Editor's Picks
BoE halves rates to 0.5%, begins quantitative easing
Thursday 05 Mar 2009
The Bank of England has halved interest rates to an historic low of 0.5% and announced a plan to boost the supply of money to get the economy moving again. Monetary Policy Committee members voted to undertake a programme of asset purchases of £75bn financed by the issuance of central bank reserves. Britain officially fell into recession in the fourth quarter of last year
Auditor doubts General Motors' future
Thursday 05 Mar 2009
General Motor's shares plummeted again as the US car giant's auditor questioned whether it could continue to trade as a going concern.
Segro joins property cash-call trend
Wednesday 04 Mar 2009
The procession of property companies undertaking a rights issue could come to an end soon after Segro confirmed it hopes to raise £500m. Brixton is the other major property group that has signalled in recent weeks that it might undertake a rights issue, while Liberty has also said it could undertake a new capital raising.
Aviva maintains dividend despite huge loss
Wednesday 04 Mar 2009
Insurer Aviva has silenced the doubters and maintained its dividend following a 4% increase in full year operating profit, or 10% on an MCEV basis.
Housing market faces tough year, says Halifax
Wednesday 04 Mar 2009
After a brief revival in January, UK house prices returned to the downward path in February, according to figures released by mortgage lender, Halifax.
UBS nominates Villiger as chairman
Wednesday 04 Mar 2009
Switzerland’s largest bank UBS has nominated former finance minister Kaspar Villiger as chairman to replace the current incumbent Peter Kurer.
Segro launches £500m rights issue
Wednesday 04 Mar 2009
Property group Segro has launched a highly dilutive, big discount £500m rights issue to shore up a balance sheet battered by the property downturn.
ITV posts £2.7bn loss and axes 600
Tuesday 03 Mar 2009
TV broadcaster ITV plunged deep into the red and suspended its dividend after what chairman Michael Grade describes as the most challenging conditions he has seen in 30 years of broadcasting. The commercial TV group is to cut 600 jobs as part of a huge retrenchment programme that will also see website Friends Reunited put up for sale.
GM Europe has weeks to survive
Tuesday 03 Mar 2009
GM Europe warned that it will run out of cash by the end of the month if it does not get government support, potentially putting 300,000 jobs at risk.
BP boss affirms commitment to dividend
Tuesday 03 Mar 2009
Tony Hayward, chairman of BP, reaffirmed the company's commitment to dividend payments in a statement issued ahead of his annual strategy presentation on Tuesday. “Our view is that the right current balance is both to continue paying the dividend and to maintain investment to grow the firm - and to use the capacity of our balance sheet while the industry cost structure adjusts,” Hayward said.
Standard Chartered defies HSBC gloom
Tuesday 03 Mar 2009
With HSBC's reputation as an oasis of stability in a tumultuous banking sector taking a severe battering yesterday, that mantle may be passing to another bank with Asian connections.
Cattles suspends three as bad debts woe worsens
Tuesday 03 Mar 2009
Troubled lender Cattles has suspended three directors at its Welcome Finance arm after an inquiry into potential bad debts at the subsidiary found a breakdown in internal controls and policies "applied incorrectly".
FTSE below 3,600 as financials sink again
Tuesday 03 Mar 2009
While not yet a repeat of yesterday’s rout, the Footsie is steadily sinking lower, with financials again featuring prominently among the list of worst performing stocks. Barclays takes a tumble after Japanese broker Nomura suggested the shares are ripe for shorting, while part-nationalised banks Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland also suffer heavy falls.
Northern Rock sees big jump in loan arrears
Tuesday 03 Mar 2009
Repossessions and loans in arrears rose sharply last year at nationalised bank Northern Rock, while it also confirmed a loss of £1.36bn.
Sterling under pressure again
Monday 02 Mar 2009
This week’s impending rate decision and likely "quantitative measures" by the Bank of England, appears to be undermining sterling on the currency markets today.
Persimmon hit by £652m writedown
Monday 02 Mar 2009
Housebuilder Persimmon revealed an annual pre-tax loss after it was hit by a £652.3m writedown due to the housing market slump. Persimmon reported a pre-tax loss for the year of £780.0m after all exceptional items of £904.8m including non cash impairments of land and work in progress of £652.3m and goodwill of £201.0m, the group said.
Dow hits 12-year lows as global stocks rattled
Monday 02 Mar 2009
The Dow Jones industrial crashed below the 7,000 level in early trade, weighed down by the rout seen in markets in Europe and Asia.The Footsie is struggling to get its head back above 3,700. If it closes below 3,700, it will be the first time it has done so since April Fool’s Day in 2003. Other European stocks are also struggling on financial concerns with the DAX and CAC down heavily, while Asian
Rights money soars above £20bn
Monday 02 Mar 2009
The amount raised from rights issues recently has soared past the £20bn mark after CRH announced a €1.23bn cash call.
AIG breaks up after biggest ever US loss
Monday 02 Mar 2009
Insurance giant AIG is to receive a further $30bn in US government aid after it posted a fourth quarter loss of $61.7bn, the worst quarterly figures ever in US corporate history.
Net mortgage lending down 60%
Monday 02 Mar 2009
Net mortgage lending fell by over 60% in January to £690m, while total borrowing from individuals rose by the smallest amount on record, according to figures from the Bank of England.
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