WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 18, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES BANKING QUINTET UNITE FOR HEDGING TOOL Five banks have joined forces to create a hedging tool designed to improve the health of their balance sheets and protect them against market sell-offs as international regulations force institutions to increase the quality of their assets. Barclays Capital, HSBC, Lloyds, Nomura and UBS are to launch [...]
Why the bulls are building a head of steam March 18, 2012 SO it’s another week and the bull market for stocks remains intact. The S&P 500 has breached the 1,400 level for the first time since June 2008, while in Europe equities are at fresh year highs, with Germany’s Dax up over 21 per cent. The FTSE is an underperformer, but still up an acceptable seven [...]
Argentina to sue UK oil groups March 15, 2012 ARGENTINA has given its sternest warning yet that British oil explorers in the Falklands are no longer welcome in what it claims as its sovereign territory – but the UK government says it will back companies’ right to drill. Argentine foreign minister Hector Timerman (pictured) called the activities “illegal” and “illegitimate” at a news conference yesterday. [...]
Stunned Goldman is forced to fight for its reputation March 14, 2012 NOTORIOUSLY private investment bank Goldman Sachs was last night forced to make public an internal email reassuring its 30,000 employees, after a tumultuous day saw a disgruntled ex-employee write a scathing attack on the firm in the New York Times newspaper, after he had resigned. The employee’s critique of the bank, in which it was [...]
Top PR job at Goldman was never going to be a walk in the park March 14, 2012 RICHARD Siewert Jnr’s appointment as the new head of public relations at Goldman Sachs was only officially announced to staff on Tuesday. But by yesterday morning the former press secretary to President Bill Clinton was thrown into his first fully-fledged firestorm. In an unauthorised article for the New York Times, Greg Smith, a London-based employee [...]
Financials and miners lift the FTSE to a new high for 2012 March 14, 2012 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 closed at its highest level this year yesterday as banks and miners rallied after encouraging economic data out of Europe and the US, although volumes were weak and traders said the market could be nearing its top. London’s blue chip index closed up 63.16 points, or 1.1 per cent at 5,955.91, but [...]
Ziggo brings a ray of sunshine to IPO market March 12, 2012 ALONG with the sunshine came a hint of optimism about the future of the faltering IPO market yesterday as the Dutch cable group Ziggo revealed there was sufficient demand for its upcoming £550m share issue. Private equity owners Cinven and Warburg Pincus, advised by STJ Advisors, are selling 35m secondary shares with guidance of €16.50 to [...]
Rising output eases fears of recession March 11, 2012 PRIVATE sector output has continued to expand in nearly every English region, a survey by Lloyds TSB revealed this morning. The latest purchasing managers’ index showed that output grew in every region except for the south west. “Despite an overall dip in growth from January’s high, private sector activity across the English regions still expanded [...]
FTSE buoyed by miners and banks March 8, 2012 The FTSE 100 pushed higher this morning as investors gained confidence in Greece’s chances of completing a lifesaving bond swap later today. Major banks and pension funds, representing about 40 per cent of Greece’s outstanding debt, threw their weight behind Athens’ bond swap offer to private creditors yesterday. That should be eno€130bn fund for Greece [...]
FTSE resilient despite Greek deal fears March 7, 2012 The FTSE 100 proved resilient this morning as strong corporate results shored up the index despite falls on other markets across the globe. European shares overall steadied after two straight days of losses as investors braced for news on whether Greece would succeed in restructuring its huge debt pile. The Greek bond swap deal must [...]