PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS June 3, 2010 NO OVERSEAS FX FEES WITH KALIXA Whether you are heading to South Africa for the World Cup or elsewhere this summer, you ought to be thinking about your currency arrangements as early as possible. Kalixa, the pre-paid Mastercard, has announced this week that it will be waiving its standard foreign exchange fee for all point-of-sale [...]
Making returns on the Russian rouble just got a whole lot easier May 4, 2010 AT THE end of last week, the Russian central bank chose to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to encourage loan growth and stimulate the economy – despite mounting concerns about inflationary pressures. Bank Rossii has been making it increasingly clear that the monetary easing cycle is now slowing. Indeed, finance minister Alexei Kudrin [...]
The City is back but under new management December 21, 2010 BRITAIN’S financial landscape has been transformed since we last shone a light on the City’s most powerful figures two years ago. The City A.M./CityJet Power Hundred 2011 list ranks the most influential figures in UK finance as we head into the new year. It should be no surprise that it is very different from 2009. [...]
The City is back but under new management December 21, 2010 BRITAIN’S financial landscape has been transformed since we last shone a light on the City’s most powerful figures two years ago. The City A.M./CityJet Power Hundred 2011 list ranks the most influential figures in UK finance as we head into the new year. It should be no surprise that it is very different from 2009. [...]
Sort out all your currency needs before you jet off May 27, 2010 EXCITEMENT about the World Cup is starting to reach fever pitch and many football fans are heading to South Africa either with tickets in hand or simply to soak up the atmosphere. England fans are expected to spend around £135m during the World Cup, according to a recent study by accountants Grant Thornton. However, restrictions [...]
Spain: don’t lump us along with Greece April 28, 2010 SPAIN’S finance minister Elena Salgado insisted her country’s economic situation bore little similarity to the problems in Greece, just hours before Standard & Poor’s (S&P) yesterday issued an audacious downgrade on Spain’s sovereign credit rating. Addressing the Spanish parliament, Salgado said Spain’s economic data has been showing an “improvement” in recent weeks, adding: “[This] is [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS November 16, 2009 TULLETT PREBONNoble downgraded its stance on Tullett Prebon to “neutral” following its interim management statement, in which it said that 81 brokers had been poached by BGC Partners and that foreign exchange rates have started working against it. Noble estimates that these two factors could negatively impact its 2010 operating profit. LANCASHIREKBC Peel Hunt switched [...]
The euro is still looking overvalued May 18, 2010 THE euro has taken a breather. After a steep decline last week the single currency has gained some ground against the US dollar, and has stabilised around the $1.24 level. This has commentators asking out loud if the euro is now due a correction higher. But is it a good time to take a long [...]
China records shock trade deficit in March April 11, 2010 CHINA has recorded a rare monthly trade deficit in March for the first time in six years following the increase in price of imported goods, raw materials and commodities. Chen Deming, China’s minister of commerce, said the nation’s $7.2bn (£4.68bn) trade deficit was a “blip”. The minister also repeated his government’s now entrenched line that [...]
Samsung Life’s record IPO raises $4.4bn April 25, 2010 INSURER Samsung Life achieved South Korea’s largest-ever initial public offering (IPO) on Friday, raising $4.4bn (£2.9bn) with a placing priced near the top end of the range. Keen appetite among foreign investors meant the 4.4m-share offer was heavily oversubscribed. With a total market capitalisation of Won22tr (£13bn) Samsung Life becomes the sixth-largest company on the [...]