Thai currency flourishing despite political turmoil May 25, 2010 WHEN a country falls into political turmoil, it normally spells bad news for both its markets and its currency as worried investors pull out until the situation has calmed down. Not so Thailand. Admittedly, the South-East Asian country has suffered sharp falls in its stock market – the market itself was closed for two days [...]
Bleak picture in UK markets as shares tumble on Eurozone and Korea fears May 25, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading shares tumbled yesterday, laid low by big falls from banks and commodity issues as ongoing euro zone debt contagion fears and rising tensions in Korea kept investors wary. By the close, the FTSE 100 index was down 128.93 points, or 2.5 per cent, at 4,940.68, having touched an eight-and-a-half month low of 4,898.49 [...]
Banks call for living will plan May 24, 2010 LEADING G20 countries should set up a task force to oversee the creation of cross-border bank “living wills” and make bondholders aware they could take more pain if a lender hits trouble, top bankers said yesterday. The Institute of International Finance (IIF), a bank lobby group, said “resolution regimes” laid out for banks should make [...]
Miners and banks help FTSE overturn three days of losses May 24, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares broke a three-day losing streak yesterday as miners spurred by upbeat comments from China, outpaced falls in oils led by BP as concerns lingered over the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster. The FTSE 100 ended 6.68 points or 0.1 per cent higher at 5,026.44, in choppy trade. The index is down more [...]
Standard Chartered aims for £406m from India share sale May 23, 2010 STANDARD Chartered plans to raise up to $588m (£406.4m) in an India share sale to be launched tomorrow. The figure is far below the initial target of as much as $750m. London-based StanChart, which is also listed in Hong Kong, intends to use the IDR issue to raise its profile in its second-largest market. The [...]
Race for M&S chair takes on new urgency May 23, 2010 ROGER CARR has ruled himself out of the running for the role of chairman at Marks & Spencer (M&S), while it is believed current chairman Sir Stuart Rose may quit earlier than expected. Carr, who announced his departure from Cadbury in February, is said to be looking abroad for his next corporate post. His withdrawal [...]
Dubai World mints deal on $24bn debts May 20, 2010 SMALL lenders to Dubai World could scupper the conglomerate’s plan to restructure its $23.5bn (£16bn) debt pile, which was provisionally signed off by its core creditors yesterday. A committee of seven key banks, including London-listed HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered, reached an agreement with the Dubai government-owned group “in principle” to defer [...]
Davies says no to Lloyds May 20, 2010 LORD Davies, the former chief executive of Standard Chartered Bank, has been asked whether he might consider taking the same position at Lloyds Banking Group. Davies, who held a government role until the election, was asked the question by Lloyds chairman Sir Win Bischoff at a recent meeting, revealed first by Sky News. Davies gave [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 17, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES FERROUS STEELS ITSELF FOR LONDON FLOAT Ferrous Resources, the Brazilian iron ore miner, confirmed its intention to list in London next month, adding momentum to a new round of mining and energy flotations in the capital of resources finance. With an expected valuation of about $4bn (£2.8bn), Ferrous could be the biggest “pure-play” [...]
… as the iPhone chips away at RIM dominance May 17, 2010 STANDARD Chartered is replacing the BlackBerry, currently its standard corporate communications device, with the iPhone, a move that could eventually result in thousands of bankers switching to the Apple device for business communication on the go. Standard Chartered bankers said the London-based lender was giving its corporate BlackBerry users the option of switching to the [...]