Posen: ECB is on right track June 14, 2010 CENTRAL banks have enhanced their future credibility and independence as a result of their policy decisions, including large-scale bond purchases, Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Adam Posen said yesterday. Speaking at the Barclays Capital annual Global Inflation-Linked Conference in New York, he said: “Always refusing to intervene in debt markets for appearance’s [...]
FTSE rises for fourth day in a row as miners offset a sharp decline for BP June 14, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index closed higher yesterday for a fourth straight day, led by miners buoyed by firmer metals prices and offsetting a sharp fall in BP. The FTSE 100 index closed up 38.45 points, or 0.7 per cent, at 5,202.13, its highest close since 3 June. Mining stocks added the most points to the [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS June 14, 2010 LLOYDS BANKING GROUP Morgan Stanley has given Lloyds Banking Group an “underweight” rating and cut its price target by 23 per cent to 50p. Analysts said it faces a big risk of missing consensus beyond 2010, given pressure on net interest margin, tepid GDP growth and industry funding strains. Barclays is Morgan Stanley’s top pick. [...]
City Moves | who’s switching jobs Edited June 14, 2010 Future Capital Partners The investment boutique has hired Tim West as its new deputy chief executive. West joins from Babcock and Brown, where he was head of the London office and chief operating officer for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. Prior to that, he held the position of European chief operating officer for [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 13, 2010 THE SUNDAYS The Sunday Telegraph $2.6M BUFFETT LUNCH WON BY ANONYMOUS BIDDER A mystery benefactor has paid $2.6m (£1.8m) to meet with billionaire investor Warren Buffett for a business lunch. The Sage of Omaha auctioned his time in aid of a San Francisco charity. This year’s auction brought in 25 per cent more than any [...]
Joint effort vital for better banking access June 13, 2010 BANKS must work together with policymakers, technology providers and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to improve global access to financial services and boost economic growth in the wake of the financial crisis, a new report has found. According to the “Banking for Billions” report, launched today by Barclays and the Economist Intelligence Unit, 2.5bn people across the [...]
Inflation forecast to stay stubbornly high June 13, 2010 INFLATION data out this week is likely to cause a further headache for the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) after data on Friday showed the public’s expectations of long-term inflation had shot up sharply. The MPC has long argued it would look through what it sees as a temporary spike in inflation. But, [...]
SHOULD THE MPC BE WORRIED ABOUT THE RISE IN INFLATION EXPECTATIONS? June 13, 2010 MICHAEL SAUNDERS | CITIGROUP “Signs that high CPI and RPI figures are lifting inflation expectations are bound to worry the MPC. The MPC takes the inflation target seriously and it cannot stand by if it loses credibility. So far, longer-term inflation expectations remain fairly stable, combined with early fiscal tightening will keep the MPC on [...]
Be discerning about Europe’s banking sector June 13, 2010 THE last two years have been cataclysmic for the global banking sector. Yet most banks managed to stay afloat during the financial crisis and have returned to profitability this year. And after the wave of volatility that hit the markets in recent weeks, banking stocks are beginning to look cheap. But should investors be buying [...]
Miners carry the FTSE to small gains after talk Australia could axe new tax June 10, 2010 ARALLY by miners lifted Britain’s top share index by the close on Thursday, while improved economic sentiment gave the banks a boost. Another sharp fall for BP, however, limited the index’s gains, as the costs of the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico continued to cloud the company’s future. Miners delivered the bulk [...]