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Portugal announces mass privatisation to fight rising debt
March 16, 2010--Portugal, under strong EU pressure to correct its public finances, announced sweeping privatisation measures affecting its airline, rail transport, postal, energy and paper industries, on Tuesday to fight a rise in debt.
Also covered by the crash programme are bank and insurance activities.
The privatisation would raise about 6.0 billion euros (8.22 billion dollars) by 2013, bringing in 1.2 billion euros this year and 1.8 billion euros next year, the government said.
The sales would lead to "increased productivity in these sectors and contribute to the essential reduction of the public debt," which currently amounts to 142.91 billion euros.
read more
Source: EUbusiness
Eurozone mess forces hand of economic government
March 16, 2010--The mess the eurozone finds itself in, with an unprecedented contingency plan now drawn up to bail out wayward countries like Greece, has forced Europe to sketch out a new form of cross-border economic government.
An agreement to design terms for bilateral loans from partner countries that share the euro currency instinctively cuts against the grain of decisions taken when the currency was launched 11 years ago, expressly to prohibit bailouts for fear of encouraging imprudent spending.
It marks the first major step toward building a system where economic policy is coordinated across the many and varied landscapes of the 16-nation area.
Lord Mandelson said: “We need to mobilise private investors on a totally new scale. That has to include examining the case for public-sector backed financial institutions to achieve this mobilisation.”
read more EEX Launches Phelix Week Futures
“This expansion of our product range closes the gap between the Spot and the Derivatives Market and enables our trading participants to implement financial hedging during
a usually volatile period“, Oliver Maibaum, Managing Director of EEX Power Derivatives
GmbH, explains and adds: “The week futures are the logical complement to the
Phelix Month, Quarter and Year Futures which can be traded at the moment.”
Just like the existing Phelix Futures products, the new products can also be traded and cleared by the Eurex participants through their existing infrastructure in the framework
of the cooperation between EEX and Eurex. read more Deutsche Bank names pair to Oppenheim read more First estimate for the fourth quarter of 2009-Employment down by 0.2% in the euro area and by 0.3% in the EU27 Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment fell by 2.0% in the euro area and by 2.1% in the EU27 in the fourth quarter of 2009. In the third quarter of 2009, employment decreased by 2.2% and 2.1% respectively. Eurostat estimates that, in the fourth quarter of 2009, 221.1 million men and women were employed in the EU27, of which 144.3 million were in the euro area. These figures are seasonally adjusted. Over the whole of 2009, employment decreased by 1.8% (2 721 000 persons) in the euro area and also by 1.8% (4 021 000 persons) in the EU27, compared with +0.9% and +0.7% respectively in 2008. read more EU rescue fund a 'long term' possibility: Almunia
"A European monetary fund, it's something to think about in the long term," he told a conference in Madrid.
He also said that coordination over budgets must be improved and strengthened and that the debt crisis in Greece must be resolved to get the eurozone economy back on track.
"The ball is in the court of the whole eurozone group... I will not recommend that it is played only in the long term," said Almunia, who was formerly the EU's economic affairs commissioner.
read more STOXX launches New Optimised Index Series to track European Market Quartiles
“With the launch of the STOXX Europe 600 Optimised Market Quartile Indices
we are taking an innovative approach to creating index products which offer market participants a way to measure the performance of European companies in relation to economic cycles,” said Hartmut Graf, chief executive officer, STOXX Ltd. “The new
indices are an addition to our existing Optimised Index family, which applies superior concepts to improve liquidity and diversification in the indices.”
Ted Hood, CEO of Source, commented “Source is pleased to continue our
collaboration with STOXX and expand the range of optimised European indices. The combination of increased liquidity with the ability to implement market cycle driven investing should prove highly popular.” The STOXX Europe 600 Optimised Market Quartile Indices are based on forward-looking expectations of how certain types of companies respond to changes in the economic cycle. The STOXX Europe 600 Optimised Consumer Discretionary Index
covers those companies who are most sensitive to economic cycles, for example automotive companies, hotels and restaurants. The STOXX Europe 600 Optimised Consumer Staples Index represents companies which are less sensitive to economic
cycles, such as manufacturers and distributors of food and beverages, tobacco
companies or producers of non-durable household goods. The STOXX Europe 600 Optimised Defensive Index represents companies who tend to not be affected by
economic cycles, while the STOXX Europe 600 Optimised Cyclicals Index is comprised
of companies in the index universe which tend to follow economic cycles. All of the
components of the STOXX Europe 600 Optimised Supersector Indices fall into one of the four Market Quartiles.
