Any Other Business – 25/02 February 25, 2014 HSBC lifted the gates yesterday and let its wave of financial reportage wash over analysts, investors, journos and anyone else interested enough to wade through 31 separate releases. Part of the flotsam and jetsam that washed up on the shore was the 598-page annual report – bigger and beefier than last year (2012’s report was [...]
Bonus cap row as HSBC profit rise disappoints February 24, 2014 HSBC’S shares tumbled yesterday as soaring profits fell short of investors’ high expectations. And the row over bank bonuses intensified as the lender confirmed it is paying staff new allowances in a bid to get around the EU’s bonus cap. The bonus pool increased 6.3 per cent to $13.9bn for the year, with 239 staff [...]
London Report: HSBC drops yet FTSE closes in on an all-time high February 24, 2014 GAINS at Vodafone and business supplies distributor Bunzl enabled Britain’s top equity index to rise yesterday for the seventh straight session. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed up by 0.4 per cent, or 27.80 points, at 6,865.86 points – just 1.2 per cent below its December 1999 record level of 6,950.60. Vodafone and Bunzl together [...]
What you need to know before the US open February 24, 2014 With the week set to get progressively busier, a quieter monday will no doubt see investors look towards the ongoing turmoil in Ukraine. Ousted President Viktor Yanukovich is now wanted for the mass murder of protestors. And Ukraine has said it needs $35bn in foreign aid over the next two years in order to keep [...]
HSBC shares dive on profits miss February 24, 2014 HSBC, Britain’s largest bank, has reported full-year pre-tax profit of $22.6bn (£13.6bn) – up nine per cent, but below its own $24.6bn estimate and market consensus of $25bn. But shares have tumbled this morning, down almost five per cent, as investors respond to the disappointment. The bank has been on a drive to tighten its belt, [...]
HSBC ready to up pay to fight bank bonus cap February 23, 2014 HSBC is preparing to lead from the top by hiking pay for chief executive Stuart Gulliver, it emerged yesterday. The boss is expected to see a pay rise of up to 100 per cent, to compensate for incoming EU rules restricting bank bonuses, the Sunday Times reported. European rules will restrict bonuses to the same [...]
London Report: Insurance firms start a deluge of UK earnings February 23, 2014 A BUMPER week for UK earnings kicks off today with results from Hiscox, one of the big home insurers reporting full-year figures. Figures from Hiscox, RSA and Direct Line could give more detailed estimates of losses for UK industry and themselves after recent flooding and storms. Aviva and L&G are also set to give end [...]
Nationwide seizes market share February 20, 2014 THE NATIONWIDE is grabbing more current account and mortgage customers from the big four banks, the building society revealed yesterday. The growth pushed up profits as the lender’s interest margins improved. Nationwide made £21.6bn of mortgage loans in the nine months to December, up 34 per cent on the year. The growth is faster than that in [...]
What you need to know before the US open February 20, 2014 US stock index futures suggest markets will open lower, as investors look again towards ongoing emerging market turmoil. The continuing and severe violence in Ukraine at the moment has seen the country’s hryvnia plummet to five-year lows, and state debt insurance rising to 2009 highs. Weaker growth from China – the Markit/HSBC purchasing managers’ index [...]
What you need to know before the open February 20, 2014 Europe is expected to open lower this morning, after disappointing Chinese manufacturing data and yesterday’s release of the latest Federal Open Market Committee minutes. The minutes showed a further taper of $10bn is likely in March. The Chinese HSBC purchasing managers’ index has come in at 48.3, considerably below expectations of 49.4. Corporate news Centrica [...]