Banks no longer government's property?

It seems like the financial sector is climbing out of its drain little by little.

This news was confirmed on the sixth of october by the registration of the best day the bel20 had known for months, in which some banks played major roles.

The KBC group knew a very strong growth of 15%, through which the bank would be able to buy out the government.

But, insiders think this won't happen too soon because of the capital increase and the high expenses that would be necessairy to complete the transaction.

Els Van Impe

source: De Standaard, 7 oktober 2009

Are the Lehman Brothers really into giving assets back?

Today, there came an announcement that the Lehman Brothers, PricewaterhouseCoopers is drawing up a plan to give assets back (worth about more than 17 billion dollars) to the creditors.

Pwc’s has originally a scheme to refund the assets, but it was unallowed by the High Court in August because there was no certainty that could win the confidence of the creditors.

Now, PwC has created a new plan by a contracutal agreement in the banking world to return billions of dollars of assets to all investors.

If PwC will fail, the negociations will soon begin with the creditors who can clame assets until the end of this year.

An-Sofie Van Parys

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article4761718.ece

Eureopean banks are resistant to a new crisis.

A stress test for the banking sector CEBS, has been announced which would allow banks to survive, even when economic growth decreases or the unemployment rate leaps. This survival would be made possible by government injections although banks all together would still have a loss of 400 miljard euros. ECB-president, Jean-Claude Trichet, says the results are encouraging, however, critics think the tests are meaningless.

Vervondel Laurent, Group 8.
Source: http://www.fd.nl/artikel/13344999/europese-banken-kunnen-nieuwe-crisis

The bright (green) side of the crisis!

Apparently the crisis has some advantages: according to the international energy department the worldwide amount of carbon-dioxide could decrease with almost 3 percent in 2009. This would be the most significant decend in 40 years! The IED says the financial crisis did this all by it's own. This could be a huge step in the green direction, thanks to the financial crisis!

Floris Weerbrouck

To crisis or not to crisis?

It seems like the worst crisis since the late 30’s turns out to be nothing more than a bad dream for the stock market. While the World economy is still busy licking her wounds, specialists notice a huge gap between the downfall of economic activity and the enthusiasm on the stock market. These specialists are of the opinion that when the financiers will finally realize that the economic recovery might take much longer than originally planned, the risk that a market correction occurs will increase enormously. These experts fear that a correction on the market today is more than a plausible fact.

Maarten De Bousser

Saving accounts undeserved loved

Although there are many negative aspects, saving accounts have never been as successful in Belgium as now. In less than one year more than 25 billion euro has been deposited in saving account; that’s an increase of more than 15 percent. Because of the crisis customers are rather pessimistic and want to convene in intradefensive products they know, like deposit accounts. But savers don’t take in mind that the interest has never been as low as now, financial institutions don’t do promotional actions anymore, and because of the expected inflation, their money will devaluate. That is why people should better invest in other financial actives.

Sanne Delbecke

Wooden Cash

The bank that lends string instruments instead of money to musicians. MIB (Musical Instrument Bank) survives on donations and loans. MIB gives every year instruments away for three years threw a competition, giving young people a chance and a lifetime experience. Those instruments that MIB holds are worth millions of dollars from an investing point of view!


Louise De Tremerie

http://www.ncoa.am/Music/Musical%20Instrument%20Bank.htm

The end of dollar oil-linking

Secret talks have already been held by Arab states, China, Russia, Japan and France to make an end on dollar oil-linking. Instead using the dollar for oil trading, the countries concerned would switch to a basket of currencies including the euro, gold, Chinese yuan, Japanese yen end a unified currency of the Gulf States. During the transitional period, gold would be the currency unit. Mohammed al-Dschassir, one of the top leaders, denied everything about the proposition ‘dropping the dollar for oil trading ’ when asked to comment by journalists.


