Bank unveils rights issue plans
Barclays is to sell £4.5 billion of new shares in order to improve its balance sheet.The bank revealed today that overseas investors would take up the bulk of the stock offer, known in the industry as a "rights issue".According to the bank's chief executive, John Varley, the extra revenue created by the sale would allow Barclays to offset losses from the credit crunch and acquire new businesses in the future.Interested parties for the shares include Japanese bank Sumitomo Mitsui and Qatar Holdings."Significant opportunities therefore exist to attract flows of new business at expanded margins consistent with Barclays' strategy to seek higher growth over time by diversifying its profits base," the bank added in a statement.The share sale at Barclays follows a similar move last month from rivals RBS, whose business has also been markedly affected by the credit crunch.A record £24 billion was raised by the Scottish bank, which sold around 97 per cent of the new shares it created.
Share this..
Related stories
HMRC goes online to tackle the tax dodgers
In a sign of the times, David Hartnett, the permanent secretary for tax at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), has today confirmed the release of a video on YouTube targeted at "tax dodgers" in the UK. The government has taken to infiltrating social networking sites to warn the many "tax dodgers" in the UK who are refusing to divulge their total income and therefore escaping often significant tax payme...
Read MorePension providers criticised for confusing retirees
10/12/2013 Some insurance and pension providers have been criticised by the Financial Services Consumer Panel (FSCP) for confusing consumers and charging over the top commissions on annuities when they retire. An annuity is essentially a guaranteed, permanent income from pension savings, meaning that retirees are guaranteed never to allow their pension savings to dwindle to nothing, no matte...
Read MoreUK retail sales under serious pressure
It has today been revealed that UK retail trading conditions are the worst for 25 years and a substantial number of retailers are expected to go under in the New Year. We have already seen the likes of Woolworths, Zavvi and JJB Sports hit the headlines although this according to many experts is just the tip of the iceberg. With Woolworths expected to close in the New Year, with the loss of over 30...
Read MoreLord Mandelson upsets the German government
If there is one skill which Lord Mandelson has retained from his earlier days in politics it is the ability to spot an opportunity from miles away at very short notice. Today he has used this particular skill to great effect jumping on the bandwagon of the General Motors U-turn on GM Europe and taking the lead in talks with General Motors and the German authorities. So what exactly is going on?
Is it helpful to cut employment numbers to save costs in the short term?
Over the last few weeks we have focused on the UK economy and in particular the ever-growing number of unemployed in the UK. Company after company have been announcing job losses and cost cuts to try and stabilise their businesses in the short to medium term and reduce their costs as much as possible. However, is there a danger that cost-cutting in the short term could lead to reduced consumer exp...
Read More