Banking giant HSBC is in talks with South African insurer Old Mutual about acquiring a majority stake in Nedbank Group – South Africa’s fourth biggest bank. The media has speculated that the price could be around £4.5 billion for a 52% stake, in the latest in a series of assets Old Mutual has been forced [...]
Today’s results from Barclays has reinforced that the banking sector is in recovery mode after the bank reported a 44% rise in profits.
The bank, which is one of the few not to have received any financial help from the Government, said pre-tax profits came in at £3.95 billion for the six months to the end [...]
Northern Rock Asset Management (NRAM), the so-called bad bank, has today reported it has returned to profit.
The crisis-torn bank, which was the first victim of the credit crunch, said pre-tax profit for the first six months to the end of June were £349.7 million, compared with a loss of £724.2 million a year earlier.
Meanwhile, the [...]
The UK’s banking reporting season has got off to a flying start today after banking giant HSBC reported profits more than doubled, exceeding analysts expectations.
Europe’s largest bank has today announced a pre-tax profit of $11.1 billion (£7 billion) for the six months to the end of June, compared with $5 billion in the same period [...]
There is further evidence today that China’s economy is cooling after two official independent surveys revealed a slowdown in manufacturing activity.
Firstly, the HSBC China Manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI), fell to 49.4 in July from 50.4 in June.
As a result, manufacturing contracted for the first time in 16 months as any reading below the crucial [...]
British companies should look east for the most profitable business opportunities, HSBC has claimed.
Research by HSBC Commercial Banking found 14% of UK companies recognised the importance of eastern consumers in developing lucrative business opportunities.
If British businesses are to compete in the global marketplace, they must take note of this “fundamental and fast paced change” said [...]