| FTSE 100 closes at 6226.5
The FTSE 100 closed up 105.7 points at 6226.5, gaining nearly 2 per cent despite further falls from mortgage bank Northern Rock. The London market gained some late momentum from Wall Street, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising by more than 100 points in early trading. The gains on both sides of the Atlantic come after a dire day on Monday, with the FTSE dropping almost 3 per cent. It was a rough day for Northern Rock, down another 7 per cent, or 7.2p to 97p. However, the group rebounded from an earlier fall of as much as 40 per cent after news of an offer for the whole business from private equity firm JC Flowers. Elsewhere in the banking sector, Barclays - a recent heavy faller on fears over sub-prime mortgage losses - gained nearly 5 percent, or 25.25p, to 516.5p, Royal Bank of Scotland stood 8.5p higher at 412.5p, and Alliance & Leicester gained 12.5p to 594p.
Royal Bank and the RBTT takeover
Dr Rick Kirschner recently wrote in the business section of another newspaper that "an objection is a request for more info. Your persuadee may not realise it, but the fact that he's given you an objection means he has an interest in learning more." Despite the information provided to date, the press has been full of negative stories and objections to this takeover of RBTT by Royal Bank of Canada. I am sure the RBTT directors will take cognisance of this and are aware of the need to send a very detailed information memorandum to their shareholders when asking them to vote on this transaction. Before I go further let me disclose two potential conflicts of interest that may cause you to doubt my usual fearless independence. First, I am an independent director of Republic Bank and while this gives me knowledge of the banking marketplace this proposed takeover may impact on Republic.
(AFX UK Focus) 2007-11-20 15:33 GMT: HSBC steps up security following reported loss of customer bank details
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Banking group HSBC said it has stepped up security following reports that the UK government's Revenue and Customs department has lost computer discs containing the confidential bank details of 15 mln child benefit recipients. "We have increased our security measures, but to date we are not aware of any fraudulent activity against the customers whose names were on the missing discs," an HSBC spokesman said. "We would like to reassure our customers that we are doing everything we can to minimise the risk of any fraudulent activity." Barclays, HBOS, Lloyds TSB, Royal Bank of Scotland and Apacs, the payment services industry association, were not immediately available for comment. According to a report on the BBC website, the loss of the discs is behind today's surprise resignation of Revenue and Customs chairman Paul Gray.
Q&A: RBC's Gordon Nixon
He has spent his entire career in banking. He started at Dominion Securities, then moved on to Royal Bank of Canada when it acquired DS in 1987. He became RBC's CEO in August 2001, and is the current chair of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives. With nearly 30 years of experience, including six running Canada's largest bank, the man knows the sector inside out. Nixon has plenty to say on the topics of the competitiveness of Canada's financial services industry, where to find opportunities in the current market, and bank mergers and competition policy. He spoke about these issues, and others, with U.S.-based contributor Rachel Pulfer. When I'm talking to Wall Street contacts, RBC often comes up as one of the most aggressive, innovative Canadian banks. How have you earned that reputation? We are the largest bank in the country.
Thursday's newspaper round-up: Barclays, William Hill, Shell
LONDON (SHARECAST) - Barclays is expected to issue a widely anticipated update on the performance of its investment banking arm as it attempts to ease concerns about its exposure to the turmoil in the credit markets, says the FT. Brian Wallace, finance director at Ladbrokes, withdrew from the race for the chief exec job at William Hill despite making the shortlist, says the Times. Royal Dutch Shell is to reorganise its Nigerian units to save costs after oil production cuts due to militant attacks and shortfalls in government funding, writes the FT. The Chancellor will reveal within days how long the Government will continue its emergency support of Northern Rock, amid concerns that a lack of detail from the Treasury had hampered bidders from finalising detailed offers, reports the Times.
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