Lloyds sells off property May 9, 2010 BRETT Palos, the stepson of Sir Philip Green, has added more than 500 apartments to his property portfolio after successfully buying them in a £400m deal with Lloyds Banking Group. The deal is likely to kick start a string of residential sales from the banks as they look to reduce their exposure to the property [...]
Swedish banking sector buoyed as loan-loss pain eases April 28, 2010 Sweden’s top banks got a lift from the economic recovery and an easing of problem credit in the Baltic region in the first quarter, though growth in core income is expected to be subdued this year. Nordea, Handelsbanken and SEB all posted higher-than-expected profits yesterday, as did Swedbank, which reported on Tuesday. The banks capitalised [...]
British Land assets rise by a quarter May 18, 2010 BRITISH Land has seen the value of its portfolio shoot up, off the back of a rapid rebound in real estate values. The developer of some of the UK’s biggest malls and offices said its assets increased by 27 per cent, the first full-year mark-up in its portfolio since the UK property bubble burst. “In [...]
Banks drag FTSE down even lower June 2, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index fell yesterday, led down by banks, but finished well off session lows on fresh hopes for economic recovery after strong US pending home sales data. The FTSE 100 closed 11.98 points or 0.2 per cent lower at 5,151.32, having dropped as low as 5,072.53. The index fell 0.5 per cent on [...]
Banks drag FTSE down even lower June 2, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index fell yesterday, led down by banks, but finished well off session lows on fresh hopes for economic recovery after strong US pending home sales data. The FTSE 100 closed 11.98 points or 0.2 per cent lower at 5,151.32, having dropped as low as 5,072.53. The index fell 0.5 per cent on [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 13, 2010 THE SUNDAYS The Sunday Telegraph $2.6M BUFFETT LUNCH WON BY ANONYMOUS BIDDER A mystery benefactor has paid $2.6m (£1.8m) to meet with billionaire investor Warren Buffett for a business lunch. The Sage of Omaha auctioned his time in aid of a San Francisco charity. This year’s auction brought in 25 per cent more than any [...]
ABB pounces with surprise Chloride offer June 8, 2010 CHLORIDE, the UK power protection group that is being courted by Emerson, yesterday shocked the markets by announcing it has tied up a £860m deal with Switzerland’s ABB. ABB is offering 325p a share, plus the payment of a 3.3p dividend, and its bid easily beats an earlier rejected offer of 275p a share from [...]
Lloyds back in the black as bad debts ease April 27, 2010 LLOYDS Banking Group has confirmed it has returned to profit for the first three months of this year. The company, which is 41 per cent-owned by the taxpayer, said it expected to continue to make profits throughout the rest of the year. It said the rate of “impairments” has improved – which effectively means it [...]
HSBC and Goldman stoke fears over European exodus September 29, 2010 HSBC’S incoming chief executive Stuart Gulliver yesterday reignited fears that the bank may move its headquarters if it is forced to split its retail and investment operations, firing another warning shot across the government’s bows in his first comments on the matter since being appointed to head the bank. Gulliver, speaking outside an HSBC board [...]
Ex-OFT expert brought in to probe banks June 16, 2010 SIR John Vickers, the former boss of the Office of Fair Trading, has been appointed to lead a wide-ranging review into the future shape of the banking industry. Announcing the appointment in the Commons, chancellor George Osborne said Vickers would be asked to investigate the best “size, scale and function” of banks in the future. [...]