Bank of America, which has endured a number of problems since merging with Merrill Lynch last year, said its earnings after payment of preferred dividends were $2,42-billion in the second quarter – a fall on a year ago but still ahead of forecasts.
It said its results reflected a gain from selling part of its stake in China Construction Bank and, like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, said it had a handsome profit from its trading business.
Bank of America reported continuing losses from failed loans. It recorded a $13,4-billion provision for loan losses during the second quarter as consumers struggled with debt amid rising unemployment.
Citigroup reported a $4,3-billion second-quarter profit thanks to gains on its Smith Barney deal, although its primary banking businesses continue to suffer from rising credit losses.
The bank, propped up with $45-billion of taxpayers' money since markets imploded last autumn, recorded a $6,7-billion gain from merging Smith Barney into a brokerage venture with Morgan Stanley. Under accounting rules, Citi gets to mark up its entire stake in the venture, of which Morgan owns 51%.
Bank of America said its results also reflected a gain from selling part of its stake in China Construction Bank. The results included $713-million in dividend payments tied to a federal bailout and a charge to bolster a federal deposit insurance fund.
The company said its mortgage revenue rose after its acquisition of lender Countrywide Financial, reflecting the refinancing boom triggered by lower mortgage rates. - guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media 2009
The government has told Bank of America it needs $33.9 billion in capital to withstand any worsening of the economic downturn, according to an executive at the bank.
If the bank is unable to raise the capital cushion by selling assets or stock, it would have to rely on the government, which has provided $45 billion in capital through the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
It could satisfy regulators’ demands simply by converting non-voting preferred shares it gave the government in return for the capital, into common stock.
But that would make the government one of the bank’s largest shareholders.
Executives at the bank, one of the largest being examined, sparred with the government over the amount, which is higher than executives believed the bank needed.
But J. Steele Alphin, the bank’s chief administrative officer, said Bank of America would have plenty of options to raise the capital on its own before it would have to convert any of the taxpayer money into common stock.
“We’re not happy about it because it’s still a big number,” Mr. Alphin said. “We think it should be a bit less at the end of the day.”
The government’s determination that Bank of America doesn’t need as much capital as it has already received from taxpayers is an indication that even some of the most troubled banks may not need more government money than has been allocated to them.
The Treasury Department declined to comment on Tuesday evening.
Citigroup, by contrast, has already decided to allow the government to convert some of its investment into common stock.
Under the arrangement worked out between the Treasury and Citigroup earlier this year, the Treasury will receive mandatory convertible preferred shares, meaning preferred shares that can be converted to voting shares of common stock at the will of the government.
If Bank of America relied on that conversion for the majority of the capital it needs to maintain, the government would become one of the bank’s largest shareholders.
Regulators have told the banks that the common shares would bolster their “tangible common equity,” a measure of capital that places greater emphasis on the resources that a bank has at its disposal than the more traditional measure of “Tier 1” capital.
Citigroup, the largest and most deeply troubled of the banks, is expected to need to raise capital as insurance against any further downturn in the economy.
The government told the bank it would need $50 billion to $55 billion in capital, a requirement that would force it to raise $5 billion to $10 billion in new capital, according to people briefed on the final results.
Citigroup executives say the bank can easily cover any shortfall, and is considering several options to close that gap.
The Obama administration plans to publicize the results of stress tests on Thursday.
The results are expected to reveal that a number of them need additional capital, and many banks have negotiated with the government on what the actual capital requirements should be since they learned of the preliminary findings last week.
The tests are also expected to show that several banks, including Bank of New York Mellon, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, are healthy enough to repay TARP funds.
Mr. Alphin noted that the $34 billion figure is well below the $45 billion in capital that the government has already allocated to the bank, although he said the bank has plenty of options to raise the capital on its own.
“There are several ways to deal with this,” Mr. Alphin said. “The company is very healthy.”
Bank executives estimate that the company will generate $30 billion a year in income, once a normal environment returns.
The company has faced criticism over its acquisition of Merrill Lynch, the troubled investment bank, and last week, shareholders voted to strip the bank’s chief executive, Kenneth D. Lewis, of his title as chairman of the board. The board said last week that it still unanimously supports Mr. Lewis in his role as chief executive.
