BANKING & INSURANCEUK banks to benefit as US prepares a multi-billion dollar rescue planUK BANKS – including Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS and Barclays – are set to gain multi-billion dollar benefits from the US T
reasury as part of the American government's plans to rescue its crisis-hit financial system (
Scotsman).US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson yesterday revealed that foreign banks would be able to unload bad financial assets as part of the $700 billion (£381bn) proposal aimed at restoring order during a devastating financial crisis.Asked if overseas banks with US bases could gain, Paulson told a television interviewer: "Yes, and they should." He added: "If a financial institution has business operations in the United States, hires people in the United States, if they are clogged with illiquid assets, they have the same impact on the American people as any other institution." Paulson's comments are understood to be welcomed by UK banks, including Edinburgh-based RBS, and could even fuel a further revival of their share prices when the markets open today. Last night none of the banks chose to comment as they await the details of the legislation on the bail-out being negotiated by the US Treasury with Congress.
Record-breaking Nimmo makes it 11 in a rowHarry Nimmo, who runs Standard Life Investments' UK Smaller Companies vehicle, has now surpassed his own previous record-breaking run at the head of The Herald's monthly table of top-performing asset managers with Scottish fund houses (
Herald). Nimmo broke his previous record by making it 11 in a row at the head of the Scottish top flight when the latest investment performances for the three years to August 31 were tallied by financial publisher Citywire. He also extended his run at the top of Citywire's UK-wide top flight to nine straight months. David Clark, who runs Glasgow-based Resolution Asset Management's Smaller Companies fund, regained second spot UK-wide when the latest performance figures were calculated. He had, in the previous monthly table, seen a seven-month run in second spot broken with a slip to third position UK-wide when he was overtaken by Georgina Brittain, who runs JP Morgan Asset Management's UK Smaller Companies fund. When the figures to August 31 were compiled, Brittain had to settle for third place in the UK again. In the Scottish top flight, Clark has now been second for 11 consecutive months.
Read all today's banking news from scotsman.comECONOMYFSA chief hits out at 'unreal' bonus system THE new chairman of the main City watchdog yesterday warned that "very important questions" needed to be asked about the banking world's bonus system (
Scotsman).Lord Adair Turner, who started his new role at the Financial Services Authority on Saturday, said regulators had a right to ask whether banks were paying too much for "unreal" profits and trading practices that stored up problems for the future. Turner was commenting amid reports that Barclays is set to honour a $2.5 billion (£1.4bn) bonus pot for US staff of Lehman Brothers, the American investment bank that collapsed last week and started off a week of global turmoil. Turner, a former director-general of the CBI, said yesterday that the regulator could not get "directly" involved in what people are paid. But, he said, it was appropriate "to ask searching questions about the nature of people's remuneration". Institutions should be asked questions "as to whether they are paying out bonuses before they are really sure whether the profits are really there or whether … a toxic problem … has been created for the future".
Read all today's economics news from scotsman.comINDUSTRYWolseley profits expected to fall 30% Heating and plumbing giant Wolseley's final results today are likely to make grim reading after a year of turmoil for the Reading-based business (
Herald). At first it was buffeted by the US housing collapse, but rapidly declining conditions in European and UK markets are now dealing a fresh blow. The group, which earns around half of its annual £16bn sales across the Atlantic, is best known for its Build Centre and Plumb Centre trading names. Analysts predict that its underlying earnings are likely to fall by 30% to £608m in the year to July 31, compared with £877m the previous year. Wolseley has cut 6000 jobs in the space of a year as it battles the deteriorating conditions, as well as axing the shareholder dividend in a move which will save £150m.
Read all today's industry news from scotsman.comMEDIA & LEISUREClydesdale at the heart of new club MatterCLYDESDALE has bankrolled what is being billed as the biggest new dance club in London in a decade.In an unusual move for the bank, it has come up with a multi-million pound package to fund the Matter club (
Scotsman).The venue is part of the redevelopment of the previously troubled London Dome and opened with a 30-artist show on Thursday. It was built and fitted at a cost of around £14 million by the company which owns Fabric, the Farringdon-based club that was recently voted the number one venue in the world by DJ magazine. Since then, Fabric has been approached about new venues across the globe, all of which have been rejected. Cameron Leslie, who quit as Deloitte's hospitality analyst to co-found Fabric in 1999, said even the Matter site was only considered in early 2006 as a favour to a family member, at a time when the London Dome was considered a complete failure.
Read all today's media and leisure news from scotsman.comRETAILThe future remains green despite financial downturnSUPERMARKETS and other major retailers are pressing ahead with green business practices despite the threat of recession, according to a report published today (
Scotsman). In the study, the Forum for the Future – a sustainable development charity – claims it makes "good business sense" to concentrate on the "green agenda". This is because of consumer pressure for greener goods, the rising cost of energy and other resources, and efficiency savings. The charity highlights ten business areas – ranging from vision and governance through to products and services and the supply chain – in which companies can improve their sustainability. The report holds up dozens of firms as leaders in their fields, including tea and coffee company Cafédirect for its "vision and strategy", Tesco for its "green" marketing and the John Lewis Partnership, for improving its supply chain. Other companies praised by the report included the Co-operative Food Group, for the definitions of its ethical policies, and Cadbury for reducing its packaging and cutting its carbon dioxide emissions. The forum says it works with 130 businesses and public sector organisations to support sustainability in the workplace. Tom Berry, head of retail at the forum and the report's author, said: "Maintaining an emphasis on sustainable development in core business will be an important element of retail success – recession or not.
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