Charlotte Vanderstraeten

De Tijd

Stock recovery too soon and too strong, causing a risk of correction

The stocks have been rising too quickly and too heavily since their lowest point in March, causing a risk of correction. The real economy is hardly recovering whereas the markets are going up strongly according to New York University-professor Nouriel Roubini who sees a growing gap. He fears that soap-bubbles are being blown due to government intervention. Stocks need gradual growth equal to economic growth to avoid the creation of financial bubbles and the risk of correction.

Nico Vermeulen
source

ECB is from mars and Fed is from Venus?

It’s the title of a research note published by economics from Deutsche bank, which explains why the ECB and the Federal Reserve acted so differently during the economic crisis.
While the ECB raised interest rates to attack inflation, the Fed thought about growth in the first place and waited to give the economy more time to recover.
The research note says that the differences between the central banks can’t be caused by the difference in economic climate, because everybody knows that due to globalization, the economic climate has become worldwide.
It points out that the differences could be explained if we look at the economic history of both regions. In the United States the biggest economic trauma is without any doubt the economic crisis of the thirties, while in Europe the hyperinflation in Germany after world war I had a bigger impact.
Eva Van Belle
Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2008/07/03/ecb-and-fed-worlds-apart/

Do(o)mino-day one year later

Since Lehman Brothers has filed for bankruptcy, the financial fallout has been initiated and a seemly endless series of other banks have undergone the same fate. Banks who have invested in real estate loans and collateralized mortgages obligations are forced to take losses and write-downs, which affects the profitability, liquidity and solvency of the banks. Recently Jennigs State Bank of Spring Grove, Warren Bank of Warren and Southern Colorado National Bank of Pueblo have filed for chapter 11 which brings the tally up to 98 bank failures in the USA for this year alone. Thinking that we are over the top of this economic crisis is being too optimistic, some doom-mongering analysts think that around 500 banks will go bankrupt within the next two years.

Nico Van Steenkiste

Bloomberg
Tradingmarkets.com

Hustle and bustle at World Bank

The World Bank is reaching its financial limits as it is squaring up to the financial crises. In order to restore the deep cracks in the economy of the needing countries, the call for capital increases sharply. Therefore a higher contribution from the countries is needed. At the beginning of 2010 there has to be a proposal finished with details to obtain the extra amount of capital.

Sofie Van Dun

America’s battle against global depression

The US economy is still fighting for a swift turn in the past years’ financial chaos. As the industrial production hasn’t been able to come up to the expected growth, consumers’ trust has hit a low. Consequently the American savings ratio keeps on increasing even more and the country’s unemployment figure is the highest of the past 24 years. Will America get out of this bad dream and pull itself together or will they have to face the same absolute low as in the thirties?

Jens Verschaeve

Banks, dues and governments

In the short term, BNP Paribas will repay the French government the support it got due to the financial crisis. By issuing € 4,3 billion in stocks, BNP Paribas wants to pay off most of the stocks from the French government. Not France, but Belgium will be the largest stockholder of BNP Paribas, if the deal goes on. Even though Belgium will become the largest, it will have to participate in the increase of capital of BNP Paribas to prevent its position in the Frech bank from weakening.

Andries Geers

source

Gold price breaks record

The gold price rose today in Londen to $1.036,30 an ounce, topping the previous record of $1,033.90 in March 2008.
Gold soared on speculation that inflation will accelerate and drop the value of the dollar. The precious metal is tradionally a protection against rising inflation and a depreciation of the dollar. It's not clear if the gold prices will continue rising, this will depend on the sustainability of economic recovery.

http://www.tijd.be/nieuws/economie-financien/Goudprijs_bereikt_recordhoogte.8241303-600.art


Dimitri Bucquoye

Is the worst yet to come?

The world is still recovering from the financial crisis, but most people believe they already survived the biggest risks. Specialists fear the crisis has just begun, because only government measures keep the economy going. Sooner or later people will find out that it is all just an illusion.

