Commerzbank November 8, 2010 AFTER losing more than €1bn in the third quarter last year, Commerzbank has limped back into the black this time around, posting net profit of €113m – well below most analysts estimates. But despite disappointing expectations, there are positives among the rubble. Commerzbank avoided posting another loss – as in the case of rival Deutsche [...]
Bad mortgages to cost banks November 5, 2010 The top US banks could face up to $31bn (£19.1bn) in losses from buying back bad mortgages, Standard & Poor’s said in a report yesterday. Large US banks are facing pressure to buy back soured home loans that they packaged into mortgage bonds and sold to investors. The six most exposed firms, including Bank of [...]
Market cools as property prices tumble November 4, 2010 AVERAGE property prices have fallen 1.2 per cent in the last three months, according to the latest Halifax house price index. The closely watched index from the Lloyds Banking Group-owned lender showed house prices rose 1.8 per cent in October which helped to partially reverse the 3.7 per cent decline from the previous month. But [...]
G20 PUTS FX MARKETS IN SHARP FOCUS November 3, 2010 DIRECTOR OF THIRD PARTY DISTRIBUTION, ETF SECURITIES CURRENCIES are currently very much in focus. Bizarrely, however, many investors shun direct currency exposure because they view currencies as being more volatile compared to other asset classes. This leads investors to play currencies through their asset allocation decisions rather than trading the foreign exchange markets directly. Indeed [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 2, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES ITV BLAMES REGIME FOR NEED TO CHASE RATINGS ITV could invest more in arts, factual programming and drama were it not for regulations, its managers told a Lords committee. Archie Norman, chairman of the UK’s largest commercial broadcaster, and Adam Crozier, chief executive, told the communications committee that ITV had been driven into [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 2, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES ITV BLAMES REGIME FOR NEED TO CHASE RATINGS ITV could invest more in arts, factual programming and drama were it not for regulations, its managers told a Lords committee. Archie Norman, chairman of the UK’s largest commercial broadcaster, and Adam Crozier, chief executive, told the communications committee that ITV had been driven into [...]
US economy in slim GDP rise October 29, 2010 US economic growth edged up as expected in the third quarter but not enough to chip away at high unemployment or change perceptions of more monetary easing from the Federal Reserve next week. Gross domestic product expanded at a two per cent annual rate as consumer spending rose at its fastest pace since 2006, the [...]
Wall Street edges up after turbulenceTHE NEW YORK REPORT October 21, 2010 Wall Street inched higher in a volatile session yesterday, torn between strong corporate earnings and a surge in the US dollar. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 38.60 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 11,146.57. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 2.09 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 1,180.26. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained [...]
Mortgage lending is down 7 per cent October 20, 2010 GROSS mortgage lending fell to just £12bn last month, which was the lowest September total for a decade, figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) revealed yesterday. This was 7 per cent lower on September 2009 when lending was £12.9bn and 1 per cent lower on the previous month. The September 2010 figure was [...]
West LB’s bad bank records €1bn in losses October 7, 2010 GERMANY’S first bad bank, WestLB’s EAA, posted risk provisions of €1.44bn (£1.2bn) for its 2010 fiscal year and expects more to come as its markets show little signs of recovery. EAA (Erste Abwicklungsanstalt) posted a net loss of €1.05bn in its shortened fiscal year from December 2009 to June 2010, co-head Matthias Wargers said yesterday. [...]