February 17, 2009
Shares rights, keep your money!
Story link: Shares rights, keep your money!
While shares rights are generally a good option for investors, they need to be careful in times of instability like now.
While the shares rights will allow investors to purchase the new shares at a highly discounted rate, its advisable to treat this as a new investment rather than getting excited over the discount!
Shares rights, keep your money!
There’s about to be a rush of companies issuing new shares. And it could well be a trap for investors.
Companies use rights issues to try to tap their shareholders for cash by offering them first dibs on new stock offerings, normally at a chunky discount. And some analysts reckon this dash for cash is a harbinger of better times ahead. (More on that bullish view in a minute).
One year on and still hard work
Story link: One year on and still hard work
In August 2007, Northern Rock faced its hardest times to date, which led to the bank eventually being nationalised in February 2008. One year on and the bank is still struggling to make some tough decisions!
One year on and still hard work
The bank was floored when the money markets froze in August 2007 and was nationalised the following February. February 17, 2009 marks its first anniversary in state hands.
Far from being yesterday’s cautionary tale, though, Northern Rock remains as pressing an issue as ever. Policymakers, when not battling to save the financial system from collapse, know that ugly decisions have still to be made. Most ugly of all, perhaps, is the prospect of more taxpayer money being poured down the great Northern Rock black hole.
February 11, 2009
RBS to slash jobs
Story link: RBS to slash jobs
One minute banks are going broke and being bailed out by the taxpayer, then they are flush with cash paying bosses six figure bonuses, finally they nearly go broke again, and decide to ace around 2,300 jobs…whats it with the banks!?
Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, the biggest U.K. government-controlled bank, said it plans to cut as many as 2,300 British jobs as the company’s former chief apologized to lawmakers for the bank’s decline.
The reductions are equivalent to about 2 percent of the U.K. workforce, RBS said in a statement today. The cuts won’t affect employees dealing with customers, the bank said.
February 7, 2009
The bonus crackdown
Story link: The bonus crackdown
The likes of Barclays and Lloyds have been banking of deposits as well as bailouts from the UK public, and now they plan to blow that cash on bonuses for bankers that in my eyes are mostly on stupidly high raises as it is!
Banks dependent on taxpayer support are planning to rush out hundreds of millions of pounds in bonuses to senior bankers and traders before a threatened crackdown.
As ministers prepared to curb excessive remuneration, it emerged that Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group were poised to follow Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) by paying bonuses within weeks.