Mr. Alphin said since the government figure is less than the $45 billion provided to Bank of America, the bank will now start looking at ways of repaying the $11 billion difference over time to the government.
In the case of Citigroup, which has also received two taxpayer lifelines, executives say the bank can easily cover any shortfall, and is considering several options to close that gap.
Among them are efforts to accelerate the sales of several businesses within Citi Holdings, a holding tank for assets it plans to shed, or to expand its common stock conversion plans to a broader base of private investors who hold Citigroup preferred stock. Both measures would avoid an increase in the government’s expected 36 percent ownership stake.
Taxpayer-supported Banks have been eager to wean themselves from the government’s purview, and many analysts have questioned how useful the stress tests will be in assessing their true health.
Also Tuesday, senior government officials said the Treasury Department is planning to require taxpayer-supported banks seeking to free themselves from the government’s grip to show that they can repay the lifelines without additional subsidies that have helped them survive the financial crisis.
Banks have had an indirect subsidy adopted by the government last fall that allows them to issue debt cheaply with the backing of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
The Treasury is expected to announce as early as Wednesday that healthier banks must show that they can issue debt without the guarantees before they are allowed to exit the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.
The banks also must demonstrate that they will be able to sell stock to private investors and pass a government stress test to show that they are healthy enough to survive without the taxpayer aid.
Fully capitalizing on the opportunities with the State’s measures to increase domestic demand and stimulate economic growth, BOC accelerated its pace in loans and deposits expansion and achieved rapid growth. As at 31 March 2009, the Bank’s domestic RMB-denominated loans increased by RMB 569.4 billion or 24% compared with the end of 2008 and the market share increased by 0.62 percentage point. Domestic RMB-denominated customer deposits also increased by RMB 723.1 billion or 18% from the end of 2008. Market share of the Bank’s domestic RMB-denominated corporate deposits and savings deposits also increased by 0.79 and 0.14 percentage point respectively, compared with the end of 2008.
In the mean time, BOC proactively adjusted its assets/liabilities structure, increased the proportion of high yield assets and lowered funding cost. The proportion of foreign currency-denominated assets of the group at the end of first quarter was reduced by 6 percentage points compared to the end of 2008 to 29%. RMB-denominated investment securities increased to RMB 1,219.482 billion, up by 18.29%, whilst the amount of foreign currency-denominated investment securities was reduced by 4.30% to USD 86.157 billion. Demand deposits represented 44.85% of the total customer deposits, an increase of 0.23 percentage point compared to the end of 2008. Loans account for 49.73% of the balance of interest-earning assets, up 0.43 percentage point. Loan to deposit ratio increased by 0.28 percentage point to 64.88%.
In the first quarter of 2009, net interest income amounted to RMB 36.838 billion, down 9.74% against the same period of 2008. Net interest margin was 2.14%, down by 63 basis points year-on-year, or 34 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2008.
In the first quarter, total export and import trade volume in China decreased by 24.9% year-on-year, but BOC’s international trade settlement volume still reached USD 137.862 billion and maintained its market share. Also, the Bank capitalized on the business opportunities arising from credit expansion and domestic consumption demands; financial advisory fee income increased by 70% year-on-year, and bank cards related fee income also rose by 21%. The bank achieved net fee and commission income of RMB 11.263 billion, a strong rebound of 38.95% compared to the fourth quarter of 2008, representing 22.32% of operating income, an increase of 1.84 percentage points compared with the same period of 2008.
While expanding business size and optimizing business structure, BOC further enhanced its cost management. Staff cost in the first quarter dropped by 3.79% year-on-year. Operating expense dropped by 15.07% year-on-year. Cost to income ratio decreased by 1.57 percentage points to 33.06%.
