The top five UK banks have unanimously accepted the bankers’ pay reforms agreed at the G20 conference held in Pittsburgh earlier in the month.

Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS, and Standard Chartered have all agreed to comply with the Financial Services Authority Rule on remuneration, due to come into force on 1 January 2010. The rule will entail the banks making enhancements to current remuneration requirements surrounding disclosure, deferral, and also the controversial bonus "clawback" regulation.

The City is looking into the revival of some of its traditional methods of doing business by setting up a regulatory committee which will vet the appointment of directors to Britain’s banks. Expected to be involved in the committee are such leading to the process, experienced bankers such as Sir Brian Pitman, the former chief executive of Lloyds, and Sir Peter Middleton, a former Barclays chairman, have been lined up by the Financial Services Authority to serve on the committee. The Financial Services Authority, who are in charge of the process, aim to have the new panel in operation by the end of the year. Instigation of the system follows a recommendation included in the recently published Walker review on banking procedures.,

Royal Bank of Scotland are expected today announce that they have completed the appointment of two non-executives to the board. They are expected to recruited Philip Scott, outgoing finance director at insurer Aviva, and Penny Hughes, who formerly was employed by Coca-Cola.

The fourth quarter began like a damp squib with the FTSE 100 losing 86.09 points to close on 5,047.89.

Meanwhile the FTSE 250 dropped below the 9,000 points barrier dropping 107.81 to 8,956.47.

The pound fell below the $1.60 mark on Thursday’s trading as well as against all the leading currencies.

• Pound/US dollar 1.5877
• Pound/Euro 1.10921
• Pound/Japanese Yen 141.9619
• Pound/Swiss Franc 1.6513

The US stock market had a bad yesterday on the release of manufacturing output data that were weaker than had been expected. Experts had predicted that the purchasing managers index, from the Institute for Supply Management would actually rise in September to 54, but they actually fell, albeit slightly to 52.6 in September after Augusts’ index was on 52.9.

The news caused the Dow Jones index to drop by 2%, its biggest day fall since 2 July, closing 203 points lower at 9,509. The NASDAQ index fared little better, falling 65 points to 2,057

There were some long faces at the three major US car manufacturers who suffered a decrease in sales in September, a hangover from the winding up of the "cash for clunkers" scrappage scheme.

General Motors reported a drop in sales of 45% from the corresponding month of last year. Chrysler did equally badly, while Ford had a drop in sales of just 5% from September 2008.

The United States’ largest cable TV provider, Comcast, is reportedly in talks to acquire a majority stake-holding NBC Universal, the television and film company. NBC Universal owners of the NBC television network, Universal Pictures, cable networks CNBC as well as the Universal Studios theme parks are currently owned by General Electric (GE) and France’s Vivendi. GE has an 80 percent holding and Vivendi the rest. Reliable sources have it that under the new arrangement Comcast will buy 51% of the company, leaving GE with the remaining 49%.

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Tags: Aviva, Bank, Banking, Barclays, British Economy, British Pound, Chrysler, CNBC, Coca-Cola, Comcast, Currency, Dow Jones, Economics, Economy, Financial News, Financial Services Authority, Ford, FTSE, G20, General Motors, HSBC, Institute for Supply Management, Lloyds, Money, Money Markets, NASDAQ, NBC Universal, Penny Hughes, Peter Middleton, RBS, Recession, Sir Brian Pitman, Standard Chartered, Stock Markets, Stocks and shares, UK Banks, UK Economy, UK government, UK Recession, Universal Studios, US stock market

World leaders announced the Group of 20 nations is replacing the G-8 as the main forum for global economic coordination, reflecting a shift in power from rich countries to emerging markets. The G-8 is not due to be disbanded, instead it will focus on development and security matters. The transfer of influence to the broader group, whose membership ranges from the U.S. to China to Saudi Arabia, symbolizes the fact that the richest industrial nations now lack the sway to govern the world economy alone after their excesses sparked the turmoil that tipped the globe into recession. At the end of a two-day G20 summit, hosted by US President Barack, the world’s leading nations have agreed tough new regulations designed to prevent another global financial crisis. The measures will relate to the amount of money banks have to hold in reserve and to excessive pay for bankers. With a recovery now underway, leaders are trying to temper the excesses that helped trigger the worst financial crisis in seven decades and the deepest recession since World War II. At the same time, richer governments acknowledge they now lack the ability to govern the world economy alone as power shifts to emerging markets such as China.

