Barclays Said Close to Rejecting Asset Insurance After FSA Test
March 29 (Bloomberg) -- Barclays Plc, the U.K.’s third- biggest bank, plans to reject government asset insurance after financial regulators said the lender didn’t need additional capital, said a person familiar with the situation.
London-based Barclays will inform the Treasury of its decision by the March 31 deadline, said the person, who declined to be identified because the discussions are confidential. The bank’s board hasn’t made a final decision, the person said.
Barclays would be “right to reject the insurance program because it is expensive,’’ said Simon Maughan, an analyst at MF Global Securities Ltd. in London. Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Lloyds Banking Group Plc are paying a “high price’’ to take part in the plan, he added.
The Financial Services Authority has reviewed Barclays’s assets and found that it has sufficient resources even if the global financial crisis worsens, the bank said March 27. In addition, Barclays is in talks to sell its iShares unit to bolster financial strength. RBS and Lloyds slipped into government control after taking taxpayer funds.
Barclays spokesman Alistair Smith declined to comment. When asked whether Barclays would participate in the asset insurance program, a Treasury spokesman said only that the agency will consider applications from eligible institutions until March 31.
Barclays jumped 24 percent to 173.8 pence on March 27, its biggest gain in two months, after the results of the FSA review were announced. The bank is the only U.K.-based lender whose shares have risen this year.
Insurance Fees
Lloyds paid 15.6 billion pounds for government guarantees on 260 billion pounds of risky investments, or 5.2 percent of the assets. RBS paid 6.5 billion pounds, or 2 percent, to protect 325 billion pounds of assets. Both banks used preference shares paying 7 percent interest to cover the fee.
That will allow the government to increase its stakes in the two banks to as much as 75 percent.
Barclays has resisted giving a stake to the government, turning to a group of Middle Eastern investors for more than 5 billion pounds rather than accept a bailout.
Still, the bank’s Tier 1 capital ratio, a measure of financial strength, is 6.7 percent, lagging behind Lloyds and RBS. Lloyds estimates its core capital ratio will jump to 14.5 percent as a result of the asset-protection program, and RBS says its ratio will rise to 12.4 percent.
Barclays is seeking as much as $7 billion for iShares, part of San Francisco-based Barclays Global Investors. IShares, which had 226 billion pounds under management at the end of last year, is the largest manager of exchange-traded mutual funds, whose shares can be bought and sold like stocks.
IShares Bidders
The leading bidders are a joint effort by Colony Capital LLC and Bain Capital LLC, two U.S. private equity firms; New York-based Goldman Sachs Group Inc.; and a group of leveraged buyout firms that includes Hellman & Friedman LLC of San Francisco and London-based Apax Partners Worldwide LLP, according to people familiar with the discussions.
“They would not have even been thinking about selling it a year ago,’’ said Dave Bradbury, who helps manage $6 billion at Canada Life Ltd. in London. “Anything to avoid the government shilling.’’
BLOOMBERG
Economy | Business | Social | Leaked | Opinions
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Joblessness Probably Rose to 25-Year High: U.S. Economy Preview
Joblessness Probably Rose to 25-Year High: U.S. Economy Preview
March 29 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. jobless rate climbed in March to the highest level since 1983 and manufacturing shrank, putting the recession on the brink of becoming the longest in seven decades, economists said before reports this week.
Unemployment jumped to 8.5 percent from 8.1 percent in February, according to the median estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News before the Labor Department’s April 3 report. The figures may also show payrolls fell by 660,000 workers, bringing total job losses since the contraction began to 5 million.
Factories are projected to keep cutting staff and output to reduce inventories that piled up after sales sank in the U.S. and abroad. The deteriorating outlook means President Barack Obama’s plan to save or create 3.5 million jobs by boosting government spending and cutting taxes will still leave the country shy of pre-recession employment levels.
“This recession is the deepest and the broadest of the postwar era,” said Mark Vitner, a senior economist at Wachovia Corp. in Charlotte, North Carolina. “One thing that happens in recessions is that manufacturing gets clobbered.”