BOC continued to exercise stringent credit quality control, fortify its effort in non-performing loan recoveries, and strictly control the growth in non-performing loans. As a result, the Bank’s total identified impaired loans decreased by RMB3.652 billion from the end of 2008 to RMB 87.227 billion, with impaired loan ratio at 2.29%, a decrease of 0.47 percentage point from the end of 2008. The impaired loan coverage ratio reached 123.43%, up 6.25% from last year end. Non-performing loans amounted to RMB 85.127 billion, down by RMB 2.363 billion. Non-performing loan ratio dropped by 0.41% to 2.24%, and non-performing loan coverage ratio rose by 4.75 percentage points from the end of 2008 to 126.47%. Impairment losses on loans and advances for the first quarter were RMB 2.752 billion and credit cost was 0.31%.
As at 31 March 2009, the carrying value of US subprime mortgage related debt securities, US Alt-A mortgage-backed securities, Non-agency US mortgage-backed securities, debt securities issued by and mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by US Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae held by the Bank amounted to USD 13.145 billion, a decrease of USD 2.861 billion from the end of 2008. The aggregated amount of allowances for these securities was USD 4.838 billion, up by USD 0.378 billion. Impairment losses on investment securities for the quarter amounted to RMB 3.013 billion.
BOC has achieved a strong start in all business areas in the first quarter, providing a solid base for the healthy development of all businesses for the year. While the global economic environment gradually stabilized and China’s economy showed early signs of recovery, BOC will seize the business opportunity with the Chinese macro-economic policy of “expanding domestic demand, adjusting economic structure and achieving economic growth”, and continue to implement its strategy of “expand business size, optimize business structure, develop premium brand, strengthen infrastructure, control cost and sharpen competitiveness”. BOC will focus on increasing market share and expanding customer base through product and service innovation, and continue to restructure the Bank’s service and growth mode, as well as accelerating the expansion of overseas business, thereby fully implementing the strategic development plan.Borrowers looking for a new mortgage deal can now add Bank of China to their list of potential lenders, as the Chinese state-owned bank is targeting the UK with competitive loan rates.
Bank of China has been providing mortgages to the Chinese community in the UK but has recently broadened the availability of its loans. It is now offering two tracker deals to a wider pool of UK borrowers.
The rates – of 2.5 per cent over the Bank of England base rate for residential borrowers and 3.5 per cent over base for buy-to-let customers for the lifetime of the loan – are among the best on the market and undercut many UK lenders.
HSBC and Woolwich have similar lifetime trackers but a number of shorter-term trackers from lenders such as Abbey and Lloyds charge considerably higher rates.
Borrowers need a minimum deposit of 25 per cent and must pass tough credit checks, as well as a personal interview at a Bank of China branch. The bank has five branches across the UK’s major cities.
Mortgage brokers said the entry of one of the world’s biggest banks would bring a much-needed boost to the UK market. Mortgages are in scant supply as many of the UK’s banks still have limited access to finance and are focused on repairing their balance sheets rather than increasing new lending. Many of the best mortgage deals have disappeared in recent weeks as lenders have increased rates to ease strong demand.
“There are lots of reasons why banks and building societies aren’t lending at the volumes they would like,” said Mark Harris, managing director of Savills Private Finance, the broker. “If some of the slack can be taken up by new foreign entrants, then that is good for the consumer.”
Brokers expect more foreign banks and other smaller lenders to enter the mortgage market over the next few years, which could put pressure on UK banks to launch cheaper deals.
Low interest rates make margins on loans attractive and demand from borrowers is far exceeding supply. Overseas banks such as Kleinwort Benson, Investec and Standard Chartered already do some mortgage lending in the UK.
March 6 (Bloomberg) -- Bank of China Ltd., the nation’s third-largest by value, will offer at least 500 billion yuan ($73 billion) in new loans in 2009, boosting credit along with other banks after the government directed them to support the economy.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao set a new loan growth target of 5 trillion yuan for 2009 this week as he prods banks to help support a 4 trillion-yuan stimulus package. Collapsing exports have dragged the world’s third-largest economy to its weakest growth in seven years and cost the jobs of about 20 million migrant workers.
Domestic lenders offered a record 1.62 trillion yuan in new advances in January, more than double the previous all-time high set a year earlier, according to central bank data. Bank of China Chairman Xiao Gang said the company needs to balance the increase in loans with the need to avoid another episode of the bad-debt accumulation that prompted a decade-long bailout of banks.
