Lloyds is recovering from its HBOS hangover and Hester lines up £5m bonus…
Hedge fund inverstors. Want to cash out to cash in on the rebound? Tough!
Yes, you did just read that right…
“I feel poorer.” “If I had the chance to vote on this, I’d vote no!”…
That’s right, some banks are in retreat as payout time looms…
Well there may not be a century of perpetual winter ahead but a long financial chill is in store for the British economy…
Standard Life one of the country’s largest investors warned yesterday that the UK’s triple-A credit rating was “extremely vulnerable”.
Nearly two centuries of independence draw to a close for the U.K.’s largest confectionery company as Cadbury accepts the U.S. giant’s bid.
A new film FLOORED mourns the passing of an age.
“The biting of the nose and the fights, sure, when you’re throwing around that kind of money, people tend to lose it sometimes,” said Doug Pringle, 42, who traded corn, soybeans, 10- year Treasury notes and 30-year bonds for 17 years. “I miss the excitement.”
Everyone by now must be familiar with the fact that the UK has suffered its worst postwar recession. And that unlike our peers, the last quarter didn’t see us find the exit. The economy shrank by 0.2 per cent in the third quarter, less than the 0.3 per cent originally estimated, but not the 0.1 per cent decline expected by analysts. So still shrinkage but is there something to be positive about?
Well yes, sort of. FT
A sharp jump in …
And this is not just mischievous journalists piecing together provocative evidence into an elaborate and sinister framework. It’s the results of a study done by professors at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.
Reuters via NYT: Banks whose executives served on Federal Reserve boards were more likely to receive government bailout funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, according to the study from Ran Duchin and Denis Sosyura.
Political influence was most helpful for poorly performing banks, the study …
The interest rates being offered by high street banks have gone up pretty sharply despite the basic rate sticking at 0.5%. But if you feel hard done by when it comes to borrowing, spare a thought for Lloyds.
Bloomberg: The bank sold hybrid Tier 1 securities on Dec. 15 that cost 12 percent, or $240 million a year in interest, until 2024, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s a higher interest rate than bicycle-rack maker TriMas Corp. paid to …
Lawyers acting for bankers had suggested that the supertax, requiring banks to pay 50 per cent in tax on bonuses over £25,000 until next April, might constitute a breach of human rights.
However, the parliamentary joint committee on human rights said in a report that bankers were unlikely to be able to “demonstrate hardship amounting to an excessive individual burden” and it was “difficult to conclude that the measure is devoid of reasonable foundation”. i.e. don’t bother with that ruse …
You might be enjoying the cold and the snow now as odds reverse on a white Christmas but it may mean… no sprouts. It’s an ill wind for lovers of the little green fibre bombs:
Telegraph: According to farmers, there is a strong chance that brussels sprouts will run short in supermarkets over the next couple of days. Snow and freezing temperatures have meant the harvest has had to abandoned in parts of …
Standing out amongst his peers for one glaringly obvious reason…
Morgan Stanley Chief Executive John Mack won’t take a year-end bonus despite a vote of confidence from his guys that he deserved it. From the WSJ:
The board had wanted to reward him for helping guide the firm through the financial crisis and eventually returning the firm to profitability, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Mr. Mack, who will be succeeded as chief executive by James Gorman on Jan. 1 …
A nice climax to the office Christmas party season for some in the City. That bonus won’t come with it’s very own hangover – clarification finally arrived from HM Revenue & Customs as to which firms would be in the firing line for the bonus tax. Independent insurers, asset managers and stockbrokers in the City will not be included in the scope of the one-off hike. This ends nearly a fortnight of tense speculation and posturing by numerous businesses …
The bonus tax spat notches up a gear as Goldmans threatens to move bankers to Spain. Up to 20% of its 5000 London-based staff may be moved over to the sun-drenched unemployment paradise according to the Independent:
…the Wall Street investment bank, which paid more than £2bn to the Exchequer’s ailing coffers in corporation tax alone last year, has fired a warning shot across the Government’s bows in response to the tax measures unveiled in the pre-Budget report earlier this …
Ratings agencies aren’t generally known for expressing negative views , but Fitch has really done a number on Chinese banks in its annual review on the sector, currently making headlines around the world.
The basic idea is that while Chinese banks appear largely unscathed from the credit crisis there are things going on beneath the surface of Chinese finances.
Read the whole story on [FT Alphaville]
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Four Fidelity emplolyees did in fact get fired for just that.
Rules are rules but as one of the fantasy Fidelity folk, Cameron Pettigrew who called himself the “Fidelity Man” said:
“Firing a guy for being in a $20 fantasy league? Let’s be honest; that’s a complete overreaction,” said Pettigrew, who lives in Grapevine and has an MBA from the University of Texas at Arlington. “In this economic time, especially. To fire people over something like this, it’s just cold.”
But it …
Yep, that’s right. Whilst everyone else is getting untold amounts of grief at the though they might receive their bonuses, Lehman guys won’t have any problem getting theirs. Yes we are talking about the one that went bust, the lynch pin that broke and unleashed the financial crisis:
Bloomberg: Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s plan to pay $50 million in bonuses to employees handling derivatives contracts was approved by a judge who said the payments provide essential incentives to employees with …
