Editor's Picks
What to expect from the banks this week
Tuesday 24 Feb 2009
Toxic assets and investments made by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group look set to become a taxpayer liability later this week. The part-nationalised banks, due to report full-year results on Thursday and Friday respectively, could put up to £500bn worth of assets into the government’s Asset Protection Scheme.
What to expect from the banks this week
Tuesday 24 Feb 2009
Toxic assets and investments made by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group look set to become a taxpayer liability later this week. The part-nationalised banks, due to report full-year results on Thursday and Friday respectively, could put up to £500bn worth of assets into the government’s Asset Protection Scheme.
Sweet profits for Cadbury
Tuesday 24 Feb 2009
Confectionery giant Cadbury boosted reported full-year profits for 2008 by 30%, although it predicted revenue growth for 2009 will be towards the bottom end of its 4-6% target.
Vodafone cuts 500 UK jobs
Tuesday 24 Feb 2009
Mobile phone giant Vodafone is axing 500 staff in the UK in a bid to slash costs by £1bn a year. The company, which employs 10,000 people in Britain, said in November it wanted to slash costs to offset price pressure in its core voice and messaging businesses. A “significant” number of cost programmes across the group are expected to reduce current operating costs
Redrow swings to loss
Tuesday 24 Feb 2009
Housebuilder Redrow said it swung to a half-year pre-tax loss, blaming a sharp drop in the availability of mortgage finance.
Lloyds could swap prefs for shares
Tuesday 24 Feb 2009
Lloyds Banking is to get the £480m annual interest bill on the preference shares issued to the government wiped out in return for a commitment to boost mortgage and small business lending, reports today suggest. According to the FT, the government is prepared to swap the £4bn of Lloyds preference shares into a different type of non-interest bearing equity
Redrow swings to loss
Tuesday 24 Feb 2009
Housebuilder Redrow said it swung to a half-year pre-tax loss, blaming a sharp drop in the availability of mortgage finance.
Dow Jones at lowest close since 1997
Monday 23 Feb 2009
Wall Street slumped to 11-year lows as investors continued to worry about the economy and feared that some banks could be nationalised, despite announcements to the contrary by authorities. The Dow Jones tumbled 250 points to 7114 – the lowest close since May 1997. The Nasdaq fell 53 points to 1387. The S&P 500 slipped 26 points.
Vodafone job cuts imminent
Monday 23 Feb 2009
Vodafone is set to cut hundreds of jobs in the UK as the world’s largest mobile-phone company looks to save £1bn a year by March 2011.
Northern Rock to boost lending by £14bn
Friday 20 Feb 2009
Nationalised bank Northern Rock has announced a £14bn expansion of its mortgage lending today in attempt to kick start the moribund housing market.
AB Foods predicts lower interim profit
Friday 20 Feb 2009
Associated British Foods (ABF) expects a slightly lower adjusted operating profit for the six months ending 28 February and a $600m private placement of senior notes to complete in March.
Lloyds could swap prefs for shares
Friday 20 Feb 2009
Lloyds Banking is to get the £480m annual interest bill on the preference shares issued to the government wiped out in return for a commitment to boost mortgage and small business lending, reports today suggest.
GM's Saab files for creditor protection
Friday 20 Feb 2009
Swedish carmaker Saab, owned by General Motors, has filed for a reorganisation plan, a Swedish legal move that will give it protection from creditors.
London afternoon: Footsie slides below 3,900
Friday 20 Feb 2009
Footsie is now falling fast with a weak start on Wall Street further unsettling sentiment already unnerved by miner Anglo American's dismal figures. The index is now getting within touching distance of last year's low of 3,665, seen in October, and heading towards the 2003 low of 3,278. Tumbling commodity prices and a 9% drop in underlying earnings forced Anglo...
Segro and Barratt avert rights for now
Thursday 19 Feb 2009
Both Segro and Barratt seemed to distance themselves from any impending rights issue today, while investors will keep an eye out for any mention of a cash-call from Liberty tomorrow.
Anglo American axes 19,000 jobs
Thursday 19 Feb 2009
Tumbling commodity prices and a 9% drop in underlying earnings have forced mining giant Anglo American to scrap its final dividend and suspend all payments until markets improve. "In light of the abrupt decline in commodity prices, the unprecedented challenges facing the global economy... and the critical importance of preserving sufficient balance sheet flexibility...
Bank bail-outs may add £1.5trn to national debt
Thursday 19 Feb 2009
The bail out of some of Britain’s biggest high street banks could add as much as £1.5 trillion to the country’s debt pile, equivalent to 100% of GDP, says the Office for National Statistics. That warning came as it emerged plunging tax receipts sent the UK budget deficit for the first 10 months of the 2008/09 fiscal year to a record high in January.
UBS pays $780m, reveals names in tax scandal
Thursday 19 Feb 2009
Swiss banking giant UBS agreed to pay $780m and disclose names of certain secret account holders to the US Government to settle criminal fraud charges that it helped thousands of American clients to evade taxes.
Land confirms rights, Liberty could be next
Thursday 19 Feb 2009
Property firm Land Securities announced a £755.7m rights issue, while fellow real estate firm Liberty International said it is considering capital raising alternatives."The directors confirm that they are considering capital raising alternatives and any firm proposals will be communicated directly to shareholders at the appropriate time," said Liberty
Stanford charge triggers run on banks
Wednesday 18 Feb 2009
Fraud charges against Sir Allen Stanford, the Texan billionaire and cricket mogul, triggered a run on banks in Antigua, Venezuela and Panama, which are connected to Texan tycoon.
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