“We want to share at least 10 percent of the nation’s lending target,” said in an interview in Beijing today. “But we won’t loosen the lending standards. We just can’t go back to the old path or receive any more government bailout.”
New lending in February exceeded 800 billion yuan, more than triple the amount extended a year ago, Liu Mingkang, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, said yesterday.
Xiao also said the bank has no plans to raise its stake in Bank of East Asia Ltd. or bid for any assets belonging to U.S. insurer American International Group Inc.
Hiring Spree
Xiao also said shareholder Temasek Holdings Pte, Singapore’s $130 billion state-owned investment company, had agreed not to sell its stake in Bank of China until at least June 30. Temasek owns 10.48 billion Hong Kong-listed shares, or 4.1 percent in the lender.
Royal Bank of Scotland Plc, the biggest government- controlled bank in U.K., in January sold its entire stake in Bank of China for $2.3 billion to replenish capital depleted by writedowns.
Bank of China is planning to add about 10,000 new employees in 2009, Xiao said, bucking the global financial meltdown that has cost more than 280,000 jobs worldwide so far. The new hires will mainly be college graduates, he said. Bank of China had 237,379 employees at the end of 2007.
China dropped lending quotas and unveiled the stimulus package in November to maintain economic growth and counter the global financial crisis.
The surge in credit has prompted the central bank and the banking regulator to survey lenders for details on the recipients and terms of the loans, in part to ensure that lending isn’t funneled into the stock market, a person with knowledge of the matter said last month.
Despite stock market shocks, falling returns for investors and many other forms of bad news, I recently completed one of the most important financial objectives of my life. No, not to repay the mortgage or furnish myself with an adequate pension; both of those goals still lie some way off in the future.
If you want another clue, this was an ambition shared by rising numbers of parents in Britain. Yes, you have guessed it: I finished paying the school fees. To be candid, this was an infinitely more worrying project than paying for the roof over our heads or funding retirement, because it would not have been me who suffered if I made a mess of it.
It would be no exaggeration to say that I sometimes suffered nightmares about falling short
in this long-term commitment to find daunting sums of money out of taxed income.
Even at the best of times (and current conditions could scarcely be described that way) journalism is an unpredictable racket. It was all very well knowing that I had the cash for this term's fees, but what
'Many parents... trade down to a smaller property rather than switch schools'about next year and the years after that?
Many other parents of an estimated 600,000 children being educated in the private sector would, like me, have sold the house and traded down to a smaller property, or happily worked beyond retirement age, rather than switch schools prematurely. It is a great relief to no longer have to worry about where to find fees that, in my favourite part of London, ran up to considerably more than the £9,000
The saving graces Page 2 of 3
a year national average for day schools cited by the Independent Schools Council (ISC).
Fees were rising at more than 13% two years ago but, as the credit crisis hit, this abated to 6% in 2008. Even so, the ISC's members' pupil rolls stood at an all-time record last year, which tells us something about the satisfaction levels, despite eye-stretching grade inflation.
So, how to meet this long-term commitment? The traditional advice
is to start planning early, rather like doing a little homework every night instead of waiting to start just before exams. If you have at least five years before the money is needed, you might consider shares and share-based funds.
'If you have 5 years before the money is needed, you might consider shares and share-based fundsThis asset class beat bonds and deposits over most of the periods of five consecutive years during the last century and the probability of equities' outperformance increased over longer periods.
But the past is not necessarily a guide to the future and those who need to be sure that sufficient cash will be available may prefer structured products with a guaranteed return.
Remember, no guarantee is worth any more than its guarantor.
Shorter-term objectives are probably most safely met by cash deposits in a reputable institution.
Thinking ahead
However you choose to save or invest, the mathematics of compound interest demonstrate that the earliest invested pounds have longest to work for your benefit. But the fact remains that many parents rely heavily on income and take this daunting task one term at a time. We did. t's worth stating that some schools may have set up a fighting fund to help families in difficulty at this time. The message is to speak with the school, as they may be able to help.