Should it persist into April, the now 16-month recession would surpass similar contractions in the early 1970s and 1980s as the longest since the Great Depression. The magnitude of the current slump is still an open question.
Manufacturing probably contracted in March for the 15th time in the last 16 months, the Tempe, Arizona-based Institute for Supply Management may report on April 1. The group’s factory index was probably at 36 this month compared with February’s 35.8, according to the survey median. Readings less than 50 signal contraction.
Spreading Slump
Weakness in manufacturing has spread from the auto industry, where General Motors Corp. is threatened with possible bankruptcy, to areas such as computers, textiles and chemicals as business spending slumped and the housing recession deepened.
Agilent Technologies Inc., the biggest maker of scientific- testing equipment, will cut 2,700 jobs, more than a tenth of its workforce, to reduce costs after sales fell.
“Business remains severely depressed and there are no prospects for a meaningful recovery in the foreseeable future, Chief Executive Officer Bill Sullivan said in a statement last week from the company’s Santa Clara, California headquarters.
Service industries, which account for almost 90 percent of the economy, probably shrank in March for a sixth straight month, another report from ISM on April 3 is projected to show.
Recent Improvement
The world’s largest economy contracted at a 6.3 percent pace in the fourth quarter, the worst performance since 1982, the government reported last week. Still, recent reports show retail sales, residential construction and home sales have improved, underscoring projections for a return to growth in the second half of the year.
Since taking office Jan. 20, Obama has enacted a series of measures aimed at stemming the recession. He signed into law a $787 billion stimulus plan on Feb. 17 that included spending on infrastructure projects to boost hiring.
The Treasury Department is also moving to repair the damaged financial system and lower record foreclosures, while the Federal Reserve is flooding markets with cash to boost borrowing and spending.
A survey from the New York-based Conference Board on March 31 may show consumer confidence climbed this month from February’s record low as stock prices rebounded. The group began collecting data in 1967.
Factory orders probably rose in February for the first time since July, economists forecast before a Commerce Department report on April 2.
A slump in commercial building may keep depressing construction for much of the rest of the year, even as housing shows signs of stabilizing. Construction spending probably fell in February for a fifth straight month, the Commerce Department may report on April 1, according to economists surveyed.
BLOOMBERG
March 29 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. jobless rate climbed in March to the highest level since 1983 and manufacturing shrank, putting the recession on the brink of becoming the longest in seven decades, economists said before reports this week.
Unemployment jumped to 8.5 percent from 8.1 percent in February, according to the median estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News before the Labor Department’s April 3 report. The figures may also show payrolls fell by 660,000 workers, bringing total job losses since the contraction began to 5 million.
Factories are projected to keep cutting staff and output to reduce inventories that piled up after sales sank in the U.S. and abroad. The deteriorating outlook means President Barack Obama’s plan to save or create 3.5 million jobs by boosting government spending and cutting taxes will still leave the country shy of pre-recession employment levels.
“This recession is the deepest and the broadest of the postwar era,” said Mark Vitner, a senior economist at Wachovia Corp. in Charlotte, North Carolina. “One thing that happens in recessions is that manufacturing gets clobbered.”
Should it persist into April, the now 16-month recession would surpass similar contractions in the early 1970s and 1980s as the longest since the Great Depression. The magnitude of the current slump is still an open question.
Manufacturing probably contracted in March for the 15th time in the last 16 months, the Tempe, Arizona-based Institute for Supply Management may report on April 1. The group’s factory index was probably at 36 this month compared with February’s 35.8, according to the survey median. Readings less than 50 signal contraction.
Spreading Slump
Weakness in manufacturing has spread from the auto industry, where General Motors Corp. is threatened with possible bankruptcy, to areas such as computers, textiles and chemicals as business spending slumped and the housing recession deepened.
Agilent Technologies Inc., the biggest maker of scientific- testing equipment, will cut 2,700 jobs, more than a tenth of its workforce, to reduce costs after sales fell.
