HMV shares plunge as insurers reduce cover January 19, 2011 Credit insurers have reduced the cover they are prepared to give to suppliers of HMV Group following a profit warning from the music, books, DVDs and games retailer, hammering its shares. The withdrawal of credit insurance was a major blow to retailers like variety chain Woolworths and music retailer Zavvi as they tried, and failed, [...]
S&P lowers more ratings August 8, 2011 A SWATHE of US institutions were stripped of their gold-plated credit ratings by Standard & Poor’s as the fall-out from the downgrade of the US rating agency continued yesterday. As Moody’s weighed its decision to hold the US at AAA, S&P cut the two giant US mortgage agencies Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to AA+ [...]
Credit fears for HMV send shares lower January 19, 2011 SHARES in HMV Group plunged yesterday after the music and book retailer confirmed some of its suppliers have had levels of credit insurance cut. A shadow has been cast over HMV since it issued a profit warning earlier this month with store closures ordered in an attempt to cut costs. The share price sank by [...]
Cost to insure BofA debt at record high August 23, 2011 SHARES in Bank of America tumbled more than six per cent during trading yesterday, as the price of insuring its debt rocketed to an all-time high. The spread on the bank’s five-year credit default swaps (CDS) climbed to 435 basis points in early trades, meaning it would cost £435,000 a year over five years to [...]
£50m bill for ITV as staff live longer August 22, 2011 ITV has moved to offload the risk associated with its huge pension fund deficit in a £1.7bn deal with Credit Suisse. The complex transaction will add £50m to ITV’s pension-deficit, last valued at £312m. It has been designed so ITV can protect itself against current and former workers living longer than expected. The broadcaster has [...]
Ten of the top givers in the City December 21, 2011 AS we now know from the tremendous response to this newspaper’s first ever Christmas charity appeal, the City is full of givers. Despite the tougher times many of our readers have experienced, as a group this year they dug in to support a charity that helps people help themselves. This page is a tribute to [...]
US tries to block $39bn AT&T bid August 31, 2011 US regulators have sensationally moved to block AT&T’s $39bn (£24bn) takeover of T-Mobile USA over competition concerns. The move, which AT&T has vowed to fight, could cost the telecoms provider a staggering $6bn in break-up fees, including $3bn in cash, mobile spectrum and a roaming agreement. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit yesterday claiming that eliminating [...]
Nedbank first half profits rise August 1, 2011 NEDBANK Group, South Africa’s fourth-largest bank, reported a 26 per cent rise in first-half profit yesterday, helped by a drop in bad debts and its push to boost revenue from fees. Nedbank, majority owned by insurer Old Mutual, was hit hard by bad debts after 2009’s recession took over 1m jobs out of the economy, [...]
Yorkshire Building Society buys Egg assets from Citi July 25, 2011 BRITISH mortgage lender Yorkshire Building Society is to buy the mortgage and savings business of Egg Banking from US bank Citigroup, as Citi continues to sell non-core assets after its bailout during the credit crisis. Yorkshire, owned by its customers, said the Egg businesses it was acquiring comprised of a £2.5bn savings book and a [...]
Yorkshire Building Society buys Egg assets from Citi July 25, 2011 BRITISH mortgage lender Yorkshire Building Society is to buy the mortgage and savings business of Egg Banking from US bank Citigroup, as Citi continues to sell non-core assets after its bailout during the credit crisis. Yorkshire, owned by its customers, said the Egg businesses it was acquiring comprised of a £2.5bn savings book and a [...]