The classification of the individual companies into the four categories is based on various criteria: the company’s subsector classification according to the Industry Classification Benchmark (ICB), fundamental factors, broader market views and input from market participants.
The STOXX Europe 600 Optimised Market Quartile Indices follow the same
methodology as the STOXX Optimised Indices. The most defining features of this index family is, that they take into account the ability to borrow a stock in the stock lending
market, a key component in facilitating active trading in the underlying index constituents
and related products. To incorporate this unique aspect, STOXX uses data provided by
Data Explorers, the unique provider of global, independent data, analytics and insight
into short selling and securities lending.
The STOXX Europe 600 Optimised Market Quartile Indices are available in price and net return versions, and are reviewed quarterly in March, June, September and
December. The indices are weighted by float-adjusted market capitalization and
calculated in euro.
Further information on the STOXX Europe 600 Optimised Market Quartile Indices is available at www.stoxx.com. PLUS stock exchange launches Fixed Income trade reporting
The new service extends PLUS’s existing offer of trade reporting for equities, increasing the
variety of products retail investors can access through the exchange. PLUS is focused on serving the particular needs of the retail investor community and aims to further support retail
trade flow in the UK.
Commenting on the launch, Ian-Patrick Lauder, Head of Trading Services at PLUS, said: “PLUS is committed to responding to customer needs and our service meets growing interest
from private investors to access the fixed income securities market, which has traditionally been the preserve of institutional investors due to the high minimum investments involved.”
This development enhances access to the UK retail brokerage community that PLUS gives to market-makers.
Rachel Maguire, Business Development Director at PLUS, added: “PLUS’s trading volume doubled in the second half of 2009 and this increase was largely due to individual clients
trading shares. In 2010, we aim to further increase this retail flow by the addition of Fixed Income trade reporting to our product portfolio.”
Stacey Parsons from Winterflood Securities said of the launch: “Winterflood Securities
welcomes PLUS markets entry into Retail Fixed Income trade reporting together with the competitive rates they bring. Everything that promotes dealing in the Fixed Income Market to
retail investors and helps to make the Market accessible is excellent news.” London Stock Exchange promotes best practice in investor relations
The Guide provides insight into:
• the key stakeholders involved;
• which people, internally and externally, comprise a company’s investor relations team and their responsibilities; and
• the tools and activities available to companies to effectively communicate their story to shareholders, potential investors, analysts and the media
Tracey Pierce, Head of Equity Primary Markets, London Stock Exchange Group, said:
“We are committed to providing the companies on our markets with the tools they need to communicate effectively with investors, and I feel sure that this guide, alongside our other initiatives, will help companies in building constructive long-term relationships with their investors and other stakeholders. Implementing a successful investor relations strategy is central to enhancing liquidity, gaining access to capital and can help create enhanced profile and a vibrant shareholder community around a company’s stock.”
Tim Ward, CEO of the Quoted Companies Alliance, said:
“The most effective quoted companies see shareholder engagement as a long-term, on-going dialogue rather than an activity they undertake occasionally. A thorough ongoing IR programme takes many forms, including meetings with investors and journalists, meaningful annual reports and effective websites. The QCA is delighted to support this essential guide. The information contained in this guide will support companies’ understanding of these processes and the wider dynamics of shareholder engagement, helping the investment community to be more knowledgeable and confident about their current and prospective investments.”
Richard Davies, Chairman of the Investor Relations Society, said:
“Properly used, the investor relations team will be the eyes and ears of the company in the market and will deliver valuable insight into market sentiment. This guide will act as a valuable tool for companies seeking to establish an effective dialogue with their shareholders and other financial market participants, and we hope that best practice investor relations will be embraced by all management teams.”