So the question is: 'Is the worst yet to come?'.

source

Bieke Verfaillie

The financial reality that Obama will not acknowledge

Not only the whole wide world but even powerful America is facing deep financial problems.
Starting with the collapse of famous bank Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual and other banks to follow,
the situation on Wall Street and the global financial markets remains problematic.
The crisis and economical recession is more serious than expected although political leaders believe that a recovery is around the corner.
This is America's harsh financial reality that neither President Obama nor his Cabinet seem willing to acknowledge.

Source: Timesonline

Marawan Wanis

Let's pay more for cleaning!

A recent report made by Ideal Consult declares that the price of service checks can be raised. While the average wage for ‘moonlighting-cleaners’ is 8.6 euro an hour, we must pay the small price of 7.5 euro for one service check. This report also shows that without financial deductions and the tax credit, a service check costs us only 5.25 euro, which most users don’t even take into account. Ideal Consult concludes that omitting financial deductibility wouldn’t bother us and so, by using a bit more expensive service checks , the battle against moonlighting would still remain.


Lien Vermeulen

Let's pay more for cleaning!

A recent report made by Ideal Consult declares that the price of service checks can be raised. While the average wage for ‘moonlighting-cleaners’ is 8.6 euro an hour, we must pay the small price of 7.5 euro for one service check. This report also shows that without financial deductions and the tax credit, a service check costs us only 5.25 euro, which most users don’t even take into account. Ideal Consult concludes that omitting financial deductibility wouldn’t bother us and so, by using a bit more expensive service checks , the battle against moonlighting would still remain.

“Show me where you spend your money and I’ll tell you what you are.”

Studies have shown that the inhabitants of Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels behave differently in spending and saving their money. Flemish and Walloon people are the biggest spenders with only saving 10% and 12% of their income, while people in Brussels save at least 14% per month. Apparently not only the spend amount of money but also the way in which their salary is spend, depends on the place where people live. In Brussels, they spend a lot of money on the rent of their home while Flemish spend it on leisure and people in Wallonia on the cost of light and electricity.

Freya Vermander

http://www.skynet.be/nieuws-sport/nieuws/detail?id=574577

Belgium becomes less attractive to foreign investors

The economic crisis has an influence on everybody, many people are fired while few jobs are created. Only in the chemical and metal sectors, there is an increase of jobs, unlike the service industry for instance. The most important investors are the United States, Germany and the Netherlands. Because many companies are still doing well and the economy is improving, there is still hope!

Sara Van Malderen
Source; http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail.aspx?artikelId=DMF20091006_032

New currency for oil


The financial ministers of the big economic forces, such as China, Japan and the European Union, are planning to use their own currency in stead of the dollar for trading oil. Rumor has it that their will even be a unified currency for the nations in the Gulf, although the Americans don't take it seriously.
Currently the rise of the price of gold could be explained by these rumors, because the big economic countries want to use gold as an transition payment. If it will come to an economic war, depends on the evolution of the situation, but the stakes are high.
link

Vandepoele Gilles

Deep in the red

More and more Belgians are deep in the red on their accounts. Holders of a current account have an overdraft facility of €1250, but in 2008 Belgian people crossed this limit quite often. Fortis noticed an increase of 10% in the amount of money that was lent for this service and Febelfin, a coordinating organization of the financial sector, remarked that almost 20% of all the accounts were in the red. And according to the numbers that Dexia has already published for 2009 this trend seems to continue.

Lien Vehent

Who to blame?

One year has passed since the beginning of the financial crisis and people still blame the banks for the fall of the system instead of examining the errors made by those appointed to check the system for possible cracks. Although a large portion of the responsibility does in fact lie with the banks, enormous errors were also made by the control institutes, turning a blind eye when it came to the irresponsible risks the banks took in the years previous to the collapse. And now that the wounds are being licked and the revival has begun ,those in charge inexplicably turn to the same check systems to prevent the past events from happening again . So , unless we start moving our attention away from the banks and on to the security of the whole system , history will without a doubt repeat itself .

