Persimmon positive on future growth despite tough market November 13, 2012 HOUSEBUILDER Persimmon yesterday warned that the housing market continues to be challenging with mortgage availability the key constraint, but it was optimistic of future growth. In a third quarter update, the group said weekly sales rates were around four per cent higher on the previous year, down slightly from the five per cent reported in [...]
Why Dodd-Frank is pushing the US towards impending financial crisis January 17, 2013 IT’S been more than two years since the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was signed into law by Barack Obama. Passed in the aftermath of the financial crisis, and involving some of the most significant changes to regulation since the Great Depression, regulators have been writing rules at an astonishing pace ever [...]
Banks are pressing the BBA to consider a trade group merger November 20, 2012 SEVERAL UK banks want their trade association to consider merging with other industry groups as part of a radical re-think of the British Bankers’ Association’s (BBA) structure and finances. The BBA used to be able to charge for the use of Libor data, but the association has lost that multi-million pound revenue stream since the [...]
Barclays isn’t the only one engaged in the manipulation of interest rates July 9, 2012 IT HAS recently emerged that a UK bank has been manipulating a key interest rate. The only disappointment I have is that people are wasting so much energy on the wrong bank and the wrong interest rate. The Bank of England has far more influence over the banking system than Barclays – it is, after [...]
Will the FSA’s new mortgage lending rules help to improve the UK’s housing market? October 24, 2012 YES Tony Ward At last, we can stop speculating about what may come out of the mortgage market review, and get on with the business of mortgage lending. Much has been carried over from previous consultation papers and the FSA has gone out of its way to incorporate industry feedback. There is an argument that [...]
JP Morgan can start buybacks post Whale loss November 8, 2012 JP MORGAN Chase & Co revealed yesterday that US regulators have approved a plan for the bank to use its capital to buy back as much as $3bn (£1.87bn) of its stock in the first quarter of 2013. The company also disclosed that it has reached “an agreement in principle” with the Securities and Exchange [...]
JP Morgan can start buybacks post Whale loss November 8, 2012 JP MORGAN Chase & Co revealed yesterday that US regulators have approved a plan for the bank to use its capital to buy back as much as $3bn (£1.87bn) of its stock in the first quarter of 2013. The company also disclosed that it has reached “an agreement in principle” with the Securities and Exchange [...]
Paragon profits soar as bigger lenders cut back on buy-to-let November 20, 2012 MORTGAGE firm Paragon increased profits by 22.5 per cent in the last 12 months, according to full-year results published yesterday. The specialist buy-to-let and consumer finance group reported record pre-tax profit of £95.5m, up from £80.8m in the previous year. Paragon benefited from bigger lenders cutting back credit, allowing it to expand. The results allowed [...]
Buy high, sell low: The price of aluminium’s meltdown January 17, 2013 RIO Tinto’s share price dropped sharply on its announcement of a $14bn (£8.7bn) impairment charge and the resignation of its chief executive Tom Albanese but the miner went on to recover most of that value over the course of the day, proving a certain amount of market respect for such decisive action. What went wrong? [...]
What the other papers say this morning November 22, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES State Street in pension fee probe UK regulators are investigating allegations that State Street overcharged Ireland’s state pension fund and several big UK corporate pension funds, including those of the Royal Mail and J Sainsbury, billing them for fees not included in their contracts, according to people familiar with the matter. Ireland’s national [...]