The Guide will be officially launched at the Exchange’s offices in Paternoster Square in April. The Exchange will also be arranging a series of roundtable meetings for companies around the UK to promote the importance of investor relations. view the Investor Relations - A Practical Guide If you are looking for a particuliar article and can not find it, please feel free to contact us
March 15, 2010--The UK Treasury will target pension funds as a primary source of funding for billions of pounds in infrastructure projects, using a national bank which will bypass traditional fund management companies.
As part of a bid to raise an estimated £500bn (€548bn) in infrastructure investment over the next decade, the business secretary Peter Mandelson said traditional methods for investing in infrastructure were costly, time consuming and risky, and government needed to take a central role in providing the institutions necessary to support private investment.
Source: IP&E
March 15, 2010--– EEX Power Derivatives supplements the product range of tradable Phelix Futures on the Power Derivatives Market. From 29 March 2010, the trading participants of EEX will also be able trade financially settled futures on a weekly
basis.
The Phelix Week Futures is a financial derivatives contract which refers to the average Power Spot Market prices of future delivery periods. The Phelix Week Future with the load ranges base load and peak load can be traded for the current week and the next
four weeks.
Source: EEX
March 15, 2010--Deutsche Bank moved quickly to strengthen the management of Sal Oppenheim after completing the takeover of the crisis-hit private bank for €1bn.
Germany’s largest bank named two of its executives, Jürgen Dobritzsch and Jürgen Fiedler, to oversee financial control and risk management on an expanded executive board at Sal Oppenheim, which ran into trouble during the financial crisis. Another former Deutsche banker, Wilhelm von Haller, had already been installed as chief executive at its new subsidiary.
Source: FT.com
-2.0% and -2.1% respectively compared with the fourth quarter of 2008
March 15, 2010--The number of persons employed in the euro area1 (EA16) fell by 0.2% (347 000 persons) in the fourth quarter of 2009 compared with the previous quarter, according to national accounts estimates published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In the same period, the number of persons employed in the EU271 decreased by 0.3% (583 000 persons). In the third quarter of 2009, employment declined by 0.5% in both zones. These figures are seasonally adjusted.
Falls in employment were recorded in manufacturing (-1.1% in the euro area and -1.0% in the EU27), construction (-0.4% and -0.7% respectively) and trade, transport & communication services (-0.5% in both zones). Financial services & business activities decreased by 0.1% in the euro area, but grew by 0.1% in the EU27. Agriculture increased by 0.5% and 0.1% respectively, and other services (which mainly includes public administration, health and education) grew by 0.2% in both zones.
Source: Eurostat
March 15, 2010--An emergency fund to rescue eurozone economies could be a "long-term" possibility, the European Union's Commissioner for Competition Joaquin Almunia said Monday.
But "we cannot allow ourselves the luxury of thinking in the long term if we don't think in the short and medium term," he said.
Source: EUbusiness
March 15, 2010--- STOXX Limited, a global index provider and creator
of the leading European equity indices, today announced the launch of the STOXX Europe 600 Optimised Market Quartile Indices. The new indices are part of the STOXX Optimised Index family and classify the components of the STOXX Europe 600 Index
into the four market quartiles.
The STOXX Europe 600 Optimised Market Quartile Indices have been licensed to Source to underlie exchange-traded funds (ETF) which will be available in the next
couple of weeks.
Source: STOXX
March 15, 2010--The PLUS stock exchange is pleased to announce the launch of
trade reporting for Fixed Income securities on the PLUS market.
The launch responds to growing demand from private investors, providing them with a cost effective way to access fixed income securities such as UK Gilts and corporate bonds.
Source: Plus Stock Exchange
New guide will help companies communicate effectively with investors
- Series of events planned
March 15, 2010--The London Stock Exchange is this week sending copies of a new edition of its guide to investor relations to the companies on its markets. “Investor Relations - A Practical Guide” provides practical assistance to companies, whether quoted or considering a stock market flotation, on best practice in investor relations, examining the key principles firms should consider when developing their investor relations strategy.
The Guide collates a wealth of expertise from a series of corporate advisers, quoted companies and investors, and details the latest developments affecting investor relations, including the Companies Act 2006 provisions for electronic shareholder communication and AIM Rule 26, covering website disclosure for AIM companies.
Source: London Stock Exchange
