BofA posts $1.2bn loss but Merrill performs January 21, 2011 Bank of America, the largest US bank by assets, reported a second straight quarterly loss, driven by a $2bn (£1.25bn) writedown of its mortgage business. The bank posted a fourth-quarter net loss of $1.2bn, or 16 cents a share, compared with a loss of $5.2bn, or 60 cents a share, a year earlier. But shrugging [...]
Balls is back January 20, 2011 ED Balls was last night installed as Labour shadow chancellor in a dramatic move following Alan Johnson’s resignation from the post after less than four months. Johnson said he was leaving “for personal reasons” as Balls, the architect of Gordon Brown’s economic policy and a former treasury minister, returned to a role shaping the party’s [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 20, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES GE EXPECTS DOUBLE-DIGIT GROWTH IN CHINA General Electric expects “solid double-digit” sales growth in China this year and “for a long period of time”, although revenues there have fallen short of expectations, chief executive Jeff Immelt has said. Mr Immelt said he was “quite happy” with the progress of GE’s business in China. [...]
CITY GIVES CASH TO BRIDES WHO ARE HONEST January 17, 2011 The City of London Corporation will today honour a little-known City tradition by handing out cash to brides who can prove they are “honest”. The somewhat politically dubious accolade dates back to 1882 when Italian-born nobleman Pasquale Favale fell in love with and married a City girl. He was so taken with the Square Mile [...]
WALL STREET WEEK AHEAD January 16, 2011 US bank stocks are flying high, and this week’s earnings could give investors more reason to be optimistic about the sector. Strong results from JPMorgan Chase & Co on Friday bolstered expectations for top US banks, many of which are due to report in the coming week, including Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. Financials have been [...]
I LEARNT MORE FROM FAILURE THAN SUCCESS January 13, 2011 AUTHOR AND FOUNDER OF ANTAL INTERNATIONAL IBUILT a recruitment organisation which spanned Europe and then nearly lost the whole thing when the market turned down post 9/11. And the fact that it’s now back on its feet again, with offices in 30 countries, is because I learned a lot more from getting things wrong than [...]
Do as we say, not as we do, says the Mirror January 12, 2011 EDITORS at the Daily Mirror could barely contain their excitement at the coming of bonus season yesterday, splashing their front page on the beleaguered chief executive of RBS, Stephen Hester under the headline “Do the right thing: give up your obscene £3m bonus”. “The Mirror calls on Mr Hester and all the other fatcat bankers [...]
Corporate sales boost Sodexo January 12, 2011 FRENCH caterer Sodexo kept its 2011 goals for higher sales and profits, despite North American unemployment, a struggling public sector in Europe, and rising food prices that make the economic climate challenging. The world’s second-biggest catering services company after Britain’s Compass Group posted a 10.5 per cent rise in fiscal first-quarter sales yesterday. Sodexo benefitted [...]
German 2010 growth fastest since reunification January 12, 2011 Germany’s economy rebounded last year at its fastest rate since reunification, official figures have shown. GDP has bounced back at a rate of 3.6 per cent this year after slumping to its deepest post-war trough last year, preliminary Federal Statistics Office data showed. In 2009, German GDP shrank by 4.7 per cent, the biggest recorded [...]
Clubs dodge Twitter foul-ups January 11, 2011 LONDON’S leading clubs are warning their players about the perils of using Twitter as the Football Association begins to clamp down on social media. Premier League stars are increasingly bypassing press officers and their own representatives to engage with fans on Twitter, with Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas a regular on the micro-blogging site. However, the [...]