THE LONDON REPORT November 23, 2009 BRITAIN’S top share index ended sharply higher yesterday, snapping a four-day losing streak, with commodity and banking stocks rallying after comments by a senior US Federal Reserve official. The FTSE 100 index finished up 104.09 points, or 2 per cent, at 5,355.50 and recorded its biggest one-day percentage rise in more than six weeks. The [...]
Lawson sets up think-tank on the climate November 23, 2009 EX-CHANCELLOR and climate change sceptic Lord Lawson launched a cross-party global warming think-tank yesterday, which will have an ex-senior policy adviser to the Prime Minister and a former deputy chairman of Barclays on its board. The Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF), which is being launched just a fortnight before the United Nations’ (UN) climate change [...]
End is nigh for free banking as OFT ruling looms November 22, 2009 THE UK faces an end to free banking this week, as the Supreme Court makes its final ruling over whether customers have been unfairly charged on their overdrafts. The government has piled the pressure on banks to settle the matter quickly rather than appeal, and millions of customers could be eligible for a payout after [...]
L&Gready to name chair November 19, 2009 Legal and General will name its next chairman within the next ten days, City A.M. understands. The group is understood to have picked John Stewart, former boss of Woolwich, as its front-running candidate. Sources close to L&G say the candidate has been picked, but must now be vetted by City watchdog the FinancialServices Authority. L&G [...]
Blackstone to snap Birds Eye Foods up in $1.3bn cash deal November 19, 2009 Private equity titan Blackstone is set to buy Birds Eye Foods through its portfolio firm Pinnacle Foods. Pinnacle Foods, which already owns pancake mixture company Mrs Butterworths, will pay more than $1.3bn (£700m) for the biggest frozen-vegetable firm in the US. Birds Eye is majority owned by private equity firms Vestar Capital Partners, while New [...]
Hike in commodity costs hits miners and energy stocks November 19, 2009 Britain’s top share index fell 1.4 per cent yesterday as sagging commodity prices dented miners and energy stocks, while reduced risk appetite hurt banks. The FTSE 100 ended down 74.43 points at 5267.70, its biggest daily fall for three weeks, after closing 0.1 per cent lower on Wednesday. Miners were the biggest drag on the [...]
Three-way clash among MPC over QE November 18, 2009 TENSIONS on the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee (MPC) came to a head in November as members clashed in a three-way split over the way forward for its quantitative easing (QE) policy, the minutes of its last meeting showed yesterday. The committee voted unanimously to keep interest rates on hold at 0.5 per cent [...]
JPMorgan eats up 1bn Caz leftovers November 18, 2009 US INVESTMENT bank JPMorgan Chase & Co is expected to seal its £1bn buyout of the remainder of Cazenove today. JPMorgan will pay around 500p per share for the last 50 per cent of the 190-year-old British brokerage, valuing the total business at £2bn. The deal will land a multi-million pound windfall for many Cazenove [...]
Telereal Trillium agrees debt November 18, 2009 Telereal Trillium, the property investment vehicle owned by the William Pears Group, has pulled off a £340m debt refinancing with four banks. The restructure, one of the biggest transactions this year, was arranged between Telereal Trillium and Barclays, Lloyds, Germany’s Eurohypo and Spain’s Santander. Graham Edwards, Telereal Trillium’s chief executive, said: “We are very grateful [...]
People still value the personal touch from banks November 17, 2009 LAST week saw the launch of NatWest’s personal banking iPhone app, in line with the banking sector’s efforts to cut costs and improve user experience by moving their operations online. Recent YouGov research undertaken on behalf of Deloitte points to the risks in an online strategy: customers place high value on face-to-face interactions in their [...]