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Pension deficits in Britain underestimated by £268bn
November 16, 2009--Lloyds' stated pension obligations are €14.2bn shy of the real size of the deficit, while RBS's are €13.3bn behind, according to research from equity research house AlphaValue.
British Airways, which is pursuing a merger with Spanish airline Iberia, boasts the third highest shortfall at €10.5bn. The size of BA's pension deficit is being monitored by the airline's shareholders as Iberia has retained the right to walk away from the agreed merger pending the outcome of a triennial review at the UK carrier's pension fund.
Other companies boasting sizeable differences between actual and stated pension obligations included Barclays, BT Group, GlaxoSmithKline and HSBC, according to the research.
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Source: Daily Telegraph
Flash estimates for the third quarter of 2009-Euro area GDP up by 0.4% and EU27 GDP up by 0.2%-4.1% and -4.3% respectively compared with the third quarter of 2008
November 13, 2009--GDP increased by 0.4% in the euro area 1 (EA16) and by 0.2% in the EU27 1 during the third quarter of 2009, compared with the previous quarter, according to flash estimates published by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities . In the second quarter of 2009, growth rates were -0.2% in the euro area and -0.3% in the EU27 .
Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP decreased by 4.1% in the euro area and by 4.3% in the EU27 in the third quarter of 2009, after -4.8% and -4.9% respectively in the previous quarter.
During the third quarter of 2009, US GDP increased by 0.9% compared with the previous quarter, after -0.2% in the second quarter. US GDP decreased by 2.3% compared with the same quarter of the previous year (-3.8% in the previous quarter).
The euro area (EA1 6) consists of Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.
The EU27 includes Belgium (BE), Bulgaria (BG), the Czech Republic (CZ), Denmark (DK), Germany (DE), Estonia (EE), Ireland (IE), Greece (EL), Spain (ES), France (FR), Italy (IT), Cyprus (CY), Latvia (LV), Lithuania (LT), Luxembourg (LU), Hungary (HU), Malta (MT), the Netherlands (NL), Austria (AT), Poland (PL), Portugal (PT), Romania (RO), Slovenia (SI), Slovakia (SK), Finland (FI), Sweden (SE) and the United Kingdom (UK).
Summary quality information
European quarterly national accounts are compiled in accordance with the European System of Accounts 1995 (ESA95). The flash estimate of 2009 Q3 GDP growth presented in this release is based on Member States’ data as available, directly covering 97% of EA16 GDP (90% of EU27 GDP). For more details of the flash methodology please refer to News Release 55/2003 of 15 May 2003.
view Selected Principal European Economic Indicators
Source: European Commission
UBS Will Add Exchange-Traded Notes as Investment Demand Rises
October 13, 2009--UBS AG, Switzerland’s biggest bank, plans to add exchange-traded notes linked to stocks, bonds and commodities after assets tied to earlier products more than doubled this year, a company executive said.
“In 2010, we’re planning on launching anywhere from five to 10 new ETNs,” Christopher Yeagley, the head of structured- equity products, said by telephone from New York yesterday. “They won’t necessarily be in commodities, but that is one area we are looking at,” along with stocks and bonds, he said.
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Source: Bloomberg
Istanbul Stock Exchange: Collective Products Market to be activated as from November 13, 2009
November 12, 2009--Collective Products Market, shall be activated as of the date of November 13, 2009, following System software release to be made on November 12, 2009.
Stocks and exchange-traded funds to be included in the Collective Products Market shall start being traded on the basis of continuous auction as of the date of November 13, 2009.
Upon completion of the regulatory framework, the warrants of the financial intermediary institutions shall start being traded in the Collective Products Market under the title of structured products.
The principles related to the other transaction methods planned to be applied in the Collective Products Market (continuous auction with market maker and single price) shall be separately regulated and the principles and enforcement dates of these transaction methods shall be announced to the public.
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Principles of Collective Products Market
Source: IStanbul Stock Exchange (ISE)
Lloyds feels wrath of investors over CoCos
November 13, 2009-Britain’s small investors have worked themselves into a lather over the terms of the bond exchange proposal outlined last week by Lloyds Banking Group, which they said was unfair.
Bondholders are angry that they risk being frozen out of the offer, which involves Lloyds swapping existing bonds, on which it has been barred by the European Commission from paying coupons, for new “enhanced capital notes”, or contingent convertible instruments. These would convert into higher-risk equity in the event that Lloyds’ capital base came under stress.
The contingent convertibles, or CoCos, are part of a £22.5bn ($37.5bn) capital-raising exercise by Lloyds, designed to strengthen its finances and allow it to wriggle free of a government insurance plan.
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Source: FT.com
Dollar Overwhelms Central Banks From Brazil to Korea
November 13, 2009--Brazil, South Korea and Russia are losing the battle among developing nations to reduce gains in their currencies and keep exports competitive as the demand for their financial assets, driven by the slumping dollar, is proving more than central banks can handle.
South Korea Deputy Finance Minister Shin Je Yoon said yesterday the country will leave the level of its currency to market forces after adding about $63 billion to its foreign exchange reserves this year to slow the appreciation of the won. Chile Finance Minister Andres Velasco said the same day that lawmakers approved an increase in local debt sales to finance spending, a move that will allow the government to keep more of its dollar-based savings overseas and slow the peso’s rally.
