Financial Times Summary

Mon 20 Oct 2008

ING
ING, the Dutch banking and insurance group yesterday accepted a £8bn injection from the Dutch government to shore up its core capital following a slump in its share price and the revelation that it would make its first quarterly loss. The government will buy a new class of securities that count towards ING's core Tier 1 capital but have no voting rights and are not dilutive for ordinary shareholders, ING said.
Fidelity
Fidelity, best known as a mutual fund company, has been rapidly growing its nascent prime brokerage business during the recent market turmoil as hedge funds defect from the big banks, which have for years dominated the lucrative industry. Fidelity expects to add 50 new clients in the next two to three weeks to its existing 300, company executives told the Financial Times.
Ernst & Young
The UK economy has deteriorated dramatically in the past three months and is now in recession, according to a report released yesterday. The Ernst & Young Item Club forecasts the economy will contract for three further quarters before reaching a bottom in the second half of next year. It expects a weak recovery in 2010.

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