Friday, June 29, 2012

Euro zone leaders agree on plans to boost banks

Welcome to the morning roundup. Here's a look at today's banking and finance news.

Europe. European leaders said they will speed up plans to create a single supervisor to oversee the euro zone's banks, the Wall Street Journal reports. During a two-day summit, the leaders also agreed on efforts to reduce borrowing costs for Spain and Italy. Meanwhile, stock futures climbed this morning amid a global rally on the news.

Barclays. A scandal involving the rigging of key interest rates could have far-reaching effects on the global banking industry, analysts told Reuters, as the head of Barclays fought to keep his job. Other banks could face fines for their involvement in manipulating the key lending rate between banks, and the head of the Bank of England called for "real change" in the industry.

Health care ruling. Investors had mixed reactions to Thursday's Supreme Court ruling that upheld the nation's health care overhaul, the New York Times reports. Hospital stocks rose, while stocks of insurers lost as much as 5 percent. Some medical device and pharmaceutical stocks also saw declines, the Times writes.

JPM. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s chief investment officer, who retired after the bank disclosed its $2 billion trading loss, left with about $21.5 million in stock and options, Bloomberg reports. Ina Drew will keep $17.1 million in unvested restricted shares and about $4.4 million in options that she would have been required to forfeit if the bank fired her "with cause," Bloomberg writes.

Consumer spending. Consumer spending was flat in May for the first time in six months, but weak inflation pressures should ease the burden on some households, Reuters reports.

1 comments:

Garth Vader said...

Screw boosting banks - banks are what destroyed the economy in the first place.