The UK needs its own version of business development companies

The UK needs its own version of business development companies

The great scramble for yield has seen asset managers hunt down ever more alternative sources of income. Many are starting to move into the world of shadow banking, alternative forms of lending in areas where banks are not competing for business as much as they used to. Over the past few years,
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Gold's Time Is Nigh

It seems like only six years ago the shiny metal was flavor of the month, hitting a record $1,900 a troy ounce while its backers prophesied the end of the fiat money system. With bitcoin sucking up all the crazy in financial markets, gold looks to have lost its luster. The CBOE/Comex Gold Volatility Index,
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Donald MacLeod: Bankers? Considerate as hungry polar bears buying tickets to the seal circus

WHEN I received a letter from Santander informing me that they were closing my local branch in May, I can't say I was surprised. Disgusted, disappointed and angry? Yes. Surprised? Not so much. After all, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds, NatWest, Halifax, Barclays, Co-op and the Yorkshire Building
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Rhumbline Advisers Has $12.23 Million Position in First American Corporation (The) (FAF)

The institutional investor owned 244,703 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 3,868 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned … The Company operates through the title insurance and services segment, and specialty insurance segment. The title insurance and services
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'Let shoppers choose Eftpos': Banks ordered to overhaul paywave systems by April

In a report tabled last week, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics recommended that banks “be required to give merchants the ability to send tap-and-go payments from dual-network debit cards through the channel of their choice”. Around 63 per cent of debit cards in
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Banks Urged to Enhance Private Sector Credit

Ajibola urged banks to remain ethical and professional in conducting lending business as well as to continue to engage staff of right skills and competencies in lending while devoting more attention to capacity building in the relevant areas. He also recommended that specialised financial institutions
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A fresh approach to complete the banking union in the Eurozone

The banking union negotiations in the Eurozone have been stuck ever since, in the Ecofin Council of June 2016, the Italian government managed to assemble a blocking minority opposing any further discussions on proposals to reduce legacy risks in banks' balance sheets. Completing the banking
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Real estate sales drive up $4.2m surplus for Mackenzie District Council

Real estate sales are the driving force behind a $4.2 million surplus for the Mackenzie District Council. The council is set to net a $4.237m surplus in the 2016/2017 financial year against a budgeted surplus of just over $3m, the council's financial accountant Tania Hoefsloot said in the proposed annual
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Auction clearance rate in Sydney hits two-year low

A waterfront period home at at 31 Wharf Road Birchgrove sold at auction for a bullish $7,225,000 and was the weekend's highest sale. With a 20 per cent spike in spring and summer listings over 2016 listing levels, it's clear sections of Sydney's market are being affected by oversupply. “I have fewer
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Mortgage holders locked into fixed rates now able to switch without penalty

However, the group's EBS and Haven are using the same consumer-friendly breakage calculation as most lenders. A spokesman for AIB Group said: “AIB Bank, EBS and Haven have different breakage methodologies as a result of their backgrounds as independent entities in the market. We continue to
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Commercial real estate highlights

SVN|Motleys reports the sale of 19,364 square feet at 509 N. 35th St. in Richmond for $1,300,000 to North 35 LLC. Tim Dudley and Richard Bryan brokered the deal for the seller. ***. Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer reports the following sales: 44,000 square feet at 212 W. Seventh St. in Richmond for
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China rental push spurs new breed of property bonds

HONG KONG, Dec 11 (IFR) – China's push to develop the rental housing sector is offering cash-strapped property developers a way back to the onshore bond market after more than a year of issuance restrictions aimed at cooling down property prices. Longfor Chongqing Enterprise Development,
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David Owen column: The housing crunch

There is a common misconception that the housing market has returned to its pre-recession strength. Nearly a decade after the crash, the data indicates that this is simply not true. In fact, market indexes indicate that the industry is below 50 percent of the 2004 market. Nationally, the number of new
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NZ: Card spending rose 1.4% in November – Westpac

House prices flattened out over the first half of this year but have picked up again in recent months, and card spending has more or less followed suit.” “The strength of the housing market is a critical part of our outlook for the New Zealand economy. We expect that the new Government's policies aimed at
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Nikkei flat as real estate, construction stocks weigh

TOKYO, Dec 11 (Reuters) – Japanese stocks struggled for traction on Monday as gains in financial shares were offset by drops in real estate and construction companies, with Obayashi Corp diving more than 8 percent. Obayashi tumbled on reports that it is under investigation on suspicion of rigging
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A Tale of What Could Have Been for the EU's Poorest Country

A decade ago, Bulgarians flooded the streets in celebration of their ex-communist nation joining the European Union. There was a light show in the skies above the capital. Then-Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev called it a “dream come true.” The euphoria wasn't just about shaking off the country's
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Contrasting Cash America International (CSH) & Stonegate Mortgage (SGM)

Stonegate Mortgage (NYSE: SGM) and Cash America International (NYSE:CSH) are both small-cap financials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, risk, valuation and
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OMD Wins Qantas' International Media Buying Account

OMD presently handles all of Qantas media buying in Australia. The airline's creative is handled by The Monkeys. In a short statement sent to media, Qantas said it wanted to consolidate its media buying activities across its international markets with the one agency partner. OMD has managed the
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GGP Said to Reject $14.8 Billion Brookfield Bid as Talks Go On

GGP Inc. has rejected Brookfield Property Partners LP's initial $14.8 billion bid to acquire the stake Brookfield doesn't already hold in the U.S. mall owner, but remains in talks to reach a deal, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
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A Warning Sign From the World's Biggest Shipping Line

Global trade volumes are recovering from a 2015-2016 slump with demand for goods and services rising 5 percent to 6 percent on Transpacific and Asia-to-Europe trade this year, according to Rahul Kapoor, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. Nevertheless, Felder, whose company is looking to
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