Before setting of for Pittsburgh, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling, announced the appointment of Stephan Wilcke as chief executive of the Asset Protection Agency (APA) The APA has been established to oversee the £585 billion toxic asset insurance scheme, reckoned to be the biggest and perhaps riskiest deal the government has signed:

Wilcke, a former management consultant and private equity boss, will lead a team of up to 50 staff to enforce ensure that Britain’s part-nationalised banks properly manage their impaired loans. Expectations are that Mr. Wilcke’s task will be complicated, not least because the banks have trouble explaining how some of the exotic assets work, due to the fact that many of the officials who agreed the loans left the banks long ago. RBS agreed earlier this year to insure £325 billion of toxic assets while Lloyds aimed to include £260 billion of loans; Lloyds is now trying to raise private capital to limit its participation.

Total business investment in the UK dropped a seasonally adjusted 10.2% sequentially in the second quarter, better than a 10.4% fall estimated previously. Economists expected the decline to be 10.4%. In the first quarter, investments were down a revised 8.9%. In the manufacturing sector, business investments fell 16.2%, faster than a revised 4.6% fall in the first quarter. In the non-manufacturing sector, investments fell 9.5%, more or less the same fall than in the first quarter of 2009. On a yearly basis, business investments fell 21.8%, more than the 18.4% drop that had been estimated, and considerably more than the revised 9.8% fall in the first quarter. Economists expected the decline to remain at 18.4%.

An 18-month high for British Sky Broadcasting helped keep the FTSE 100 steady on Friday, rising 2.4 per cent to 359¾ pence, making them the top blue-chip performer for the week.

Meanwhile, ITV closed 3.5 per cent lower at 44 ¾ pence after refusing to meet the pay demands of prospective chief executive Tony Ball.

JJB Sports, which narrowly avoided administration this year, revealed that first-half losses had almost tripled after problems with stock took a heavy toll on sales and profit margins.

The sportswear retailer struggled to convince suppliers to keep trading with it after breaching its banking covenants last year. The lack of goods in stores saw sales fall 43 per cent to £178.6 million. This translated into a rise in pre-tax losses from £14.8 million to £42.9 million. Shares in the company fell by 2.5 percent to 38.5 pence. .

Shares in 3i Group declined 3.1 percent to 279 pence after the pace of new investments dropped as a lack of debt financing nearly brought the buyout market to a halt. The company have invested £155 million pounds (in the five months through August, compared with the £622 million in the same period of 2008.

British Airways sank 4.3 percent to 220 pence as brokers announced that heir mid-cycle share-price valuations were reached “far earlier than expected.”

Europe’s largest discount airline Ryanair Holdings Plc had their shares slide by 3.4 percent to 3215 pence as the company lowered their estimate for passenger growth while maintaining its earnings forecast.

The FTSE 100 made a minor upward adjustment by an impressive 2.93 points to close on 5,082.20, giving the index a 1.8 per cent decline for the week, while the FTSE 250 continued its free fall on Friday, down 32.58 points to 9060.44.

The pound has hit a four-month low against the dollar, a day after Mervyn King the head of the Bank of England stated this less than welcome opinion that a weak currency was "helpful" to the economy. The pound fell as low as $1.5917, the lowest since early June and then edged back to $1.5939. The pound is still well above the levels hit early in the year when it traded below $1.50 against the dollar. The pound also dropped to a fresh five-month low against the Euro. Another factor hastening the decline in sterling value was renewed fears that interest rates would remain low as G20 leaders announced that their stimulus measures would remain place well into 2010.

• Pound/US dollar 1.5939
• Pound/Euro 1.10858
• Pound/Japanese Yen 143.0041
• Pound/Swiss Franc 1.639

Wall Street on Friday made its biggest weekly loss since July after a surprise drop in the sale of durable goods prompted a sell-off in the industrials sector.

New orders for long-lasting goods, from fighter jets to washing machines, fell 2.4 per cent in August, adding to investor concerns over the pace of economic recovery.

Analysts had been expecting a modest rise of 0.4 per cent compared to a 4.8 per cent gain in July, when car sales were boosted by the cash-for-clunkers scheme.

After opening in negative territory, stocks were lifted by data showing consumer confidence was higher than expected this month. Disappointing new home sales soon renewed investors’ concerns and Wall Street gave up its fleeting gains

The Dow Jones Industrial Average continued to fall going into the weekend down 42.25 points to 9,665.19. The NASDAQ also dropped by 16.69 point to close on 2090.92.

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Tags: 3i Group, Alistair Darling, Asset Protection Agency, Bank, Bank of England, Banking, British airways, British Economy, British Pound, British Sky Broadcasting, cash for clunkers, Credit Crunch, Currency, Dow Jones, economic recovery, Economics, Economy, Financial News, FTSE, G20, G8, Global Credit Crisis, ITV, JJB Sports, Lloyds, Mervyn King, Money, Money Markets, NASDAQ, RBS, Recession, Ryanair Holdings Plc, Stephan Wilcke, Stock Markets, Stocks and shares, Tony Ball, UK Banks, UK Economy, UK government, UK Recession, Wall Street

How many hints do we need before the penny drops and the UK public can finally reach the conclusion that the recession is finally over? The latest one comes from the Institute of Chartered Accountants who in a report released last week announced that confidence among business professionals has surged form a negative status to a positive one. Based on their findings, the institute predicts the UK economy will grow by 0.5% in the third quarter of 2009, a reverse on the 0.8% negative growth that the UK economy recorded during the second quarter of the year.

