The Treasury is looking at introducing tougher requirements on bankers’ pay disclosure than those proposed last week by Sir David Walker.

Alistair Darling, the chancellor, announced a formal consultation exercise on Monday on whether legislation should go further than the Walker review, which proposed that banks should disclose the numbers of employees earning above £1 million.

Treasury officials said there was a case for greater disclosure, for example starting at £750,000 and having narrower bands.

The news came as the chairman of the Financial Reporting Council; Sir David Hogg signalled that his review of broader corporate governance at UK listed companies, published on Tuesday, would be more far-reaching than Sir David’s recommendations on bank boards.

U.K. house prices rose for a fourth month in November as the shortage of homes for sale sustained the property market, according to industry sources.

The average cost of a home in England and Wales climbed 0.2 percent from October to 156,700 pounds, meaning that prices are down 11 percent from the 2007 peak. While U.K. mortgage data due today may show loan approvals at the highest level in 19 months in October, rising unemployment may curb house price increases next year. According to Bank of England Governor Mervyn King, the economy’s recovery from the longest recession on record isn’t “particularly strong.”

Dubai World, the investment company whose $59 billion of liabilities caused stock markets across the World some anxiety will ask all creditors for a “standstill” agreement as it negotiates to extend maturities according to Dubai’s Department of Finance. Reports are that the plan will not be acceptable to most investors and would be considered a default. Dubai, the second-biggest of seven states that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE)., and its state-owned companies borrowed $80 billion to fund an economic boom and diversify its economy. The global credit crisis and a decline in property prices hurt companies like Dubai World as they struggled to raise loans and forced the emirate to turn for help to Abu Dhabi, UAE capital who hold 8 percent of the world’s oil reserves.

Barclays Bank will book a gain close to £1 billion more than expected on the sale of its asset management arm to BlackRock thanks to a 62 per cent rise in the US fund manager’s shares since the deal was struck. The UK bank on Tuesday completed the £9.1 billion sale of Barclays Global Investors (BGI) to BlackRock, which becomes the world’s biggest asset manager with more than $3,000 billion .Barclays has taken a 19.9 per cent stake in BlackRock as part of the cash-and-shares deal. The sale price was £6.2 billion higher than the value of BGI in the accounts of Barclays, and £900 million more than estimated when the deal was agreed in June.

Thomas Cook will refinance their £1.65 billion loan facilities by next summer but has no plans to use a rights issue, according to a leading company representative. The tour operator’s current facilities are due to expire in May 2011. The company has predicted that 2010 would be a tough trading year, and the refinancing plans were announced as Thomas Cook revealed that net debt had more than doubled from £292 million in 2008 to £675 million. Explanations were that the additional debt had come from completing its share buy-back programme, acquisitions and the need for increased working capital arising from late holiday bookings.

British Airways Plc has announced that they are to conduct a series of feasibility studies and tests to see if their planes can run on bio-fuels. The airline will run the trials in conjunction with Rolls-Royce. On that piece of good news for the environment, shares in BA shares gained 0.6 pence percent, to 193.8, while Rolls-Royce rose 0.9 pence to 476.4.

Cadbury Plc Chief Executive Officer’s Todd Stitzer has signaled his support for a possible bid by U.S. candy maker Hershey Co. in preference to the hostile bid from Kraft. Meanwhile JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. are being lined up to provide Hershey a further $7 billion in finance. Cadbury’s shares later advanced 3 pence to 806.

Drinks manufacturer C&C saw its share price jump almost 9 per cent yesterday on the back of an announcement that it is to acquire the British cider assets of Constellation Brands owners of the Gaymer Cider Company, the UK’s second largest cider manufacturer, for £45 million.

The transaction is expected to be completed by mid-January 2010, and will broaden C&C’s existing cider offering beyond Bulmers and Magners to include brands such as Blackthorn, Olde English as well as Gaymers.

Under the terms of the deal C&C will also acquire a cider production facility in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, and a distribution warehouse in Bristol. As well as strengthening its position in the UK cider market, the acquisition is expected to shift C&C’s focus away from on-trade sales towards the faster-growing off-trade distribution channel.

