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Banking Giant HSBC Predicts Challenging Year
Europe’s biggest bank, HSBC Holdings PLC (NYSE ADR: HBC), said first quarter profits increased substantially over last year, but 2009 will be a “tough” year as bad loans increase and the economy slowly pulls out of the recession.
The bank’s profits benefited from record results in its investment bank and steady activity in Asia, but excluding a $6.6 billion (4.37 billion pound) fair value gain on its own debt, first-quarter results trailed year ago earnings.
HSBC incurred charges for impaired loans across all customer groups and regions during the first quarter, according to a statement issued by the bank. In the…
12May2009 | Money Morning | 0 comments | ContinuedRate cutting palooza
European Central Banks cut rates
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee voted to drop its key lending rate by a full percentage point to 2%. The bank last cut its benchmark rate to that level in 1939, where it stayed until it was hiked to 2.5% in 1951.
"In the United Kingdom, business surveys have weakened further and suggest that the downturn has gathered pace," the Monetary Policy Committee said in a statement announcing the move.
The European Central Bank’s Governing Council slashed its key lending rate by 75 basis points, or three-quarters of a percentage point, to 2.5%. The…
HSBC Chief Calls for Tougher Inflation Fight, Industry Changes
The chief executive officer of HSBC Holdings PLC (ADR: HBC), Europe’s biggest lender, today (Tuesday) called on the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks to make fighting inflation a priority.
“Inflation is a long-term problem because there is no long-term will to solve it,” Chief Executive Officer Michael Geoghegan said during an informal shareholders meeting in Hong Kong.
He went on to criticize central banks that have kept interest rates low in response to curtailed economic growth and weak housing markets. But due in part to low interest rates, inflation has escalated as costs for food and energy soar, dampening consumer…
27May2008 | Money Morning | Comments Off | Continued
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