Alex Salmond backed RBS’s ABN disaster January 11, 2012 SCOTLAND’S first minister Alex Salmond’s enthusiastic backing of Royal Bank of Scotland’s disastrous takeover of ABN Amro returned to haunt him yesterday. A letter, released yesterday, shows that Salmond wrote to RBS boss Sir Fred Goodwin (pictured) in May 2007 to throw his weight behind the bank’s disastrous purchase. Signing the note, “Yours for Scotland”, Salmond [...]
Alex Salmond backed RBS’s ABN disaster January 11, 2012 SCOTLAND’S first minister Alex Salmond’s enthusiastic backing of Royal Bank of Scotland’s disastrous takeover of ABN Amro returned to haunt him yesterday. A letter, released yesterday, shows that Salmond wrote to RBS boss Sir Fred Goodwin (pictured) in May 2007 to throw his weight behind the bank’s disastrous purchase. Signing the note, “Yours for Scotland”, Salmond [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD February 20, 2012 Today At this morning’s results for Bluetooth technology firm CSR, investors will be looking at how much value the company’s acquisition of peer Zoran in August last year brings. CSR is guiding that revenue for the first quarter will be between $230m and $250m (£145m and £158m), but analysts have a more cautious forecast of [...]
Mortgage time-bomb UK’s top threat March 7, 2012 SOME time-bombs can be defused. Not this one. At some point – in a year, in two, or perhaps even in five – the cost of borrowing for consumers will climb back to the sorts of levels we were used to 15 years ago. Complacent borrowers addicted to rock-bottom interest rates – and for whom [...]
Banks and miners hit by Greek jitters January 30, 2012 WEAKNESS in banks and commodity stocks dragged Britain’s leading share index lower yesterday as the protracted search for a Greek bond deal and concerns about economic growth kept investors nervous. The FTSE 100 index closed down 62.36 points, or 1.1 per cent, at 5,671.09, extending Friday’s falls and retreating further from Thursday’s six-month closing high. [...]
Former Lloyds director to head Bank of Ireland June 20, 2012 BANK of Ireland announced yesterday that former Lloyds Banking Group executive Archie Kane is to be its next governor. Kane retired from Lloyds last year after holding the position of group executive director for insurance and Scotland. “Bank of Ireland has made a lot of progress in raising capital whilst remaining in private ownership,” he [...]
Sumitomo to buy RBS jets January 16, 2012 ROYAL BANK of Scotland has sold its aircraft leasing business to Japanese banking giant Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group for $7.3bn (£4.7bn), marking the bank’s biggest disposal since its government bailout three years ago. Sumitomo batted off competition from several interested parties including China Development Bank and Wells Fargo, ending a two-year attempt by RBS to [...]
Tchenguiz to seek service station sales January 15, 2012 ROBERT Tchenguiz, the high-flying property entrepreneur, is looking to sell a portfolio of Welcome Break motorway service stations in a deal that could be worth more than £300m. Tchenguiz bought the sites eight years ago through his company, Rotch Property Group, for around £24.7m, with backing from Royal Bank of Scotland. He is understood to [...]
Banks and oil firms weigh on the FTSE January 25, 2012 BRITAIN’S top shares closed lower yesterday as banks fell out of favour after brokers urged caution on the sector after recent gains, while poor growth in the UK highlighted the challenges facing corporates to meet earnings expectations. London’s blue chip index closed down 28.90 points, or 0.5 per cent at 5,723.00, as the FTSE 100 [...]
Jefferies on brink of RBS broker deal January 29, 2012 US INVESTMENT bank Jefferies could close a deal for legendary stockbroker Hoare Govett as soon as today as its owner Royal Bank of Scotland continues to cut the size of its balance sheet. Jefferies is expected to pay only a nominal sum for Hoare Govett, whose staff had feared the business would be closed amid [...]