CONTAGION IS STILL A RISK FOR THE EURO November 23, 2010 BORIS SCHLOSSBERG DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT AFter several weeks of tense negotiations and turbulence in the credit markets, Ireland accepted a financial aid package from EU and the IMF. Although the size of the deal will not be known for days, analysts put the total at about €100bn – 40 per cent of the [...]
Low correlations and high liquidity ensure currency’s continued appeal November 23, 2010 FOR about a decade before the crisis, institutional investors were happy to accept that the currency markets were an area where active fund managers could add value. But they lost their faith in the asset class during 2008 when many currency managers lost money. Some of those managers who were running quantitative strategies and who [...]
Banking stocks fall on fears of Irish exposure November 22, 2010 BRITISH banking stocks fell yesterday on the back of uncertainty about their exposure to the Irish crisis. Barclays fell 2.7 per cent to 270.1p, while Lloyds dropped 5.8 per cent to 64p and RBS saw a 6.1 per cent fall to 40p. The falls in Lloyds and RBS stock were also exacerbated by the declaration [...]
Taylor Wimpey begins £250m bond offering November 22, 2010 HOUSEBUILDER Taylor Wimpey rounded off its refinancing plan yesterday by announcing a new £100m debt facility and plans to sell £250m of five-year bonds. The news follows on from the firm’s £950m credit facility, which was announced last week as the last act by outgoing chief financial officer Chris Rickard. Prudential’s M&G UK Companies Financing [...]
BLAIR WOOS LAWYERS WITH FOND MEMORIES November 22, 2010 CITY law firm Clifford Chance last night played host to a gathering of 250 of the City’s most prominent names in a one-off chance to hear from former Prime Minister Tony Blair. Blair blitzed into the event and had to run off to another engagement immediately afterwards, but in between he found time to cover [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 22, 2010 Matrix Group Matrix, the financial services firm, has announced the appointment of a new chief operating officer for asset management: Paul Bramley. Bramley has worked in financial services for more than 20 years, including occupying previous COO and chief financial officer roles. He is also a qualified chartered accountant and has worked at NatWest Markets, [...]
Revealed: The UK’s Irish risk November 22, 2010 THREE major UK banks – RBS, Barclays and Lloyds – together havemore than €100bn (£860m) of exposure in Ireland, according to data seen by City A.M. Morgan Stanley conducted research on the levels of exposure in the three “peripheral” Eurozone countries, Ireland, Portugal and Greece. Unsurprisingly “the largest exposures are clustered in UK banks”, the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 22, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES ROK WAS WARNED ON OUTLOOK Senior executives at Rok, the failed building group, were warned the company’s public statements risked misleading investors by failing to identify the extent or source of its problems. The board of directors was contacted by Ashley Martin, at the time the suspended finance director, after Rok released a [...]
Barclays and Lehman wrap up US lawsuit November 22, 2010 LEHMAN Brothers’ lawsuit against Barclays over its $1.75bn (£1.09bn) purchase of the bankrupt group’s assets draws to a close today, as lawyers on both sides submit their final arguments on whether Barclays made a secret windfall on the sale. Lehman, which filed for the world’s biggest bankruptcy in September 2008, is expected to claim Barclays [...]
Andy’s flying start follows Downing Street knock-up November 21, 2010 ANDY MURRAY began his Barclays ATP World Tour campaign with a straight sets win over Robin Soderling before revealing he’d prepared for the tournament by having a knock around with Prime Minister David Cameron inside Downing Street. Mr Cameron had hoped to play in the garden but the weather was too bad. So he took [...]