HSBC halts £5bn move for Nedbank stake October 15, 2010 HSBC has ended talks to pay $8bn (£5bn) for a majority stake in South African lender Nedbank from Old Mutual. HSBC had been in exclusive talks with Anglo-South African insurer Old Mutual to buy up to 70 per cent of South Africa’s fourth-largest bank, and an eight-week period of exclusivity was due to end on [...]
HSBC cools on Nedbank bid October 14, 2010 HSBC is believed to be reconsidering its plans to launch a £5bn bid for a controlling stake in South African bank Nedbank, as its exclusive talks with majority owner Old Mutual draw to a close. Shares in Nedbank fell 0.9 per cent to 147.73 rand (£13.59) yesterday, after South African finance minister Pravin Gordhan said [...]
FTSE weighed down by talk of more banking rights issues October 14, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index closed lower yesterday, dragged down by banks on worries about rights issues in the sector, while mobile phone heavyweight Vodafone rose following an upgrade from Nomura. The FTSE 100 ended down 20.14 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 5,727.21, after gaining 1.5 per cent on Wednesday to its highest closing level [...]
Banks in bid to boost lending October 13, 2010 Britain’s biggest banks have outlined a raft of measures to boost lending to small businesses, including a £1.5bn growth fund, in a bid to counter suggestions they are not doing enough to nurture the recovery. HSBC, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group, Standard Chartered and the UK operations of Santander will contribute to [...]
At last, the banks are reaching out to UK Plc October 13, 2010 THERE are two possible ways forward for the banking industry. The first is to do nothing and try and brave out the storm, chucking the occasional insult at detractors. The second is to show some humility, reach out, make sensible reforms – and invest some of its own cash – to improve matters and fight [...]
StanChart to raise £3bn in rights issue October 13, 2010 STANDARD Chartered yesterday confirmed it will launch a £3.3bn rights issue, with major investor Temasek already saying it will take up its full allotment of shares. Existing shareholders will be offered the chance to buy one new share at £12.80 for every eight shares they hold – a 33 per cent discount to the pre-announcement [...]
StanChart to raise £3bn in rights issue October 13, 2010 STANDARD Chartered yesterday confirmed it will launch a £3.3bn rights issue, with major investor Temasek already saying it will take up its full allotment of shares. Existing shareholders will be offered the chance to buy one new share at £12.80 for every eight shares they hold – a 33 per cent discount to the pre-announcement [...]
Standard Chartered October 13, 2010 THERE’S something that doesn’t ring quite true about Standard Chartered’s insistence that it is tapping shareholders for £3bn to boost its capital buffers. Management is adamant that cash won’t be used for acquisitions, but we’re not so sure. With a core Tier 1 capital ratio of nine per cent at the end of June, its [...]
Standard Chartered October 13, 2010 THERE’S something that doesn’t ring quite true about Standard Chartered’s insistence that it is tapping shareholders for £3bn to boost its capital buffers. Management is adamant that cash won’t be used for acquisitions, but we’re not so sure. With a core Tier 1 capital ratio of nine per cent at the end of June, its [...]
THE TIPSTER October 13, 2010 THE German Dax 30 index finally broke out of its six-month trading range, blasting through the previous high of 6,385 and the 6,400 level to a high of 6,439.3. The area between 6,385 and 6,400 should act as support on pullbacks, so look to buy around these levels with a view to taking profits at [...]