Cora Vandamme

Artikel De Standaard

Mobile phone banking!

Custumers of Keytrade Bank don't need to go to the bank anymore to do their finances.
After internetbanking, Keytrade launched mobile phone banking to reach more people, because almost everyone has a mobile phone.
It has the same technology as internetbanking, pincodes and usernames are also required to do a transaction, only it is adapted to a smaller display.
With this new innovation you can do your banking transactions everywhere and everytime, without queueing a line at the ATM.

Link: Gazet van Antwerpen

Ingrid van der Hoofden

Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rate

The Reserve Bank of Australia increased the most important interest rate with 0.25 percentage points to 3.25 percent. As a result of this growth, Australia is the first country of the G20 which introduced this expansion. This known fact was a surprise for analysts. In consequence of the economic improvement, the central bank (CB) of Austrialia wants to slacken the facilitation of the Monetary Policy.


Van Hamme Arnaud

Source: Click here.

European banks strong enough

The 22 most important European banks now possess an amount of capital that should be large enough to face a new period of low economic growth according to stress tests.
Jean-Claude Trichet, chairman of ECB, supposes there could be a regression with several percentages, an augmentation of unemployment above 10% and a larger decrease of real estate prices spread over the years 2009 and 2010.
The amount of capital in the 22 most important European banks was brought about an improvement of expected yields and injections of capital by the government.
The European bank could make a loss of about 400 milliard Euro if such a situation arises, but there should be enough capital left.

Dieter Van Den Broeke

http://www.tijd.be/nieuws/economie-financien/Banken_sterk_genoeg_volgens_stresstests.8239838-600.art

Something cheap in Belgium?

Many products are expensive in Belgium, but a current account is not one of them, the costs are a lot lower in Belgium in comparison to other European countries, so says the European Commission.
Belgians pay about 58 euro a year, while the cost in France is 154 euro for a similar bank account, and 253 euro in Italy. The European Commission interrogated 224 banks to find this out, including five of the most important financial institutions in Belgium: KBC, Fortis, CBC, ING and Dexia. So, for Belgians, the cost price isn’t the problem , but unfortunately the rates used by the Belgian banks are not transparent at all and the consumers are badly informed, which often leads to the wrong and more expensive choice of account.

Kenny Vanleeuwen


source

recovery ward

Recovery Ward

Two of Britain’s biggest banks, Royal bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group (LBG), are attempting to find new ways to haggle capital from the government. Presently, the banks are negotiating with the government about an ‘asset protection scheme’: the treasury will insure the banks’ bad assets for a currently undetermined fee, to be paid in shares. But the market evolves fast, and the capital is far more easy to raise than it was when the negotiations started, so the banks, who are already partly state-owned, are trying to stump up even more money. The question is if both parities really benefit if the government gets more shares, knowing that private investors are the real key for success.

source

A Dutch clique

The Dutch EU commissioner, Kroes has, for the 15th time, extended the deadline for the hiving off several parts from the Dutch banks ABN Amro and Fortis. The Dutch government now has, by the goodwill of their ex-minister, time till the 19th of October for the hiving. Bos, Dutch minister of Finance, is already several months in consultation with Deutsche Bank about the sale of HBU. Despite these consultations with Deutsche Bank and some other banks, the Dutch government hasn't been able to table a proposal about the fusion of ABN Amro and Fortis Bank Holland.

Philip Verhulst

European banks reliable again

The European banks are cured of their financial problems! 10 months ago some banks were in very big problems and many people were afraid of losing the money they were saving. Now the ECB (European Central Bank) has tested 22 banks in Europe, with the conclusion that most of the European banks are ready for another crisis. The result of this test is another step to set right the credibility of the banks, but there is still one remarque: how can European banks trust each other if the ECB doesn’t want to tell which banks are healthy again?

Dries Van Renterghem

Bron: http://deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws/economie/091002_EU_banken