Debt fears cast a cloud over outlook for stocks August 9, 2009 The FTSE 100 hit its highest point for the year last week, boosted by big gains for the banks. But that was until Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) chief executive Stephen Hester handed out a dose of reality. Unlike Lloyds he refused to speculate that the worst is over and pointed out the next two [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 5, 2009 THE SUNDAYSThe Sunday TelegraphPRU ENSURES CHANGES TO CAZENOVE RESEARCHJP Morgan Cazenove has rewritten a piece of research about Prudential that initially made a string of adverse comments about the insurer’s accounting procedures. The research note is understood to have made disparaging remarks about reporting decisions taken by Tidjane Thiam, set to take over as chief [...]
EU SLAMMED OVER CITY POWER GRAB June 14, 2009 THE EUROPEAN Commission (EC) is being too hasty in its drive for pan-European regulatory reform, a House of Lords committee will warn this week, as fears mount in the City over encroachment from Brussels on the UK financial services sector. The House of Lords sub-committee on economic and financial affairs will say that the pace [...]
UK FUTURE IS NOT AS BLEAK AS ELSEWHERE June 7, 2009 JANE FOLEYRESEARCH DIRECTOR, FOREX.COMNOW that the panic that followed the collapse of Lehman last September has subsided, the demands on policymakers have altered. What was needed at the height of the financial crisis was a quick and heavy-handed response to prevent the world economy sliding into depression. Now that economic data is suggesting that the [...]
Brain-drain? It’s nothing but a blip September 10, 2008 Lots of City workers are heading for Dubai at the moment, but don’t worry: London will lure them back soon, says Max Orbach We all know somebody who has re-located to Dubai, Singapore or even Moscow in the last few months, as the British economy has wobbled, house-prices have fallen and inflation has risen. While [...]
Home loans plummet August 27, 2008 Deals for new houses remained close to a record low last month, with approvals for mortgages 65 per cent lower than a year ago. Mortgage approvals totalled 22,448 last month, according to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), just above June’s series low of 22,369 but almost 12,000 below the average of the past six months. [...]
IMF cuts growth forecasts August 7, 2008 The International Monetary Fund yesterday cut its forecasts for the next two years and warned it wouldn’t “take much of a shock” for growth to become negative. It now predicts that the economy will grow by 1.4 per cent in 2008 and 1.1 per cent in 2009 – well below the 1.75 per cent it [...]
Taxpayers to fund further Rock bail out August 6, 2008 The taxpayers is to provide Northern Rock with £3bn in financial support after falling house prices and problem loans pushed the struggling state owned lender into a £585.4m loss for the six months to June. Northern Rock executive chairman Ron Sandler yesterday announced that the bank would enter into a debt for equity swap with [...]
ABI: Darling must end ‘ill considered’ taxes July 24, 2008 Chancellor Alistair Darling must put an end to “ill-considered” tax measures and create greater tax certainty to enable British businesses to compete internationally and encourage investment from overseas, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI). A report published today puts forward a series of proposals that it thinks will help see Britain through the [...]