Barclays to buy Egg credit card assets March 1, 2011 Barclays is to buy the British credit card assets of online bank Egg from US lender Citigroup for an undisclosed price, as part of plans to boost its retail banking business. “The acquisition of Egg’s UK credit card accounts has been priced at a significant discount to gross receivables. Based on current projections, we expect [...]
What the other papers say this morning February 28, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES ITALIAN BANKS GO FOR GOLD IN MOVE TO TRANSFORM CORE CAPITAL RATIOS Italian banks think they may have struck gold as they seek to add lustre to balance sheets ahead of the summer stress tests. The lenders, which are shareholders in the central bank, are lobbying for their stakes to be marked to [...]
Lloyds stays at the top of bank complaints list February 28, 2011 LLOYDS BANKING GROUP was the most complained-about financial firm during the last six months of last year, after more than 22,000 customers registered a grievance with the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Lloyds, the UK’s biggest bank by customers, was the subject of almost a quarter of the 97,237 new cases lodged with the ombudsman. The [...]
Aegon plans €1bn rights issue and US insurance sale to repay Dutch state aid February 24, 2011 DUTCH life insurer Aegon is to raise about €1bn (£850m) from a share issue to help repay €2.25bn of state aid by the middle of the year. The repayment would free Aegon from EC restrictions imposed on companies that received government cash during the credit crisis. “After repayment the limitations that were imposed on us [...]
US sales data down despite jobless claims fall February 24, 2011 New US claims for jobless aid fell last week, hinting at an improvement in the labour market, but declines in new home sales and orders for a range of factory goods in January showed the economy still faced headwinds. Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits fell 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted 391,000, the Labor [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS February 23, 2011 YOUNG FEMALE DRIVERS WILL PAY MORE The EU gender directive ruling, which is expected on 1 March this year, will decide whether or not it is legal for insurers to charge different premiums based on gender. Under the current rules, young female drivers pay less for their insurance than young men, based on the fact [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNINGF February 22, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES SUGAR TRADERS CONSIDER CAP The world’s largest sugar exchange and top traders are mulling “circuit breakers” to cap the recent surge in price volatility, people familiar with the discussions said. The ICE Futures US exchange, based in New York, and the World Sugar Committee (WSC), an advisory group of top traders, are setting [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 22, 2011 Hawkpoint Partners Simon Russell has been appointed as managing director of Hawkpoint Partners. With an extensive portfolio across top European companies, Russell was previously head of technology at Dresdner Kleinwort as well as the head of European technology at Thomas Weisel Partners. He has also provided advice to corporate clients including Liquavista, 2e2, Wolters Kluwer [...]
Hopes of revival for financial sector drives the FTSE higher February 16, 2011 BRITAIN’S leading share index rallied yesterday, powered by banks, on hopes for further upbeat earnings in the sector after Barclays and French peer Societe Generale set the standard. HSBC gained 2.8 per cent, Royal Bank of Scotland rose 4.3 per cent and Barclays, which reported results on Tuesday, was up 1.0 per cent. Societe Generale [...]
CLICK TO SAVE: WEBSITES THAT STOP YOU LOSING OUT February 16, 2011 THE internet is tearing up many traditional business models, bringing down costs, along with barriers to information-sharing and market entry. We look at four sites that could change your life (or at least your bank balance): BILLMONITOR.COM This new mobile phone comparison website uses technology developed over the last four years by Oxford University statisticians. [...]