Threadneedle Street keeps monetary policy unchanged again this month July 8, 2010 THE Bank of England this month held interest rates, keeping monetary policy ultra-loose. Interest rates remained at their historic low of 0.5 per cent and the stock of asset purchases was held at £200bn. Economists had expected the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to hold fire this month and said it would have been an enormous [...]
Slow start for Mickelson July 8, 2010 GOLF: Phil Mickelson suffered a disappointing opening round 71 at the Barclays Scottish Open as he attempts to overhaul Tiger Woods as world No1. Mickelson needs to finish first or second at Loch Lomond to leapfrog Woods ahead of next week’s Open, but struggled with a level-par round. Ulsterman Darren Clarke leads on six-under-par, ahead [...]
AT A GLANCE | KEY DETAILS OF THE STRESS TESTS July 7, 2010 The objective The stress tests aim to assess the resilience of the EU banking sector and banks’ ability to absorb further possible shocks on credit and market risks, including sovereign risks, and to assess their current dependence on taxpayer support measures. How the tests will work The programme will be conducted on a bank-by-bank basis [...]
Hayward meets Abu Dhabi crown prince over BP’s future July 7, 2010 BP’S embattled chief executive Tony Hayward yesterday met with Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan amidst suggestions the oil rich country could buy a stake as high as 10 per cent in the oil major. The group would not be drawn on the exact details of the conversation but sources suggested the [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS July 7, 2010 BMW Barclays Capital reiterates a “strong buy” for BMW, based on its new forecasts. BarCap said that it believes that the luxury market provides a safehaven in the volatile European auto sector, due to its net exports, strong emerging market sales and lack of exposure to scrappage schemes. PERSIMMON JP Morgan Cazenove said that Persimmon [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 7, 2010 Religare Enterprises The Indian financial services group has appointed Stuart Pearce, pictured, and Kathryn Matthews as independent board directors. Pearce has over 35 years of experience in the sector and was previously chief executive and director general of the Qatar Financial Centre Authority. He has also worked as chief executive of UK investment management at [...]
FTSE is boosted by banks as stress test fears begin to ease July 7, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading share index ended higher after a choppy session yesterday, driven by a recovery in banking stocks on reassuring comments from US peer State Street and an easing of stress test fears. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was 49.82 points higher, or up 1.0 per cent, at 5,014.82, its high for the [...]
FTSE hits one-week closing high aided by miners as low prices tempt traders July 6, 2010 FIRMER miners helped push Britain’s top share index to a one-week closing high yesterday on improving risk appetite, while signs of strength in Europe’s banking system lifted banks. The FTSE 100 closed up 141.47 points, or 2.9 per cent, at 4,965.00, its highest closing level since 28 June, and its biggest one-day percentage rise since [...]
Top economic forecaster Martin Weale to join Bank’s rate-setting committee July 5, 2010 LEADING economist Martin Weale has been appointed as an external member of the?Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) by chancellor George Osborne. The director of the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (Niesr) will join the MPC in time for the August rate-setting meeting and the forecast round leading up to it, the [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 5, 2010 SWIP The Scottish Widows Investment Partnership has appointed Ramsay Urquhart as its new finance director and part of the executive committee, reporting directly to managing director Dean Buckley. Urquhart joins from Barclays Wealth, where he has been head of investment operations since September 2006. Prior to that, he spent 14 years at Dutch financial services [...]