Many regard a good education as the most valuable gift you can give to children. Given the substantial sums involved, it's an effective form of inheritance tax planning because it will certainly reduce your estate.
On a brighter note, I used to cheer myself up with Enron-style
accounting, which appeared to show that I had made a large paper profit out of our son's education. Because I wanted my son to walk to school, I bought a house nearby that has multiplied several times in value since he started school. Of course it is foolish to compare unrealised profits with real costs, but it kept me going through difficult times.
Winston Churchill, who knew a thing or two about resilience in adversity, once observed: "There is no finer investment for any community than putting milk into
babies." Half a century later, paying for your children to receive a first-class education is one of the best investments any parent can make.
Remember that the value of investments can fall as well as rise, and that you could get back less than orginally invested. Aim to invest over the medium to long-term, for example at least five years.
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) says it will appeal the European Commission's decision to fine the U.S. chipmaker about €1.06 billion ($1.45 billion) for abusing its dominance in the market to exclude Advanced Micro Devices. The fine levied against Intel beats the previous record for an EC antitrust fine, which was held by another U.S. high-tech company: Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT)."Intel has harmed millions of European consumers by deliberately acting to keep competitors out of the market for computer chips for many years," says EC competition commissioner Neelie Kroes. "Such a serious and sustained violation of the EU's antitrust rules cannot be tolerated."
CEO Paul Otellini says:
"Intel takes strong exception to this decision. We believe the decision is wrong and ignores the reality of a highly competitive microprocessor marketplace -- characterized by constant innovation, improved product performance and lower prices. There has been absolutely zero harm to consumers. Intel will appeal."
Back in 2004, the EC fined Microsoft €497 million, or $677 million at current exchange rates, for blocking competition in markets for server computers and media software.
And meanwhile back in the States, the Obama administration is talking tough on antitrust. Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is under two antitrust inquiries.
The search deal between Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) has been a long time coming. But now that it's here, shareholders' reaction to the deal (announced before market) has been both negative and swift. Yahoo!'s stock's tumbled 7% right out of the gate and kept going into the early afternoon.Shares of Yahoo! were down over 11% around 1 pm EDT on Wednesday, while Microsoft edged up only 3%.
Yahoo!'s stock had advanced roughly 20% over the past three weeks on speculation that the deal would bring in "boatloads of cash," the bar set in months past by the Internet company's CEO Carol Bartz. So they were unpleasantly surprised by the deal's lack of an up-front payment.
Investors on Yahoo!'s own message boards heatedly debated the deal. Some were outraged at both management and the terms of the agreement.
artvicon wrote: "Bartz should resign. [It's] hard to imagine that [she] could make shareholders want to bring back Jerry Yang back. So much for the influence of Icahn. No cash - why even bother? Time to go Ms. Bartz."
While flowors800 chimed in with "Shareholder value is down $2.3 billion on Carol's deal to save $200 million in expenses. MSFT basically guaranteed Carol's pay package and killed the shareholders. Thanks Steve Ballmer."
The deal does have its defenders though. travispeabody comments:
"ahoo gets 88% of the new revenue and some other cash paid in on a yearly basis. It keeps all of its existing business and will quadruple its base in a year or so. No one really knows how much additional revenue this deal will create for Yahoo. In a dynamic partnership with MSFT, they could easily trash GOOG. As far as the 'upfront' payment was concerned, it basically gave MSFT a big chunk of Yahoos base revenue AND ALL THE NEW REVENUE. That's why YHOO didn't like it. They wanted their business to grow, and grow real fast. It will.
The search deal between Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) has been a long time coming. But now that it's here, shareholders' reaction to the deal (announced before market) has been both negative and swift. Yahoo!'s stock's tumbled 7% right out of the gate and kept going into the early afternoon.Shares of Yahoo! were down over 11% around 1 pm EDT on Wednesday, while Microsoft edged up only 3%.
Yahoo!'s stock had advanced roughly 20% over the past three weeks on speculation that the deal would bring in "boatloads of cash," the bar set in months past by the Internet company's CEO Carol Bartz. So they were unpleasantly surprised by the deal's lack of an up-front payment.
