HMV shares plunge as insurers reduce cover January 19, 2011 Credit insurers have reduced the cover they are prepared to give to suppliers of HMV Group following a profit warning from the music, books, DVDs and games retailer, hammering its shares. The withdrawal of credit insurance was a major blow to retailers like variety chain Woolworths and music retailer Zavvi as they tried, and failed, [...]
HMV supplies hit by credit insurance cut January 18, 2011 TROUBLED music retailer HMV came under further fire yesterday after suppliers revealed that its credit insurers were drastically cutting the amount of sales they would insure. An internal memo from Sony showed that its credit insurers had withdrawn all cover for new sales to HMV after a meeting with HMV chief executive Simon Fox had [...]
Europe imposes its men on City January 13, 2011 Three virtually unknown men took the most important jobs in European financial regulation yesterday, causing consternation in the City. In the latest snub to Britain’s sovereignty, the European Union appointed career policymakers from Portugal, Italy and the Netherlands as chairmen of its three “super-regulators” covering the EU’s markets, banks and insurers. Disappointed City sources warned [...]
What the other papers are saying this morning January 12, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES GERMANY BACKS WIDER RESCUE FUND ROLE Germany is backing proposals to give new powers and lending capacity to the €440bn Eurozone rescue fund, even if that means increasing its financial guarantees, according to people familiar with the issue in Berlin and Brussels. Such a move would be part of a package of measures, [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS January 6, 2011 RATE WAR ON £7,500 LOANS The average interest rate charged on unsecured personal loans of £7,500 has dropped to 7.89 per cent, the lowest level since November 2008, according to a survey by moneysupermarket.com. The fall in rates is thanks to a price war between providers. Tim Moss, head of loans and debts at moneysupermarket.com, [...]
AXA fund raises €350m to finance property loans January 4, 2011 REAL estate asset manager Axa Real Estate has raised €350m (£300m) in the first close of its commercial property debt fund to take advantage of the shortage of bank loans to the sector. The firm is targeting a final level of €1bn for the fund, to add to €1.15bn in existing commitments it has gained [...]
The City is back but under new management December 21, 2010 BRITAIN’S financial landscape has been transformed since we last shone a light on the City’s most powerful figures two years ago. The City A.M./CityJet Power Hundred 2011 list ranks the most influential figures in UK finance as we head into the new year. It should be no surprise that it is very different from 2009. [...]
Moody’s may cut Portugal’s rating further December 21, 2010 CREDIT rating agency Moody’s Investor Service has warned that debt-ridden Portugal’s A1 rating may be the next to be downgraded by one or two notches after a review that will take up to three months. The agency attributed the change to the EU state’s weak growth prospects and high borrowing costs – but said its [...]
Bundesbank: CDS did not cause crisis December 20, 2010 GERMANY’S central bank said yesterday that speculative trading in sovereign credit default swaps (CDS) was not to blame for the Eurozone debt crisis. In its December report, the Bundesbank said that a spike in the cost of insuring sovereign debt using CDS was not down to excessive speculation by traders. Instead, movements in CDS prices for [...]
City warns over rights issue rip off December 13, 2010 INVESTMENT banks have been slammed by the City’s top institutional investors for charging unfairly high fees to companies raising capital through rights issues. An inquiry commissioned by the Institutional Investor Council, backed by the Association of British Insurers and the National Association of Pension Funds, lashes out at investment banks today for charging underwriting fees [...]