“Business remains severely depressed and there are no prospects for a meaningful recovery in the foreseeable future, Chief Executive Officer Bill Sullivan said in a statement last week from the company’s Santa Clara, California headquarters.
Service industries, which account for almost 90 percent of the economy, probably shrank in March for a sixth straight month, another report from ISM on April 3 is projected to show.
Recent Improvement
The world’s largest economy contracted at a 6.3 percent pace in the fourth quarter, the worst performance since 1982, the government reported last week. Still, recent reports show retail sales, residential construction and home sales have improved, underscoring projections for a return to growth in the second half of the year.
Since taking office Jan. 20, Obama has enacted a series of measures aimed at stemming the recession. He signed into law a $787 billion stimulus plan on Feb. 17 that included spending on infrastructure projects to boost hiring.
The Treasury Department is also moving to repair the damaged financial system and lower record foreclosures, while the Federal Reserve is flooding markets with cash to boost borrowing and spending.
A survey from the New York-based Conference Board on March 31 may show consumer confidence climbed this month from February’s record low as stock prices rebounded. The group began collecting data in 1967.
Factory orders probably rose in February for the first time since July, economists forecast before a Commerce Department report on April 2.
A slump in commercial building may keep depressing construction for much of the rest of the year, even as housing shows signs of stabilizing. Construction spending probably fell in February for a fifth straight month, the Commerce Department may report on April 1, according to economists surveyed.
BLOOMBERG
Ο κόσμος έσβησε τα φώτα του για να σώσει τον πλανήτη στην «Ώρα της Γης»
Ο κόσμος έσβησε τα φώτα του για να σώσει τον πλανήτη στην «Ώρα της Γης»
Τα φώτα έσβησαν χθες Σάββατο σε τουριστικά αξιοθέατα και σπίτια σ' όλο τον κόσμο για την Ώρα της Γης 2009, μια παγκόσμια πρωτοβουλία σχεδιασμένη για να υπογραμμιστεί η απειλή από την κλιματική αλλαγή.
H «Ώρα της Γης» σε 3 κινεζικές μεγαλουπόλεις
Από την Όπερα του Σίδνεϊ και τη Γέφυρα του Λιμανιού της ίδιας πόλης ως τον Πύργο του Aϊφελ στο Παρίσι και το Κοινοβούλιο του Λονδίνου, τα φώτα έσβησαν στο πλαίσιο μιας εκστρατείας για να ενθαρρθυνούν οι άνθρωποι να μειώσουν την κατανάλωση ενέργειας και τις εκπομπές των αερίων του θερμοκηπίου από τα ορυκτά καύσιμα.
Σύμφωνα με τους οργανωτές, η πρωτοβουλία έδειξε ότι εκατομμύρια άνθρωποι ζητούν από τις κυβερνήσεις να επεξεργαστούν μια νέα ισχυρή συμφωνία του ΟΗΕ για την καταπολέμηση της παγκόσμιας ανόδου της θερμοκρασίας ως το τέλος του 2009, έστω κι αν η παγκόσμια οικονομική κρίση δημιουργεί ανησυχίες σχετικά με τα κόστη.
"Ονειρευόμαστε από καιρό μια νέα συμφωνία για το κλίμα", δήλωσε ο Κιμ Κάρστενσεν, επικεφαλής μιας παγκόσμιας κλιματικής πρωτοβουλίας στην οργάνωση WWF (Παγκόσμιο Ταμείο για τη Φύση), στη Βόννη της Γερμανίας, την πόλη που φιλοξενεί τις συνομιλίες του ΟΗΕ για το κλίμα από σήμερα 29 Μαρτίου ως τις 8 Απριλίου.
"Σήμερα δεν είμαστε πια τόσο μόνοι με το όνειρό μας. Το μοιραζόμαστε με όλους αυτούς τους ανθρώπους που σβήνουν τα φώτα τους", πρόσθεσε.
