Swaps curbs to hit US firms April 12, 2011 LARGE non-financial US companies will be required to post collateral for derivatives transactions if they exceed a predetermined limit for credit exposure, according to proposals issued by regulators yesterday. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC), which along with the Federal Reserve and other regulators, has produced the rules as part of the Dodd-Frank reform Act, [...]
S&P fuels fear over Eurozone March 29, 2011 STANDARD & POOR’S downgraded Greece and Portugal’s sovereign credit ratings yesterday, sending their borrowing costs up. Greece’s rating has been cut to BB-, close to junk status and worse than Egypt’s credit standing, while Portugal is now rated BBB- with a negative outlook by S&P. The yield on Portugal’s ten- and two-year bonds jumped to [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 17, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES EU TO PROBE DATA TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT Regulators are to launch the first pan-European investigation into telecoms companies’ controversial data traffic management practices, in an attempt to safeguard so-called net neutrality principles. European regulators will scrutinise whether fixed-line phone and mobile operators are giving consumers enough information about their traffic management policies. ACTELION GAINS [...]
Moneysupermarket.com profit triples March 1, 2011 Price comparison website Moneysupermarket.com said its full-year pre-tax profit jumped more than three times due to growth in its insurance, money and home services business. The company, which offers services such as travel, insurance and money and uses actor and comedian Omid Djalili in its advertising, said trading in 2011 was in line with management [...]
Mapping out the direction of this year’s Mifid review May 24, 2011 IT’S simple really. The outcome of Mifid II will include: more stringent regulation of best execution obligations, a move towards the introduction of a consolidated tape, an increased push for transparency, a higher number of trades at a higher speed, lower fees, tighter spreads, the introduction of a single passport to give improved access to [...]
Mapping out the direction of this year’s Mifid review May 24, 2011 IT’S simple really. The outcome of Mifid II will include: more stringent regulation of best execution obligations, a move towards the introduction of a consolidated tape, an increased push for transparency, a higher number of trades at a higher speed, lower fees, tighter spreads, the introduction of a single passport to give improved access to [...]
The man who’s locking horns with indecisive EU regulators April 17, 2011 MENTION Brussels to any senior London-based insurer and you will always get the same reaction: anger and exasperation. With just over 18 months to go before the introduction of Solvency II, the insurance industry’s equivalent of the new Basel III banking rules, European regulators have still not produced a framework that properly reflects the business [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 24, 2011 LOVEFiLM Nick James has been appointed as new digital technical development director at the online film rental company. James will work alongside Lesley Mackenzie, group digital officer, on the technical co-ordination of new device platforms, building technology partnerships and further developing back office technical infrastructure. He joins LOVEFiLM from twocashew, a media consultancy responsible for [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 24, 2011 LOVEFiLM Nick James has been appointed as new digital technical development director at the online film rental company. James will work alongside Lesley Mackenzie, group digital officer, on the technical co-ordination of new device platforms, building technology partnerships and further developing back office technical infrastructure. He joins LOVEFiLM from twocashew, a media consultancy responsible for [...]
HOW THE INSURANCE RULING COULD AFFECT YOU March 1, 2011 Q.WHAT IS THE RULING? A.The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that insurance companies cannot charge different premiums to men and women based on their gender. It also bans use of actuarial factors to calculate men’s and women’s pension contributions. Q.WHY HAS IT HAPPENED? A.The ruling amends the Gender Directive, which came into effect [...]