The Fed’s paper plane won’t fly: why the US economy is in need of more than a Twist September 22, 2011 THE markets were hoping for a helicopter drop from the US Federal Reserve this week, a reference to Ben Bernanke’s infamous 2002 speech on how to prevent deflation. What they got was more a paper plane, where the Fed will fly Treasury bonds from the short to the long end of the interest rate curve. [...]
Banks bashed: Vickers hits UK lenders with a raft of new rules and limits September 12, 2011 THE UK yesterday took a radical step towards imposing new regulations that will cost banks billions and risk eroding the competitiveness of the City. The Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) unveiled a report that its chair Sir John Vickers said “goes further” than international regulation. The ICB says that the reforms will cost banks between [...]
CITY VIEWS: IS NOW THE RIGHT TIME TO BRING IN BANKING REFORMS? August 31, 2011 CHRIS BATCHELOR | LLOYDS “It’s not the right time as it will increase the cost of retail banking. The inability to get mortgages will destabilise the housing market, shaking the economy.” JAMES GIBSON | CRONE CORKILL/WILLIS “No, I think that we should hang on six months to see what happens; recently the FTSE has been [...]
Rise in Taylor Wimpey sales lifts margins September 19, 2011 HOUSEBUILDER Taylor Wimpey said yesterday that sales rates in recent weeks have been encouraging, as the industry has benefited from a seasonal surge in home buying activity. The FTSE 250-listed firm added it is on track to deliver on margin targets this year. The country’s second largest builder by market value said net sales rates [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 20, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES EU PUTS BANKS’ SHORTFALL AT JUST €90BN Europe’s grand plan to strengthen its banking system is set to fall well short of current market expectations identifying a capital shortfall of less than €100bn (£87bn) that must be made up over the next six to nine months, according to the latest official estimates. The EU’s [...]
Taylor Wimpey says housebuilding bouncing back September 19, 2011 Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey said sales rates in recent weeks have been encouraging, as the industry has benefited from a seasonal surge in home buying activity, and added it is on track to deliver on margin targets. The country’s second largest builder by market value said net sales rates so far in the second half are [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 28, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES PLANS REVEALED FOR US-STYLE PLEA BARGAINS The UK plans to introduce US-style corporate plea bargains that could result in fines totalling hundreds of millions of pounds, according to the Solicitor General. “You have to have a cost-benefit analysis. If I can produce a system which has all the benefits [of the US] and [...]
Hundreds of City jobs to go as BofA cuts costs by $5bn September 12, 2011 BANK of America chief executive Brian Moynihan yesterday said the bank would take drastic action to cut $5bn (£3.1bn) from its annual cost base. Moynihan told a New York conference BofA would sell assets and slash 30,000 jobs in the first phase of an overhaul to put it on a firmer financial footing and convince [...]
Housing market faces years of gloom April 26, 2011 IT may not feel that way in some parts of Greater London but the housing market remains stuck in the doldrums. This is not surprising: the great housing bubble of the noughties hasn’t finished deflating yet. The readjustment process is continuing, with prices falling in real terms – and there is still a decent way [...]
Euro deal on hold as Dexia is saved October 9, 2011 NEGOTIATIONS between the Eurozone’s biggest economies appeared to have stalled yesterday as France and Germany refused to detail how they will recapitalise the region’s teetering banks. A highly anticipated meeting yesterday resulted in a bland statement by German chancellor Angela Merkel that politicians “are determined to do the necessary to secure the recapitalisation”, which the [...]