Compliments of the Season
Merry Xmas and a prosperous New Year to all you traders out there.
:)
Euro300 million FX loss on GPB.USD....whoops
Fortis, the troubled Belgian bank whose future has been clouded by a top-level political crisis, has admitted losing almost €300m (£280m) after an ill-fated move into sterling and the US dollar.
The loss, which makes a significant dent in Fortis's remaining cash reserves, was incurred following the suspension of its proposed takeover by France's BNP Paribas.
Fortis said this morning that it had bought undisclosed amounts of both currencies on 8 December, in preparation for the merger with BNP. The deal was hit by a legal challenge four days later and the subsequent collapse of the Belgian government.
The pound and the dollar have since slid in value versus the euro, and it appears that Fortis did not take the precaution of hedging the transaction.
"Given the current uncertainty, Fortis decided to sell the US dollars and pounds sterling again, resulting in a net loss for Fortis of €295m. This loss reflects the recent devaluation of the US dollar and the pound sterling," it said today.
The loss cuts Fortis's net cash reserves down from €2.1bn to €1.8bn. Shares in the bank fell by almost 10% following the admission.
A deal to save Fortis was hammered out at the end of September by the European Central Bank with the governments of the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.
BNP later agreed to buy Fortis's Belgian operations, a deal that would create a new European banking powerhouse, with more retail deposits than any eurozone rival. But a Belgian court blocked the deal on 12 December, arguing the Belgian government had acted incorrectly by not consulting shareholders first.
Last Friday, the Belgium government collapsed after claims that the prime minister, Yves Leterme, had attempted to influence the court's decision.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2...terling-dollar
Sunshine Coat Coast couple charged with $4m fraud
A Sunshine Coast couple fleeced in a Nigerian money scam have been charged with fraud after allegedly netting more than $4m in the same operation.
If it looks to good to be true it probably is.
http://www.thedaily.com.au/news/2009...an-money-scam/