LISTED PRODUCT NEWS September 8, 2010 WORLD’S FIRST EURO HIGH YIELD BOND ETF BlackRock’s exchange-traded funds (ETF)?platform iShares has launched the world’s first Euro High Yield Bond ETF. The fund tracks the performance of the Markit iBoxx Euro Liquid Corporates Index. The index uses multiple pricing sources for inclusion and is based on an average of the classifications allocated to each [...]
Big banks top High Court appearances October 3, 2010 THE UK’S largest four banks were repeatedly in court last year as the number of High Court cases involving FTSE 100 companies jumped by 16 per cent. Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and HSBC collectively made up 43 per cent of all High Court appearances by the UK’s largest companies, [...]
The monster that keeps on coming: debt worry is back January 10, 2011 LIKE the Terminator, it is a villain that won’t go away. Despite a torrent of invective, and a €750bn bailout fund, the sovereign debt monster keeps coming back. Yesterday, yields on Portuguese and Spanish sovereign debt hit their highest levels in the history of the euro, at 7.17 per cent and 5.57 per cent respectively [...]
Cable ups the heat on banks October 17, 2010 BRITAIN’S biggest banks are today set to face up to small business organisations and business secretary Vince Cable in an attempt to show that they are committed to rebuilding trust between the sector and smaller firms struggling to get access to credit. Cable will chair the first meeting of the Small Business Economic Forum, which [...]
AIB kicks off search for chief executive November 1, 2010 Allied Irish Banks (AIB) has put the sale of its British businesses on hold after failing to get any decent bids, its new chairman said yesterday, meaning the government may have to take an even larger share in the lender. Dublin is already set to take a stake of over 90 per cent in AIB [...]
BNP Paribas’ outlook adds to confidence November 5, 2010 BNP Paribas, France’s biggest listed bank, ruled out a capital increase to meet tougher industry rules and promised a positive end to the year, boosting investor confidence in the banking sector. French bank stocks have lagged peers for much of the year over concerns they lack the capital strength to meet incoming capital regulations known [...]
There is no need to tap shareholders August 23, 2010 IN the battle to become banker to the emerging markets, HSBC has won an important victory over Standard Chartered, its closest strategic rival. Having entered exclusive talks to buy Old Mutual out of Nedbank, HSBC looks set to take control of the South African bank. The logic of such a deal is not in doubt: [...]
Fall in mining shares takes its toll as FTSE 100 closes lower December 8, 2010 WEAKNESS in heavyweight miners dragged the leading share index lower yesterday, although firmer banks, energy issues and some takeover speculation helped limit the falls. At the close, the FTSE 100 was down 13.92 points or 0.2 per cent at 5,794.53, having hit a three-week high on Tuesday. “It has been a choppy trading session today [...]
Get out your pith helmet and start building railways, roads and ports December 7, 2010 AT THE end of the 19th century, British investors were funding railways throughout India and across South America, telephone cables underneath the Atlantic and gold mines in the South African Transvaal. In the first great age of globalisation, the most important thing was to build infrastructure, only after which could trade follow. That is as [...]
Real estate shares surge as bid for CSC sparks appetite November 25, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading shares pushed higher yesterday, buoyed by strength in heavyweight miners and banks, and by gains from real estate issues as Capital Shopping Centres bounced on bid interest. At the close, the FTSE 100 was up 41.83 points, or 0.7 per cent, at 5,698.93, dipping back in the closing auction after hitting a late-afternoon [...]