CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 29, 2010 Tullett Prebon The inter-dealer broker has re-hired Tory MP Michael Fallon as a non-executive director, just a few months after he resigned to pursue an unsuccessful campaign for the Treasury Select Committee chairmanship. Fallon, who lost out to Andrew Tyrie, rejoins Tullett a week after he replaced Lord Ashcroft as deputy chair of the Conservative [...]
Anglo Irish fears escalate September 28, 2010 IRELAND’S borrowing costs hit a record high yesterday after two credit rating agencies warned its debt is at risk of further downgrades, compounding political jitters over a budget that could break a shaky government. The anxiety was sparked by warnings from ratings agency Standard & Poor’s that if government support for Anglo Irish Bank, set [...]
AIG forced to defend suit over subprime exposure September 27, 2010 A JUDGE yesterday refused to dismiss a securities fraud lawsuit accusing American International Group (AIG)?of misleading investors about its exposure to subprime mortgages, which led to a liquidity crisis and $182.3bn of federal bailouts. The ruling by US district judge Laura Taylor Swain allows the case to go forward and could pave the way for [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 26, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES GOLD SALES AT EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANKS DRAW TO HALT Europe’s central banks have all but halted sales of their gold reserves, ending a run of large disposals each year for more than a decade. The central banks of the eurozone plus Sweden and Switzerland are bound by the Central Bank Gold Agreement, which [...]
Fears grow over second EU debt crisis September 23, 2010 FEARS of a second European Sovereign debt crisis grew yesterday as economic data showed Ireland’s second quarter GDP fell while uncertainty over how the country will support its banking sector triggered a sell-off in its bond markets that sent gilt yields to a record high. The sell-off came after the Irish government signalled that holders [...]
UniCredit CEO resigns after Libyan crisis September 21, 2010 UniCredit chief executive Alessandro Profumo resigned yesterday, his high-flying tenure at Italy’s biggest bank halted by a row over Libyan shareholders and lagging results. Profumo, Europe’s longest-serving bank chief, had steered UniCredit’s rise from a regional bank to a pan-European player with operations in 22 countries. Analysts say his departure could leave Italy’s most international [...]
A tricky balancing act on tax reform September 21, 2010 CONFERENCE season is upon us and the next few weeks will be the first time the parties have had since May to slow down and take stock of this brave new post-coalition political world. Given the breakneck speed at which the coalition has been implementing its policies so far, the conference pause is also a [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 16, 2010 ASHMORE Singer rates the fund manager a “buy” and has upgraded its target price to 360p. The broker says Ashmore has made the most of the financial crisis by buying cheap assets, and that its range of new products will boost the firm. It adds that the firm’s performance fees of £82.9m for the year [...]
Lloyds launches a thirty-year sterling bond September 15, 2010 LLOYDS Banking Group launched a rare 30-year senior sterling bond yesterday, capitalising on the upbeat tone of the credit markets and on demand from pension funds and insurers for long-dated sterling assets. The bond deal is the bank’s first ever sterling issue with a 30-year maturity, an official with the bank said. Initial guidance on [...]
Reinsurance firms face up to price pain September 13, 2010 REINSURERS are trying to stay confident about pricing prospects for 2011 in the face of a chorus of industry observers predicting price and earnings pain. At their annual Mediterranean meeting, the world’s biggest reinsurance players have once again vowed to maintain discipline in setting prices on the contracts for risk cover they provide to insurers, [...]