The euro decreased sharply on Tuesday against the dollar to $1.3599 following Italy’s debt rating cut by Standard & Poor’s late on Monday. S&P cut Italy’s credit rating by one notch to A from A+ with a negative outlook. The downgrade by the ratings agency comes amid worries that a “fragile governing coalition” and “weakening economic growth prospects” are pulling Europe’s third biggest economy further into the sovereign debt crisis. Markets remain volatile as investors await the decision on whether Greece will be granted the sixth tranche, $11bn as part of a bailout, from international lenders....
Credit Suisse said on Monday it has agreed an out of court settlement of €150m with the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Germany to end an investigation into its employees concerning tax evasion. The payment will be taken as a charge in the 3Q11. Switzerland’s second largest bank said in a statement: “The entire proceedings are to be resolved,” and added “a complex and prolonged legal dispute has been avoided, with an agreed solution that provides legal certainty.” The bank also said that it had been preparing for the changes in cross-border wealth management for a long time and pursues a strategy of only acquiring and managing ass...
Canadian BlackBerry maker, Research in Motion, saw its share plummet almost 20 percent Friday after it announced it had missed its earnings target for the third consecutive quarter. Profits decreased sharply by 47 percent for 2Q11 to $497m from $797m year-on-year, while revenue dropped by ten percent to $4.17bn in the three months to August 27. Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO, spoke of a positive outlook for the next quarter. He said: “Overall unit shipments in the quarter were slightly below our forecast due to lower than expected demand for older models. We successfully launched a range of BlackBerry 7 smartphones around the world during the latter...
France’s second and third largest banks by assets – Credit Agricole and Société Générale – on Wednesday saw their credit ratings downgraded one notch by Moody’s Investors Service. Moody’s slashed Credit Agricole to Aa2 from Aa1 while Société Générale was reduced to Aa3 from Aa2 with a negative outlook for long-term debt and deposit ratings. The downgrade follows months of speculation after Moody’s said in June it was reviewing France’s top three listed lenders and their Greek debt exposure. BNP Paribas is still being assessed by the ratings agency. The news triggered stock volatility with SocGen shares falling 1.7 percen...
Shares in BNP Paribas on Tuesday plummeted nine percent to €23.63 after a drop of 12 percent in an earlier session. The decrease followed allegations that the lender could be facing a possible credit rating downgrade. Several French banks remain under pressure by markets amid worries over Greek debt exposure. Stocks had opened higher in early trade Tuesday after it emerged that China’s sovereign wealth fund is in talks with Italian officials to buy government bonds and investments in strategic corporations. Early gains offered a brief relief only however, as the FTSE 100 fell 0.8 percent to 5,086, while the French CAC 40 decreased 2.6 per...
The Independent Commission on Banking published its final report on Monday proposing that Britain’s banks need to “ring-fence” by disconnecting their retail operations from the riskier investment banking arms. Banks were given until 2019 to implement the radical reforms, and could cost between £4bn and £7bn according to the report. ICB’s chairman, John Vickers, said: “Separation would allow better targeted policies towards banks in difficulty, and would minimise the need for support from taxpayers.” The Vickers report proposed that UK banks should hold a ten percent core tier one capital, rather than the seven percent capital bu...
Markets remained stable on Thursday as investors await President Obama’s speech on job proposals detailing plans of boosting employment before a joint session of Congress. President Obama is said to put forward a jobs package of an estimated $300bn amid US voter frustration over the country’s 9.1 percent unemployment. The plan will outline measures to help create jobs swiftly, and improve wages for middle class households, while simultaneously trimming the deficit in the budget. It is expected to centre on schemes that encourage the hiring of workers for smaller businesses, an extension of a payroll tax cut for workers, and infrastructure...
Swedish car manufacturer Saab on Wednesday filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors amid mounting debt and production stoppages in a last minute attempt to save the brand. The filing at the Swedish court includes its subsidiaries Saab Powertrain and Saab Tools but excludes overseas subsidiaries and Saab Parts. The car maker signed a financing agreement with Chinese companies Youngman Automotive and Pang Da Automobile Trade but the deals still await regulatory authorisation. Saab Chairman and CEO, Victor Muller, said: “We have concluded that a voluntary reorganisation process will provide us with the necessary time, protection and stab...
European and Asian stocks slumped on Labor Day after US growth fears hit the markets late on Friday following weak employment data that showed the US economy had added no jobs at all in August. Stocks in Europe on Monday traded lower on the news with the FTSE 100 down 1.7 percent to 5,201, the Dax 30 dropping 2.6 percent and the CAC 40 index in France decreasing by 2.4 percent. Earlier Asian markets showed unease with the Asia Pacific Index dropping 2.7 percent, the Hang Seng Index down 2.95 percent to 19,616, and the Nikkei 225 down 1.86 percent. Attention will now focus on President Obama’s speech on Thursday which is expected to outline ...
European banking shares on Friday dropped sharply in anticipation of US jobs data and a published report that the Federal Housing Finance agency is planning to file a lawsuit against “more than a dozen” banks over alleged misrepresentation in mortgage backed securities. Alleged targets of the planned lawsuit are said to include JP Morgan Chase, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America. Although none of the targets have been officially been confirmed, the report said the suits were expected to be filed by Tuesday. In early trading financial institutions shares slid following the news. Markets observed a 3.7 percent drop for Deutsc...