DIAMOND TAKES HARD LINE ON BONUS ROW February 16, 2010 AS AN investment banking doyen continually under the cosh these days with regard to bonus payments, it must be tough to keep a calm and unruffled façade at all times. Bob Diamond, the president of Barclays and head of its money-spinning investment bank Barclays Capital – yesterday kept mostly schtum at the group’s annual results [...]
US stocks boosted by Merck earnings February 16, 2010 US stocks posted their biggest daily percentage gain in three months yesterday after strong revenue from drugmaker Merck and regional manufacturing data instilled confidence in the economic outlook. Resource related shares were among the strongest gainers as a weaker US dollar sparked buying in oil and other commodities. The CRB commodities index marked its largest [...]
Technical signs point to dollar domination over the euro February 16, 2010 THE latest revelation in the Greek debt saga is that investment banks on Wall Street helped Greece and other southern European economies to move some of their debt off of their balance sheets through the use of securitisation and swaps over the past 15 years. This allowed them to reduce their official budget deficit figures [...]
Barclays sees record profit but bosses refuse bonuses February 16, 2010 BARCLAYS’ full-year pre-tax profit soared by 92 per cent to £11.6bn in 2009. The figure was boosted by the sale of its BGI fund management arm to US firm BlackRock last year. But even after taking that out of the equation profits were £5.3bn. Barclays Capital investment banking business generated £2.5bn of that. The bank’s [...]
JP Morgan to seal Sempra deal February 15, 2010 JP Morgan is near to closing a deal to buy RBS Sempra for $1.7bn. The deal, which could be announced as soon as today, excludes the more valuable North American parts of RBS Sempra Commodities. JP Morgan had been in exclusive talks to buy all of RBS Sempra, but US plans to stop proprietary trading [...]
Credit card rates soar to 12–year high February 15, 2010 CREDIT card rates have reached a twelve-year high as providers become wary of borrowers inability to repay debts during the recession. The average credit card rate now stands at 18.8 per cent, a four per cent rise from 2006 when increased competition between providers drove rates down. Banks and credit companies face higher pricing for [...]
Top RBS bankers quit amid furious backlash over bonuses February 15, 2010 TWO investment banking hotshots have quit their positions at Royal Bank of Scotland just weeks before the annual bonus round, amid a furious populist backlash against potential payouts at the bailed-out bank. Steve Ashley, the head of interest rates trading, and Chris Fleming, the head of European flow sales, resigned on Friday. Both are thought [...]
Banks and commodities make gains as Wall Street is closed for public holiday February 15, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading shares rose 0.5 per cent yesterday, led by firmer banks and commodity issues after falls in the previous session, while British Airways climbed on increased hopes for a global alliance. At the close, the FTSE 100 was 25.02 points higher at 5,167.47, well below the session peak of 5,194.29. Blue chips drifted off [...]
European stocks boosted despite Greek concerns February 15, 2010 EUROPEAN shares closed higher yesterday, supported by gains in banks and miners while defensive food producers fell, but a lack of clarity over eurozone support for Greece was seen capping further gains for equities. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares provisionally closed 0.4 per cent higher at 991.76 points, after falling 0.3 per [...]
Barclays set for a bonanza February 15, 2010 BARCLAYS is preparing to give a boost to the banking industry tomorrow, when it is expected to kick off the UK bank reporting season by announcing a bumper £11.2bn profit haul. The figure includes a £6.2bn one-off profit on the sale of its asset management arm Barclays Global Investors to BlackRock last year – a [...]