UK building societies continue to be under scrutiny, with the news that possibly five of the largest could be amalgamating over the next couple of years. The number of building societies reporting losses for 2008 is reportedly causing concern in Whitehall, and the latest annual review of performance released shows that since the summer of 2008, seven mergers have already taken place, out of framework of 59 building societies.

Seven months after the U.K. government made a commitment to offer up to £2 billion of loan guarantees for car makers and their suppliers, agreements have yet to be signed. According to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, car makers and suppliers, the aid was offered as car sales collapsed during the recession, declining for 14 consecutive months through June.

The Thames Valley property market, once regarded as the UK’s equivalent to Silicon Valley, look to be heading for their lowest rental incomes on record, as the recession continues to hammer the technology industries.

On the FTSE yesterday rising metals prices pushed mining stocks. Kazakhmys led the sector, gaining 5.8 per cent to 980 pence, while compatriot ENRC was up 5.3 per cent to 896½ pence.

Punch Taverns added 4.1 per cent to 107½ pence on strong volume in anticipation a positive trading update due to be released this morning. Analysts announced that they expect trading in the company to have stabilised and that profit pressures are on the wane.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.9 per cent, rising 45.34 points to 4,896.23 for its highest close since early October.

Moving forward at the speed of an express train, the FTSE 250 increased by a further 1.76 % or 153.06 points to close on 8,831.89

Currency markets continued to remain stable on Monday’s trading

• Pound/US dollar 1.6409
• Pound/Euro 1.1481
• Pound/Japanese Yen 154.7475
• Pound/Swiss Franc 1.7419

US stocks slowed down after four sessions of gains on Monday after a warning over future bank losses saw the markets erase early gains.

The NASDAQ Composite index closed down a mere 2.92 points at 2,017.98, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average found fractional gains to 9,509.28

On Friday General Motors eventually postponed their much awaited decision on whether Canada’s Magna International would be the winning bidder for its Opel brand.

Magna, the world’s third largest auto parts manufacturer, in conjunction with the Savings Bank of the Russian Federation, who trade under the title Sberbank, had submitted a joint bid in July to acquire a 55 percent stake in Opel, the troubled financially strapped group’s European division. Brussels-based financial investor RHJ International is the rival bidder.

At their meeting Friday, GM’s board of directors failed to come to a decision whether to accept the winning bid by the Canadian auto company and the Russian bank.

This week French banks announced their intention to lead the way in offering to reinforce rules ¬governing the payment and disclosure of bonuses to their officials. In meetings with Nicolas Sarkozy, president, and Christine Lagarde, the finance minister, bank officials announced the concessions, which will strengthen a code on pay agreed by French banks in February, Designed to curb excessive risk-taking. The announcement, will be undoubtedly be used to bolster France’s position at the forthcoming G20 meeting to be held in Pittsburgh next month.

Oil prices have risen to 10-month highs on fresh signs that the global economic recovery is gathering pace.

US light crude ended Monday up 48 cents to $74.37 a barrel, while London’s Brent crude advanced seven cents to finish at $74.26

The rise came after official figures showed that new industrial orders in the 16 nations that use the Euro rose more than expected in June.

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Tags: Banking, British Economy, British Pound, Christine Lagarde, Currency, Department for Business Innovation and Skills, Economy, ENRC, Finance, Financial News, FTSE, G20, General Motors, Global Credit Crisis, GM, Institute of Chartered Accountants, Kazakhmys, Magna, Money, Money Markets, NASDAQ, Nicolas Sarkozy, Opel, Punch Taverns, Recession, Savings Bank of the Russian Federation, Silicon Valley, Stock Markets, U.K. government, UK Banks, UK Economy, UK Recession, US stocks

When the implications of the current financial crisis began to dawn on an unprepared word, financial analysts were throwing around phrases like ” it will take two trillion dollars to get the World out of this mess” For the man in the street this was hard to digest, mainly because very few people can encompass how much money a trillion dollars is, let along two of them. For those of you that haven’t already found out, a trillion dollars is one thousand billion dollars or 683 billion pounds if that makes you feel better. And that is the sum of money that members of G20 agreed to throw into the global kitty, and by doing so will be signalling the beginning of the end of the world recession.