Investors on Yahoo!'s own message boards heatedly debated the deal. Some were outraged at both management and the terms of the agreement.
artvicon wrote: "Bartz should resign. [It's] hard to imagine that [she] could make shareholders want to bring back Jerry Yang back. So much for the influence of Icahn. No cash - why even bother? Time to go Ms. Bartz."
While flowors800 chimed in with "Shareholder value is down $2.3 billion on Carol's deal to save $200 million in expenses. MSFT basically guaranteed Carol's pay package and killed the shareholders. Thanks Steve Ballmer."
The deal does have its defenders though. travispeabody comments:
"ahoo gets 88% of the new revenue and some other cash paid in on a yearly basis. It keeps all of its existing business and will quadruple its base in a year or so. No one really knows how much additional revenue this deal will create for Yahoo. In a dynamic partnership with MSFT, they could easily trash GOOG. As far as the 'upfront' payment was concerned, it basically gave MSFT a big chunk of Yahoos base revenue AND ALL THE NEW REVENUE. That's why YHOO didn't like it. They wanted their business to grow, and grow real fast. It will.
Welcome to Deal Stocks, where we focus on a handful of select public companies involved in activity across the deal spectrum -- including M&A, private equity, IPOs, bankruptcies and corporate restructurings. These are the transactions that define The Deal and are likely contributors to a stock's gains or losses. Join in the conversation on Twitter @dealstocks.
The market was celebrating on Thursday as the Dow topped 9,000 for the first time since January. The Dow skyrocketed up 188.03, or 2.12%, to 9,069.29 reaching a new high this year while the Nasdaq closed up 47.22, or 2.45%, to 1,973.60. The markets were buoyed by a host of M&A deals from Bristol-Myers Squibb Inc. (NYSE:BMY), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Bankrate.com Inc. (NASDAQ:RATE) while earnings announcements generally registered better than expected.
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Goldman Sach Group Inc.'s (NYSE:GS) decision to go with the Treasury's valuation of its TARP warrants could score it some good PR. And only days after it was bailed out by it bondholders, CIT Group Inc. (NYSE:CIT) is still considering restructuring through Chapter 11. Speaking of maintaining good PR, American International Group Inc. (NYSE:AIG) is holding off on $2.4 million bonuses for 43 executives. This comes after public backlash on AIG, which paid $165 million in bonuses in March. Here's a closer look of other factors that swayed the performance of Deal Stocks on Thursday:
- Shares of Bristol-Myers finished up as it opened its wallet late Wednesday, purchasing Medarex Inc. for $2.4 billion.
- Amazon.com's all-stock acquisition of Zappo.com Inc. after market close Wednesday sent shares of the online retailer higher as investors applauded its growth prospects. The deal also puts another feature in the cap of venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, which invested about $35 million in the company roughly four years ago.
- Shares of Bankrate.com, although finishing in the red Thursday, still closed above the takeout price of $28.50 that private equity firm Apax Partners agreed to buy the company for in a debt-free deal Wednesday. The $571 million deal had Apax laying out all the cash itself instead of using leveraged debt, the key component in the firm's business model. (The Deal Pipeline subscribers can read the full story here.)
- On the other hand, shares of rating agency Moody's Corp. (NYSE:MCO) fell after National Indemnity, an insurer owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK), reported that it sold almost 8 million shares of Moody's this week.
Meanwhile on the earnings front:
- Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) reported second-quarter profits fell 29% to $3.05 billion blaming weak consumer sales. The tech titan's revenue fell for the first time since it went public in 1986.
- Meanwhile, Netflix Corp. (NASDAQ:NFLX), which was rumored to be a takeover candidate of Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) two weeks ago, saw a 22% increase in second-quarter earnings to a profit of $32.4 million.
- Swiss banking group Credit Suisse Group (NYSE:CS) said its net income rose 29% in the second quarter, topping market expectations with a profit of $1.47 billion.
- Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) beat analysts estimates, sending the stock higher. The Cincinnati bank said loan losses increased, but it reached an overall profit after a gain from selling part of its transaction processing unit. The bank reported net income of $856 million, or $1.15 per share.
