US home sales on the rise as Fed official says QE3 is not required May 22, 2012 HIGH levels of American home sales were recorded in April, boosting hopes for the US recovery, as a leading member of the Federal Reserve said that conditions are not ripe for more quantitative easing. Sales of already-owned homes shot up by 3.4 per cent to an annual rate of 4.62m units last month, the highest [...]
Clinton Cards collapses into administration May 9, 2012 CLINTON CARDS, the UK’s largest specialist greeting cards retailer, has been placed into administration by its largest supplier, putting more than 8,000 jobs at risk. Restructuring firm Zolfo Cooper were called in as administrators yesterday after Clinton’s banks, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays, sold the company’s £35m of loans to US card retailer American [...]
Government’s plan to subsidise credit could easily backfire June 15, 2012 USUALLY, formal dinners at Mansion House in the City are highly enjoyable but somewhat predictable affairs. This one was unusually exciting. For the first time I can remember, the speeches from George Osborne and Sir Mervyn King included major news bombshells. The Bank is launching an £80bn “funding for lending” plan to cut the cost [...]
Government’s plan to subsidise credit could easily backfire June 14, 2012 USUALLY, formal dinners at Mansion House in the City are highly enjoyable but somewhat predictable affairs. This one was unusually exciting. For the first time I can remember, the speeches from George Osborne and Sir Mervyn King included major news bombshells. The Bank is launching an £80bn “funding for lending” plan to cut the cost [...]
One man’s fund and Games July 26, 2012 WHEN Jessica Ennis skips down from the podium next weekend, clutching her gleaming new heptathlon gold medal and wiping a tear of joy from her eye, don’t be surprised to see her reach for her phone – she’ll probably be texting Barrie Wells to say thanks. Wells is the Merseyside self-made millionaire who has personally [...]
The Man from Del Monte plans a £500m resources cash shell May 13, 2012 A SOUTH African businessman dubbed the Man from Del Monte wants to create a stock market cash shell to buy resources or consumer goods companies. Vivian Imerman is leading the investment team for acquisition vehicle Sacoven. The firm intends to target oil, mining or consumer goods firms worth between £200m and £500m, according to documents [...]
Hunt for treasure you enjoy – at least you’ll get emotional returns June 10, 2012 TO MANY, a report on “treasure” might not sound intrinsically financial, conjuring images of pirates, shipwrecks and chests stuffed with gold doubloons. However, owning items that are financially valuable, emotionally pleasing and culturally significant is a timeless tradition that shows no sign of abating. Treasure assets – items such as precious jewellery, fine art, wine, [...]
Libor scandal drags FTSE 100 into the red as banking stocks plunge June 28, 2012 BANKING shares dragged Britain’s FTSE 100 into negative territory yesterday, battered by concerns over the financial impact of an investigation into the fixing of interbank lending rates that has already engulfed Barclays. Barclays slumped 15.5 per cent in its worst daily fall since 2009, with four times the usual number of shares traded in London. [...]
Spain downgraded as banks face €112bn hit June 7, 2012 Spains government took a huge step closer to financial collapse last night as credit ratings agency Fitch downgraded the state sharply, blaming the enormous projected cost of cleaning up the country’s troubled banking sector, the deep recession and soaring national debt. Meanwhile Standard & Poor’s warned the country’s banks are set to lose €112bn (£90.6bn), [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 30, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Transparency on banks’ treasury units urged International banks must improve disclosure of often obscure treasury unit investments following the recent $2bn trading loss at JPMorgan’s chief investment office, rating agencies and bank analysts have urged. Malaysia fund nears £375m Battersea deal A Malaysian pension fund is poised to seal a £375m deal to [...]