Archive for June 1st, 2009

Abu Dhabi firm in Barclays sale
One of the largest Middle Eastern investors in Barclays says it plans to sell part of its interests in the bank.Abu Dhabi firm International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) said it aimed to sell the equivalent of 1.3 billion Barclays’ shares. In 2008, Barclays raised 7bn from Middle East investors in… »

Ryanair reports first annual loss
Ryanair has reported its first annual loss after it was hit by higher fuel costs and had to write down the value of its stake in rival Aer Lingus.The Irish airline made a net loss of 169m euros (239m; 146m) in the year to 31 March. This compares with a profit… »

Bank regulation system ‘failed’
There has been fresh criticism of the way banks were supervised by the Treasury, Bank of England and Financial Services Authority (FSA).The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee said the so-called tripartite system had failed and must be reformed. Its failings were highlighted by the failure of Northern Rock. The report said… »

World Service Food Price Index
The BBC World Service is tracking food prices in seven major cities to create a World Food Price Index. Each week reporters head to the shops to record the prices for five of that country’s staple foods.Every basket of goods was normalised to a cost of 100 when the experiment began… »

Graduates struggle as China slows
By Michael Bristow
BBC News, Beijing
At a recent job fair in Beijing, thousands of soon-to-graduate Chinese university students dashed from employer to employer handing over their resumes.Just a few hours after the two-day fair opened, one company had received 50 job applications for just five positions. Final-year Chinese students, like others across… »

NEW YORK (Reuters) — JPMorgan Chase & Co. said Monday it plans to raise 5 billion of common equity, which it said will enable it to repay this month the 25 billion it took from the government’s bank bailout plan.The New York-based bank plans to raise the capital by selling common stock, and to price… »

WASHINGTON: The Senate is poised this week to take its first crack at a “cash for clunkers” proposal to boost the troubled auto industry.Some senators plan to propose attaching the provision to an unrelated bill that would allow the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco sales, according congressional aides and auto industry sources.President Obama… »

Markets up on good economic news
Stock markets have been rising strongly following upbeat economic news.In the US, the Dow Jones is trading up 2.8% while London’s FTSE 100 closed up 2.0%, Frankfurt’s Dax rose 4.1% and the Cac40 in Paris gained 3.1%. Reports on the manufacturing sectors in China, the US and the UK gave… »

NEW YORK: The recent bank stock rally may have finally run its course.After bottoming out in early March on fears that some of the biggest banks were insolvent, shares across the sector skyrocketed before government regulators finally unveiled the findings of their stress test program for the nation’s largest financial firms in May. Since then,… »

(breakingviews.com) — With General Motors’ Chapter 11 filing, Ford Motor stands alone among Detroit’s Big Three in dodging a shareholder-crushing government bailout. If the car market continues to slide, that may be a short-lived accolade. If not, it’s a testament to the carmaker’s hard work, smart financial planning and competent management.So what’s it get for… »