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    Nasdaq cancels Kraft trades after glitch

    Nasdaq was forced to cancel a number of stock trades in Kraft Foods after a trading glitch caused the company’s shares to shoot up nearly 30 percent. The trading error comes just days after Kraft Foods and their former snack business Mondelez International began trading as two separate companies. Kraft and Mondelez have recently switched their shares from the New York Stock Exchange to Nasdaq. Both companies’ shares soared as much as 28.9 percent within one minute of the opening bell on Wednesday morning. The error was spotted within an hour of the market opening. A subsequent review ruled the trades ‘erroneous’ and they were cancelle...
    On October 4, 2012 / By
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    EU study wants risky bank trading separate from retail

    An advisory group set up by the European Commission has called for Europe’s biggest banks to keep their traditional deposit-keeping business legally apart from other, higher-risk activities. The recommendations intend to safeguard ordinary bank clients and savers from future banking crisis and to avoid further shocks to the banking system. The Liikanen Group made the recommendations for the “legal separation of […] particularly risky financial activities from deposit taking”, as well as “activities closely linked with securities and derivatives”.  The group was commissioned with reviewing the European banking system last year. Ex...
    On October 3, 2012 / By
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    Thai economy beats growth forecast for Q2

    Thailand’s economy has expanded around 3.3 percent in the second quarter, smashing forecasts which had puts growth at 1.7 percent. The figure was released by the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) reflects measures taken by the government to boost the economy following last year’s flood and slow growth. Year-on-year growth has been of 4.2 percent, from 0.3 percent. The government has also announced plans to invest $63.4bn on infrastructure in an attempt to prevent or mitigate the consequences of natural disasters in the future and bolster growth even further. However, Arkhom Termittayapaisith, secretary general at the ...
    On August 20, 2012 / By
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    Brazil launches $66bn stimulus package

    Although the world’s second largest emerging economy has provided investors with plenty of opportunities over the last few years, growth last year plummeted partly as a result of the country’s inadequate infrastructure. In order to address investors concerns, the Brazilian government yesterday announced a massive $65.6bn investment in its transport infrastructure over the course of the next 25 years. Over half of that amount will be spent in the next five years, with a particular focus on the county’s roads and railways. President Dilma Rousseff told reporters: “We are starting with railways and roads but obviously we will take care o...
    On August 16, 2012 / By
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    Standard Chartered settles with US over Iran deal claims

    After coming in for heavy criticism for hiding a series of transactions with Iranian financial institutions, Standard Chartered has paid off regulators in New York. The US has strict economic sanctions on the Iranian regime, and the New York Department of Financial Services last week said that the Hong Kong based bank had infringed these sanctions after uncovering details of around $250bn of transactions with Iran. Although the bank claims that the deals only amounted to $14m, it says it is willing to pay the “civic penalty” in order to move on. In a brief statement the bank said: “A formal agreement containing the detailed terms of the...
    On August 15, 2012 / By
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    German economy makes sluggish gains

    Figures released this morning show that the German economy, which has held together the chaotic eurozone during the last few years of financial strife, has grown just 0.3 percent over the last quarter. Fuelled by domestic consumption and relatively strong exports, the rate is less than the 0.5 percent of the previous quarter, but more than the 0.2 percent predicted by leading economists to Reuters. ABN Amro’s Aline Schuilling said they felt the figures won’t prevent the eurozone from contracting in the coming months. “We do not think that Germany on its own can keep the entire euro zone afloat. We expect total eurozone GDP to have contr...
    On August 14, 2012 / By
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    JP Morgan hopes merging divisions will pay dividends

    With many financial institutions coming under pressure to restructure their businesses in the wake of the last few years of economic turmoil, some firms have looked to separate aspects of their business in order to isolate the potential risks. JP Morgan, however, have announced plans to merge their corporate and investment banking divisions with their securities and treasuries arms, in the hope that it will lead to increased pre-tax profits of $1bn over the course of the next five years. In an interview with the Financial Times on Monday, group CEO, Jamie Dimon, said this streamlining of the business will help reduce costs while tightening th...
    On August 13, 2012 / By
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    Manchester United share price slashed prior to US flotation

    Originally targeting a share offering of between $16 and $20, Manchester United has been forced to cut down to $14 in advance of today’s historic flotation on the New York Stock Exchange. The Glazer family are eager to float Britain’s largest football club in the US in order to help service the large debts that were loaded onto the company when they bought it in 2005 for $1.25bn. They intended to sell a ten percent stake in the business, which should raise around $330m. The family has come in for criticism, however, as reports have suggested they are to take $140m of that amount for themselves, instead of using it all to pay off debts of ...
    On August 10, 2012 / By
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    Belgium shuts nuclear reactor for possible cracks

    Belgium has interrupted the use of one of its seven nuclear reactors, after suspicion was raised that one of its components might be cracked, according to the local atomic regulator. The Doel 3 reactor, located around 25km north of Antwerp provides around 16 percent of the country’s nuclear energy. The suspected damages aren’t thought to pose a safety threat, according to Belgium’s nuclear watchdog AFCN, but activities will remain halted at least until the end of August. “We have found anomalies,” said Karina De Beule, spokesman for the ACFN. “At present we can guarantee that there are no risks to workers, citizens and the environ...
    On August 10, 2012 / By
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    Calls for stimulus as Chinese economy slows down

    A slowdown in industrial output and retail sales has seen China’s economy stumble in the second half of 2012, alarming investors who had hoped the world’s second largest economy would be immune to the troubles affecting the US and Europe. The economy slowed to 7.6 percent for the second quarter of this year, the lowest rate China has seen since 2009. Industrial output slumped to 9.2 percent in July, despite forecasts that it would rise from the 9.5 percent in June. In a note to clients, Nomura economist Zhang Zhiwei said: “Weak industrial production growth is likely to trigger stronger policy easing. The possibility of an interest-rate ...
    On August 9, 2012 / By