On the Foreign Currency exchanges, the Pound rose against the dollar, yen and Swiss Franc whilst falling slightly against the Euro,

• Pound/US dollar 1.6605
• Pound/Euro 1.1002
• Pound/Japanese Yen 144.5284
• Pound/Swiss Franc 1.6589

Fears of a further fall in share value on the FTSE 100 were dispelled as shares continued to recover, closing in Wednesday on 5312.77, up 67 points from the weekend.

US shares headed higher on Tuesday after a flurry of economic data pointed to a rebound in the economy Better reports on construction and housing suggested there was something to look forward to.

The housing figures, from the National Association of Realtors, provided the best hopes for growth, showing sales agreements 3.7% up on the month and 32% higher than this time last year.

The Dow Jones index closed up 126.66 points, or 1.2%, on Tuesday to reach 10,471.50 points, while the NASDAQ also rose, closing the day on 2175.8.

Australia’s central bank lifted interest rates for a third consecutive month on Tuesday amid signs that inflationary pressures were building in an economy expected to return to “trend” growth of 3.25 per cent next year. The 25 basis point rise to 3.75 per cent matches increases in the last two months and is part of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s strategy of weaning the economy off historically low interest rates. The benchmark rate fell to a 49-year low of 3 per cent earlier this year.

The continuing weakness of the US dollar has pushed up demand for gold to another record level. Gold struck £722.69 an ounce on the London Bullion Market, after striking historic peaks over recent weeks. The dollar index fell 0.8% against a number of currencies as early fears regarding the Dubai debt crisis continued to wane across international markets. Demand for gold has been fueled by moves by central banks to diversify assets.

financial

• AFLAC Increases Dividend by 10% - I Just Got a Raise! AFLAC (AFL) announced yesterday that it has increased its dividend...
• Tahoe City Marina, Lake Tahoe Tahoe City Marina is located on the north shore of...
• Time for Microsoft to Go Hostile This weekend Microsoft withdrew their bid to buy out Yahoo!...

Tags: Alastair Darling, Bank of America Corp, Bank of England, Banking, Barclays Bank, Barclays Global Investors, BlackRock, Blackthorn, British Airways Plc, British Economy, British Pound, Bullion Market, Bulmers, C&C, Cadbury Plc, Dow Jones, Dubai World, Economy, Financial News, Gaymer Cider, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Magners, Mervyn King, Money, NASDAQ, National Association of Realtors, Olde English, Recession, Reserve Bank of Australia, Rolls-Royce, Shepton Mallet, Sir David Hogg, Sir David Walker, Stock Markets, Stocks and shares, Thomas Cook, Todd Stitzer, UAE, UK Banks, UK Economy, UK government, UK Recession, United Arab Emirates

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has lost its legal battle over bank charges with banks following the shock announcement by the Supreme Court on Wednesday. While the ruling effectively scuppers any chance of reclaiming fees in the foreseeable future it does clear the way for new rules to be drawn up that would limit charges. The Treasury did however stress that if lower bank charges could not be achieved voluntarily then it would consider passing legislation. The OFT’s four-year campaign and two-year legal case to win refunds for those overcharged by their banks after falling into an unauthorized overdraft fallen at the last hurdle. The Supreme Court, in a move that stunned campaigners, went against earlier findings by the High Court and Court of Appeal and decided the OFT did not have the right to assess the charges for fairness in the case

The good news from the U.K. economy is that it shrank in the third quarter less than previously estimated. It is now estimated that gross domestic product probably fell 0.3 percent from the second quarter, which less than the 0.4 percent drop is reported on Oct. 23, The Office for National Statistics will release its second estimate before the weekend.