- Ford Motor Corp. (NYSE:F) also rallied Thursday morning as it pulled a $2.4 billion profit with the help of one-time gains tied to debt restructuring.
- The New York Times Co.'s (NYSE:NYT) second-quarter profit rose 85% to $39.1 million. The media company has been undergoing a massive restructuring as it sold its classical radio station for $45 million as well as reached a $20 million agreement to cut costs at The Boston Globe. - George White and Gerald Magpily
| VITAL SIGNS | ||||||
| Figures are calculated according to the latest stock data available at approximately 4:00 pm ET | ||||||
| July 23, 2009 | ||||||
| Benchmark | Spread | Change from previous day | 1 week ago | 1 month ago | 1 year ago | |
| LIBOR 1-MONTH | 0.29 | -0.001 | 0.29 | 0.31 | 2.46 | |
| LIBOR 3-MONTH | 0.50 | +0.002 | 0.51 | 0.61 | 2.80 | |
| TED | 0.32 | +0.010 | 0.33 | 0.40 | 1.05 | |
| Exchange | Average | Change from previous day | 1 week ago | 1 month ago | 1 year ago | |
| VIX | 23.52 | +0.05 (+0.21%) | 25.42 | 30.58 | 21.31 | |
| T-bond | Current Price/Yield | Price/Yield change | ||||
| 3-Year | 99-22+ / 1.60 | -0-11 / .119 | ||||
| 5-Year | 100-08+ / 2.56 | -0-25 / .168 | ||||
| 10-Year | 95-14 / 3.68 | -1-03.5 / .139 | ||||
| Sources: Bloomberg.com, CNBC.com | ||||||
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In terms of the Barclays' offshore banking services available, the group offer personal, corporate and private banking solutions as well as a unique international premier banking solutions for those with in excess of GBP 100,000 to bank and invest. For those seeking private offshore banking solutions there is an international private banking division at Barclays and also the aforementioned premier banking solutions which are available to those who require a more personalised banking and investment service from Barclays. For those seeking private offshore banking solutions there is an international private banking division at Barclays and also the aforementioned premier banking solutions which are available to those who require a more personalised banking and investment service from Barclays. Offshore corporate banking services available from Barclays offer corporate clients or intermediaries the ability to streamline cross border trading and banking. Their relevant corporate products and services include financing, investing, day to day banking and trading - and as with personal Barclays offshore bank accounts, corporate accounts are also safe and secure as Barclays is a bank with an excellent reputation.
Offshore Private banking is most suited to those with in excess of GBP 1 million and the premier banking service is for those with in excess of GBP 100,000 - either to invest, trade or bank. For those seeking private offshore banking solutions there is an international private banking division at Barclays and also the aforementioned premier banking solutions which are available to those who require a more personalised banking and investment service from Barclays. But because Barclays has a growing international presence particularly across Europe, America, Africa and Asia their presence on the international high street is becoming more high profile. Barclays' offshore banking solutions are often chosen by British expatriates who already have a business relationship with the bank before they leave the UK and who are aware of the bank's pedigree and reputation. Their relevant corporate products and services include financing, investing, day to day banking and trading - and as with personal Barclays offshore bank accounts, corporate accounts are also safe and secure as Barclays is a bank with an excellent reputation.
For expatriates, international business professionals or those with cross border needs who are seeking a straightforward offshore personal bank account, Barclays International Personal Banking from Barclays International and Private Banking Division offers easy and secure access to funds with telephone and internet banking available, discounts on international money transfers, the ability to bank in multiple currencies, international mortgages, UK tax advice, good interest rates and a safe and secure account are also offered and assured. For expatriates, international business professionals or those with cross border needs who are seeking a straightforward offshore personal bank account, Barclays International Personal Banking from Barclays International and Private Banking Division offers easy and secure access to funds with telephone and internet banking available, discounts on international money transfers, the ability to bank in multiple currencies, international mortgages, UK tax advice, good interest rates and a safe and secure account are also offered and assured. Offshore Private banking is most suited to those with in excess of GBP 1 million and the premier banking service is for those with in excess of GBP 100,000 - either to invest, trade or bank. All in all Barclays offshore banking division services the main requirements of the individual and corporate client, and because Barclays have a good industry recognised reputation from Standard and Poors, Fitch and Moodys their offshore and international client base is apparently growing. Barclays' offshore banking solutions are often chosen by British expatriates who already have a business relationship with the bank before they leave the UK and who are aware of the bank's pedigree and reputation.
