Drugmakers give FTSE a lift as investors bet on healthcare January 19, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index ended up 0.3 per cent yesterday, led by pharmaceuticals on hopes that US President Barack Obama’s healthcare reforms could be hampered, while banks fell after results from US bank Citigroup. The FTSE 100 index rose 18.75 points to 5,513.14, extending Monday’s gains when the market rose 0.7 per cent. Pharmaceuticals echoed [...]
City conference to debate means of responsible asset management November 12, 2009 CITY leaders have banded together to hold a conference on responsible asset management in the wake of the financial crisis. Hosts the City of London Corporation and Hermes Fund Managers said “the financial crisis has highlighted the need for institutional investors to promote a sustainable financial system and be more actively engaged with the assets [...]
Sell-off in bank and mining shares rocks the FTSE 100 January 13, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading share index shed 0.5 per cent yesterday as weakness in commodity and banking issues countered gains in selected defensive stocks, reflecting fading risk appetite among some investors. At the close, the FTSE 100 was 25.23 points lower at 5,473.48, having lost 0.7 per cent on Tuesday following China’s decision to tighten banks’ reserve [...]
City firms in fresh attacks on bonus tax December 15, 2009 STEPHEN Hester, chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland, warned yesterday that the politicisation of bankers’ bonuses could wipe billions of pounds off the taxpayer’s stake in RBS. Treasury plans to levy a one-off 50 per cent tax on bank bonuses have added to woes at the Scottish institution, whose directors were already at loggerheads [...]
Watney leads in Shanghai November 5, 2009 GOLF: American Nick Watney fired a course record-equalling 64 to set the early pace in the HSBC Champions event in Shanghai. Watney missed out on the record by dropping a shot at the last, but still leads German duo Martin Kaymer and Ryan Moore, and Ireland’s Shane Lowry by two shots. World No1 Tiger Woods [...]
Time to reform our monetary policy January 17, 2010 THERE have now been dozens of books and thousands of research papers on the causes of the crisis yet we are no nearer to a consensus. But there is one factor on which virtually all US analysts agree, regardless of ideological differences: the Fed kept interest far too low for too long. This triggered the [...]
Lloyds plans to axe 5,000 further jobs November 10, 2009 ANOTHER 5,000 jobs will be lost at Lloyds Banking Group, bringing the total number of sackings to 12,500 since the credit crunch began. Lloyds employees were yesterday warned by banking experts that there could be up to 30,000 sackings before the Lloyds-HBOS merger is complete. Unions branded the cuts, which were announced on the same [...]
British expat quits Qatari finance role November 26, 2009 STUART Pearce, a former corporate investment banker with HSBC, has stepped down as the chief executive of the Qatar Finance Authority, CityA.M. has learnt. Pearce, who has been in the post since August 2005, will leave it shortly to become special adviser to the chairman of the Authority for a six month period. His departure [...]
Lending restrictions in China turn the screw on the miners January 20, 2010 TOP shares recorded a three-week closing low yesterday as more signs of fiscal tightening in China hurt commodity stocks. The FTSE 100 closed down 92.34 points, or 1.7 per cent, at 5,420.80 – the lowest closing level since December 31, 2009. It posted its biggest one-day fall in a month. The index is up 57 [...]
Good banks leave their weak rivals behind November 10, 2009 THERE are three main messages from Barclays’ and HSBC’s results yesterday. British banks are divided into two groups: strong, private firms that have continued to generate profits during the crisis; and weak players that had to be bailed out. It is simply wrong to claim that all banks are the same. It is also clear [...]