Santander pulls out of Merlin deal January 13, 2011 SANTANDER UK last night pulled out of collective banking industry talks with the government designed to secure specific lending targets, instead entering into direct negotiations with the Treasury. The industry initiative, known as “Project Merlin”, centres around a truce whereby banks will commit to lend more to small and medium-sized businesses in return for no further [...]
BarCap to cut 200 UK staff as revenues fall January 12, 2011 BARCLAYS Capital will lay off two to three per cent of its workforce this week, with a third of the cuts to fall on its London offices. In all, 600 front and back office staff will be given notice at the investment bank, with around 200 of those in the UK. The downsizing will include several [...]
Fed: Economy is recovering January 12, 2011 AMERICA’S end of year economic uptick was confirmed by the Federal Reserve beige book last night. The report, based on anecdotal accounts from businesses across the Fed’s regional branches, painted a “positive, although still generally cautious” picture. “Economic activity continued to expand moderately from November through December,” the report said. “Conditions were generally said to [...]
City responds to calls to make a commitment to personal finance January 12, 2011 SINCE the launch of City A.M.’s Campaign for Financial Literacy yesterday, the number of positive responses received from City firms that are already engaged in education initiatives has been incredibly encouraging. Financial planners Killik, for example, has been developing a web-based tutorial known as Money in Mind. The site uses simple graphics and language to [...]
Do as we say, not as we do, says the Mirror January 12, 2011 EDITORS at the Daily Mirror could barely contain their excitement at the coming of bonus season yesterday, splashing their front page on the beleaguered chief executive of RBS, Stephen Hester under the headline “Do the right thing: give up your obscene £3m bonus”. “The Mirror calls on Mr Hester and all the other fatcat bankers [...]
London hits 31-month closing high as Portuguese fears fade January 12, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index hit a 31-month closing high yesterday, boosted by banks after a successful bond sale in Portugal eased investor concerns over Europe’s sovereign debt crisis, and as miners tracked metals prices higher. The FTSE 100 ended up 36.69 points, or 0.6 per cent, at 6,050.72, its highest close since early June 2008, [...]
TOP RISERS AND FALLERS January 12, 2011 Miners and banks drove the FTSE up to 6,051 yesterday as a successful debt issue in Portugal reassured investors. Vedanta and Eurasian Natural Resources both benefitted from analyst upgrades by Deutsche Bank. A referendum in Kazakhstan on the president’s rule also helped. National Grid, GKN and J Sainsbury all dropped back. Eurasian Natural Resources – [...]
Rising export markets give morale boost January 12, 2011 BRITISH exports rose by 4.1 per cent (£0.9bn) in November, official data showed yesterday, as a separate survey revealed buoyant confidence among exporting companies. Overall the UK’s trade deficit edged upwards to £4.1bn, but only because of rocketing oil prices and erratic items, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. Excluding these elements, exports rose [...]
Good news boosts FTSE to 2008 levels January 12, 2011 BANKS and miners dominated the FTSE today, leading the index to another 31-month high as good news from Portugal’s bond sale boosted financial stocks, and miners tracked metals prices higher. Four FTSE 250 companies also posted double-digit gains as news that Gartmore agreed a £335.3m takeover deal by rival Henderson sent their shares higher. The [...]
Portugal bond auction dominates markets January 12, 2011 European markets were today putting Portugal under the microscope as the ailing euro zone member launched its first debt auction of the year. The country – desperately trying to avoid a bailout from the European Union and IMF – is tapping bond investors for around €1.24bn. All eyes are on the auction which is key [...]