In a recent "2009 Selection of Values of Chinese Listed Companies & The 1st Selection of The Most Popular Network of Listed Company for Investors", ICBC won 6 big awards including "Top 100 Valuable Chinese Listed Companies", "Excellent Management Teams of Chinese Listed Companies", "Top 100 Secretaries of Board of Directors of Chinese Listed Companies", "The Best Chinese Listed Company with Social Responsibility", "The Most Popular Network of Listed Company for Investors" and "The Best Network of Chinese Listed Company in Information Disclosure".
According to introduction that "2008 Selection of Values of Chinese Listed Companies" was hosted by Securities Daily, aiming to praise some excellent listed companies with prominent financial performances, outstanding corporate governances, the first-class brands, strategies and management teams by which they can create great values for the shareholders persistently. Based on the financial condition, operational performance, corporate governance, investor relationship and other indicators, this selection established a database and made a comprehensive assessment on over 150 listed companies. By taking consideration of experts' opinions and the results from network votes, the winners were finally determined.
Meanwhile, "The Selection of The Most Popular Network of Listed Company for Investors" was the first introduced in this year in order to select some outstanding networks with the most friendly interfaces, most convenient accesses, most timely information disclosures, most positively mandatory disclosures of information, the closest, most efficient interactions and communications with investors, continuous innovations in communicating contents and strong capacities. The awards set include The Best Interaction Platform of Investor Relationship, The Best Network in Information Disclosure and The Most Popular Network of Listed Company for Investors.
An relevant officials of ICBC' said, the fact that ICBC won the 6 big honors fully demonstrates ICBC has been recognized by the market and investors in many ways such as operational performance, corporate governance, investment value and information disclosure. This year is the third consecutive year that ICBC won the "Top 100 Valuable Chinese Listed Companies". ICBC also obtained the "The Most Popular Network of Listed Company for Investors" that was set for the first time, "The Best Network of Chinese Listed Company in Information Disclosure" and other awards related to investor relationship and information disclosure. ICBC will continue to follow the strategic prospect of building the "most profitable, excellent and honorable" international first-class commercial bank, persistently enhance operational performance, continuously perfect corporate governance, earnestly fulfill its social responsibility as well as enhance the investor relationship management and information disclosure so as to create new values for shareholders, clients, employees, and other stakeholders.
SHANGHAI — China's biggest lender, state-owned Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, on Friday signed a $3.78-billion investment deal with Goldman Sachs Group Inc., American Express Co. and Germany's Allianz.
The deal, aimed at building "strategic partnerships" in banking, insurance and credit card businesses, will involve the purchase of newly issued shares in the Beijing-based bank, known as ICBC, the companies said. The deal is subject to regulatory approval.
The bank earlier had announced that the three companies planned to buy a combined 10% stake.
Although the transaction will not be completed until April at the earliest, Allianz will begin immediately to sell investment funds and life insurance policies through ICBC's 20,000 outlets, a spokesman said.
New York-based American Express confirmed that it was contributing $200 million to the deal.
American Express has had a card marketing deal with ICBC since 2004.
Friday's deal caps a spate of multibillion-dollar investments by major international financial institutions angling for a share of China's potentially huge and lucrative market.
By October, foreign banks had pledged or put $16.5 billion into 16 Chinese banks, according to the China Banking Regulatory Commission. Most of those investments were made in the last two years.
ICBC, which like other Chinese banks has been plagued with lending scandals and mountains of bad debt, expects the cooperation with its foreign partners to help improve its governance and risk controls. In a rare move, Goldman Sachs will appoint one member to ICBC's board.
With more than 20,000 branches, ICBC is a giant in an industry dominated by huge banks. By the end of September, its deposits totaled 5.59 trillion yuan, or about $700 billion.