What makes this second trillion more significant than the first is that it will be handled largely by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and not by World banks and business conglomerates. With this move IMF will see their cash reserves more than tripled.

A further $100bn has been earmarked to open up new credit lines aimed in to encourage countries to increase international trading and prevent protectionism, and $250bn for finance domestic trade in across the globe.

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who hosted the conference, found it hard to suppress his enthusiasm of the outcome. He announced. “This is the day that the world came together, to fight back against the global recession”

As well as discussing the level and the manner of funding, G20 leaders also touched upon a few other spicy subjects including tax havens, increased regulation of the financial system regarding large hedge funds, performance based bonuses and hefty salaries in the financial services sector and a much stricter overseeing of agencies that provide credit ratings.

The rift between the Us and European camps did not transpire although French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel, the German chancellor did take their expected stance against more money being pumped into economies to stimulate a return to growth

Despite the fact that it appears that fresh fiscal stimulus will not be forthcoming , the consensus among the delegates was that the fiscal expansion that the trillion plus dollars will generate recovery and growth equivalent to $5,000 billion worldwide, equal to four per cent boost of World Production.

As the meeting wound down, the G20 issuing a statement which stated that the actions will constitute the largest fiscal and monetary stimulus and the most comprehensive support programme for the financial sector in modern times. And hopefully the last.

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Tags: Banking, British Economy, Debt, Economics, Financial News, G20, Gordon Brown, Recession, UK Recession

A preview of the upcoming G20 meeting held over the weekend further reiterated the key economic players assertion of how important the meeting, to be held next month in London will be to set the global economic climate back on track. A turnaround is required, and soon, to avoid continued economic turbulence seen in the 1930s, the UK government has warned.

Signs that the UK situation is going from bad to worse was that news recently announce by the Trade Unions Council (TUC) that for every job vacancy in the UK there is an average of ten applicants going after it. In the South of England, the unemployment situation appears to be reaching catastrophic proportions where only one in sixty is successful in finding work.

The latest official data due to be published on Wednesday by the Office for National Statistics is estimated to reveal that UK unemployment has now passed the two million mark.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) continue to hold firm on their estimations that unemployment in the United Kingdom will reach over three million by the second half of next year. A figure that represents over 10% of the country’s workforce

Talking about playing fiddle with the UK burns, is the news that Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s brainwave that the treasury should offer rebates to drivers who trade in old cars for new ones would be unfeasibly expensive a sure sign that the Brown’s and his Business Secretary Peter Mandelson might be destined for the scrap heap. What it appears that Brown and Mandelson failed to take into account was that the last thing that the average UK citizen might need at this time is a new car.

Brown and Mandelson are working hard in an effort to offset continuing demands for more support for industry in the face of recession, against increasing a budget deficit that looks like swelling to at least 8 percent of gross domestic product. However on the old cars for new scheme, it looks like “back to the drawing board” for Peter and Gordon.

Despite that bit of bad news for the UK motor industry, stocks on the FTSE rose for a second consecutive day, which meant that the FTSE 100 enjoyed its largest weekly gain since early January. The rise was on the back in the increase in commodities particularly oil and base metal.

The FTSE 100 climbed by 1.6 percent, (58.12 to 3,770.18) making for a weekly gain of 6.8 percent. The FTSE 250 also rose a 1.51 percent (92.83 to 6255.37)

Sterling also continued to rise on Friday against major currencies, finishing as follows.

Pound/US dollar 1.4225

Pound/Euro 1.0923

Pound/Japanese Yen 139.75

Pound/Swiss Franc 1.6833
Ben Bernanke, head of the US central bank and apparently America’s perennial optimist supreme, continues to announce that he expects the recession to begin to turn around by the end this year.

“This decline will begin to moderate and we’ll begin to see a leveling off,” announced the Federal Reserve chairman in a recent interview on national television. He also hastened to add during his interview that without US government intervention last year, the world would have come to financial meltdown

We’ll see recovery beginning next year,” Bernanke added “the

Government fund of $500bn was stabilising the mortgage market and business lending was picking up. ”

Among the signs that he may know what he is talking about is that the Dow Jones index rose by about 10% last week alone after it had plunged to a previous twelve year low. Dow Jones closed on Friday up 59.32 points to 7223.98 and NASDAQ up a modest 5.4 points to 1431.5

Metals were on the ascendancy in Asia with copper continuing the recovery in global equities after concerns about a deepening global recession and waning metals demand seemed to be waning.

Crude oil traded near $47 a barrel after futures jumped 11 percent yesterday. The contract for April delivery is set for a fourth week of gains, with OPEC due to meet this weekend to consider a cut in output.

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Tags: Bank, Bank of England, Banking, British Economy, Credit Crunch, Finance, Financial News, FTSE, G20, Money, Money Management, Recession, UK Banks, UK Recession