent – the largest gain since October 2009. The [...]
King insists a rise in rates is not imminent February 16, 2011 MERVYN King yesterday tried to play down expectations that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) would imminently start raising interest rates to curb inflation, insisting that it would be a “futile gesture”. Unveiling the Bank of England’s quarterly Inflation Report, in which it lowered its forecast for economic growth this year from 2.6 per cent to [...]
The new trade minister on exports, China and telecoms… but not banks February 16, 2011 IT IS fitting that new trade minister Lord Stephen Green, who is ordained in the Church of England, should make his first foreign trip to an event that inspires an almost religious fervour amongst its followers. Sitting at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, surrounded by the giants of the telecoms world, the former HSBC chairman [...]
Delaware judge slams BarCap February 16, 2011 A Delaware judge yesterday slammed the dual role of Barclays Capital in the takeover of Del Monte Foods by a private equity consortium led by KKR. The judge, which delayed the shareholder vote on the takeover by 20 days, criticised Barcap, saying the bank wanted to gain fees on both the sell side and buy [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS February 16, 2011 AMEC Morgan Stanley has downgraded the engineering consultancy to “underweight” with a target price of £10.80 due to risks from the firm’s excess cash pile of around $1bn. The broker believes that AMEC missed the opportunity to expand through acquisitions when valuations were low in 2009, and sees a risk of the firm acquiring rivals [...]