Η Ώρα της Γης τηρήθηκε για πρώτη φορά το 2007 στην Αυστραλία και έγινε παγκόσμια το 2008, καθώς 50 εκατομμύρια άνθρωποι συμμετείχαν σ' αυτή. Στην Ασία, φέτος έσβησαν τα φώτα σε αξιοθέατα στην Κίνα, τη Σιγκαπούρη, την Ταϊλάνδη και τις Φιλιππίνες. Ο κόσμος διασκέδασε με πικ-νικ και συναυλίες υπό το φως των κεριών.
Ανάμεσα στα παγκόσμια αξιοθέατα που έσβησαν τα φώτα τους ήταν οι Πύργοι Πετρόνας στην Κουάλα Λουμπούρ, ο θόλος της Βασιλικής του Αγίου Πέτρου στη Ρώμη, ο Πύργος του Αϊφελ στο Παρίσι, οι Πυραμίδες της Αιγύπτου και η Ακρόπολη των Αθηνών.
NAFTEMPORIKI
Τα φώτα έσβησαν χθες Σάββατο σε τουριστικά αξιοθέατα και σπίτια σ' όλο τον κόσμο για την Ώρα της Γης 2009, μια παγκόσμια πρωτοβουλία σχεδιασμένη για να υπογραμμιστεί η απειλή από την κλιματική αλλαγή.
H «Ώρα της Γης» σε 3 κινεζικές μεγαλουπόλεις
Από την Όπερα του Σίδνεϊ και τη Γέφυρα του Λιμανιού της ίδιας πόλης ως τον Πύργο του Aϊφελ στο Παρίσι και το Κοινοβούλιο του Λονδίνου, τα φώτα έσβησαν στο πλαίσιο μιας εκστρατείας για να ενθαρρθυνούν οι άνθρωποι να μειώσουν την κατανάλωση ενέργειας και τις εκπομπές των αερίων του θερμοκηπίου από τα ορυκτά καύσιμα.
Σύμφωνα με τους οργανωτές, η πρωτοβουλία έδειξε ότι εκατομμύρια άνθρωποι ζητούν από τις κυβερνήσεις να επεξεργαστούν μια νέα ισχυρή συμφωνία του ΟΗΕ για την καταπολέμηση της παγκόσμιας ανόδου της θερμοκρασίας ως το τέλος του 2009, έστω κι αν η παγκόσμια οικονομική κρίση δημιουργεί ανησυχίες σχετικά με τα κόστη.
"Ονειρευόμαστε από καιρό μια νέα συμφωνία για το κλίμα", δήλωσε ο Κιμ Κάρστενσεν, επικεφαλής μιας παγκόσμιας κλιματικής πρωτοβουλίας στην οργάνωση WWF (Παγκόσμιο Ταμείο για τη Φύση), στη Βόννη της Γερμανίας, την πόλη που φιλοξενεί τις συνομιλίες του ΟΗΕ για το κλίμα από σήμερα 29 Μαρτίου ως τις 8 Απριλίου.
"Σήμερα δεν είμαστε πια τόσο μόνοι με το όνειρό μας. Το μοιραζόμαστε με όλους αυτούς τους ανθρώπους που σβήνουν τα φώτα τους", πρόσθεσε.
Η Ώρα της Γης τηρήθηκε για πρώτη φορά το 2007 στην Αυστραλία και έγινε παγκόσμια το 2008, καθώς 50 εκατομμύρια άνθρωποι συμμετείχαν σ' αυτή. Στην Ασία, φέτος έσβησαν τα φώτα σε αξιοθέατα στην Κίνα, τη Σιγκαπούρη, την Ταϊλάνδη και τις Φιλιππίνες. Ο κόσμος διασκέδασε με πικ-νικ και συναυλίες υπό το φως των κεριών.
Ανάμεσα στα παγκόσμια αξιοθέατα που έσβησαν τα φώτα τους ήταν οι Πύργοι Πετρόνας στην Κουάλα Λουμπούρ, ο θόλος της Βασιλικής του Αγίου Πέτρου στη Ρώμη, ο Πύργος του Αϊφελ στο Παρίσι, οι Πυραμίδες της Αιγύπτου και η Ακρόπολη των Αθηνών.
NAFTEMPORIKI
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