HSBC spins off Asian private equity unit December 1, 2010 HSBC’s Asian private equity unit has been taken over in a management buyout and renamed Headland Capital Partners, it emerged yesterday. The sale is the first of five planned management buyouts of HSBC’s private equity businesses. It is the latest to respond to pressure from regulators on banks to spin off their private equity activities. [...]
Commodities and banks help FTSE snap its losing streak December 1, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading share index staged its biggest one day really in three months yesterday, clawing back some of the losses made in the past three sessions, with commodities boosted by upbeat Chinese data and banks rallying after being hit by sovereign debt concern. The rally was also boosted by hopes the European Central Bank (ECB) [...]
LISTED PRODUCT NEWS December 1, 2010 DB X-TRACKERS LISTS MORE ETFS IN SPAIN Deutsche Bank’s exchange-traded funds (ETF) arm db x-trackers yesterday launched its second set of ETFs on the Spanish stock market. Db x-trackers yesterday announced 10 more ETFs listed on the Bolsa de Madrid, which provide exposure to developed and emerging market equities, to two short indices, and also [...]
UK banks sign up to tax code November 30, 2010 IN A last minute scramble the UK’s 15 largest banks have signed up to a government code of practice aimed at reducing tax avoidance, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said yesterday. The code, which had a deadline of 30 November, but until October had only been supported by four of the 15, requires the banks [...]
Jobs growth in resurgent Germany as rest of Eurozone continues to flounder November 30, 2010 EMPLOYMENT in Germany has reached its highest level since reunification – yet in other Eurozone countries, employment continues to fall, official data showed yesterday. In October 40.9m people were at work in the country, as the German recovery surges forwards. The number is up 405,000 on the previous year, an increase of one per cent, [...]
Oils and financials weigh on FTSE offsetting miners’ rally November 30, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading share index retreated yesterday with a rally by miners more than offset by falls in oils and financials as investors fretted over Eurozone debt problems during a choppy session. The FTSE 100 closed down 22.68 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 5,528.27, a level not seen since the middle of September. The blue [...]
Irish most charitable despite crisis November 28, 2010 IRELAND puts more time into philanthropy than other countries, despite its economic crisis, according to research published today. Twenty per cent of high net worth individuals in Ireland spend at least five hours a week doing charity work, more than anywhere else in the world. The research also shows that charitable spending is likely to [...]
There’s more pain and selling to come for banking stocks November 28, 2010 EACH time that European banks have taken a step towards recovery since autumn 2008, it seemed that they suffered another a setback. Whether it was revelations of bad debts, government bailouts, exposure to indebted sovereigns or tighter regulation, it has been hard for their share prices to make sustained headway. The second bout of the [...]
No bonus cut at Stan Chart November 25, 2010 EMERGING markets bank Standard Chartered yesterday distanced itself from talks between the UK’s biggest banks over limiting bonus payouts. RBS, HSBC and Barclays are reportedly in discussions with each other and the government over potentially cutting 2010 bonuses as well as lending more to businesses. The UK’s five biggest banks may also contribute up to [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS November 25, 2010 TRYING TO TIME THE MARKET IS COSTLY Research commissioned by Barclays Wealth has revealed that investors’ habit of chasing performance is costing more than one percentage point a year in returns. The study, which analysed fund flows between 1992 and 2009, discovered that market timing decisions by retail investors (when investing in equity mutual funds) [...]