More than £60 billion was secretly lent by the Bank of England to prevent Royal Bank of Scotland and Halifax Bank of Scotland from failing at the height of the financial crisis last year. In evidence to the Treasury Select Committee, the Bank revealed yesterday that such a catastrophe was averted when it decided "in exceptional circumstances" to act in its traditional role as lender of last resort and extended Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) to RBS and HBOS. Meanwhile U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling Wednesday defended authorities’ secret provision of emergency assistance to Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC and HBOS during the height of last year’s financial crisis. In a written ministerial statement to parliament, Mr. Darling said any disclosure of the loan at the time would have "seriously" jeopardized financial stability and "the risk to public resources was low" given the quality of the collateral received by the Bank.

Trading on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) was halted for three and a half hours earlier because of technical difficulties.

The LSE said it had been affected by connectivity issues, and at 1033 GMT had placed all orders for shares into an "auction call period".

This allowed traders to put orders to buy or sell shares into the system, ready for when trading restarted.

Normal trading was then able to resume from 1400 GMT.

Big banks will be obliged to disclose how many of their UK employees are paid more than £1 million, if City banker Sir David Walker has his way. Sir David is expected to announce that half of the bonuses paid to bank employees should be deferred for three to five years.

Travelers who book holidays on the internet could receive more financial protection if things go wrong, under plans in a European review.

Consumers who make up their own packages of flights, hotels and car rentals on one website or partner sites could get more protection.

Currently, only those who have booked specific package deals have rights to cancel or refunds if operators go bust. A review will consider help for passengers if airlines collapse.

Spanish investor Jorge Cosmen, the largest stockholder is reported to have boosted his stake in National Express Group Plc, the U.K. bus and rail company three times in as many days. The investor, a company board member, has spent 5.8 million pounds ($9.6 million) snapping up shares since Nov. 20. The third purchase, announced today by National Express, brings his family’s holding to 20 percent. Cosmen, who opposed National Express, wants the London-based company to refinance debt and reevaluate strategy before any rights issue, is apparently yet to decide whether to oppose the stock sale in a Nov. 27 shareholders’ vote.

The pound retreated slightly against the dollar, Swiss franc and the yen, while rising against the Euro.

• Pound/US dollar 1.6506
• Pound/Euro 1.10997
• Pound/Japanese Yen 142.3998
• Pound/Swiss Franc 1.6556

After trading resumed on the FTSE, the 100 went on to finish the day at 5,194, which was 130 points down on Tuesday’s closing price, while the FTSE 250 rose dropped 200 points to close on 8,880.52. Falls on the FTSE were also felt across Europe, as concerns about the wider impact of state-owned investment company Dubai World asking for a six-month delay on repaying its debts grew.

The US dollar has hit a 14-year low against the Japanese yen with low interest rates in the US making the greenback less attractive to investors.

The dollar slipped to 86.5 yen, its lowest level since July 1995.

The US has indicated it is unconcerned about the dollar’s slide, and will not intervene to strengthen it.

Many traders are swapping dollar holdings for gold as a safer investment in the current uncertain economic climate.

The price of gold is currently at a record high of $1,194.5 an ounce

The Dow Jones average was looking stronger rising 53 points to 10464.5 The NASDAQ also rose thirteen points to finish up on 2176.05

financial

• Five Ways to Profit From a Coming Market Collapse The recent sell-off in global financial markets has put the...
• Currency Trading: The New Global Investing Game With the European Union (EU) announcing a $1 trillion bailout...
• Dollar May Weaken I regularly read the 'Daily Pfenning' by Charles Butler of...

Tags: Alastair Darling, Bank, Bank Charges, Bank of England, Banking, British Economy, British Pound, Currency, Dow Jones, Dubai World, Economics, Economy, ELA, Emergency Liquidity Assistance, Employment, Financial News, FTSE, Gold, Halifax Bank, HBos, Interest Rates, Jorge Cosmen, legal battle, London Stock Exchange, Money, Money Markets, NASDAQ, National Express Group Plc, Office of Fair Trading, OFT, Overdraft, Overdraft Charges, RBS, Retail, Royal Bank of Scotland, Sir David Walker, Stock Markets, Stocks and shares, Supreme Court, Treasury Select Committee, UK Banks, UK Economy, UK government, UK Recession