A look back at the week in business
The number
6%
The spread between the interest paid on Irish and German bonds overtook this benchmark this week as the financial markets joined the rest of us in wondering how much Anglo Irish Bank is actually going to cost.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"The Government's primary objective in dealing with Anglo Irish Bank has been to minimise the cost of this distressed bank to the Irish taxpayer"
QUOTE OF THE WEEK 2
"The bank welcomes the certainty this brings to a very difficult situation"
– So, the Government knows how much the Anglo debacle will cost and the bank knows how long it will all take – right?
GOOD WEEK
Spanish banks
Just last May, the wholesale markets would not touch them, but in the first five days of September, a clutch of Spanish banks, including Santander, BBVA and La Caixa, have raised $4 billion through a series of bond issues, according to figures from data provider Dealogic. This followed an earlier round in July that raised $15.8 billion. Not only that, this week Santander found there was brisk demand for unsecured paper that it issued in on Monday. If Irish bankers are wondering just what their Spanish peers’ secret is, well apparently they are solvent.
BAD WEEK
Fás
A question mark hangs over its future after the latest faux pas at the State training and employment agency’s future. This week it emerged that the findings of an EU audit mean that it cannot apply for €211 million in social funds from Brussels. While Opposition politicians are calling for it to be shut down, the Government is going for renewal, which involves breaking it up, presumably into a good Fás/bad Fás.
A SPA FOR ALL SEASONS
Guests at Dublin’s Four Seasons must not be taking to the waters in Ballsbridge, as the hotel has decided to open the doors of its spa, swimming pool and gym complex to the hoi polloi. But don’t all rush at once – membership is €2,650 a year or €4,900 for a couple, plus a €1,000 “initiation fee”. For that you can enjoy the facility’s indoor/ outdoor haven, surrounded by a glass-walled atrium and sunken garden.
Meanwhile, the hotel’s developer, Derek Quinlan, probably takes regular dips in Lake Geneva, an outdoor/outdoor tax haven surrounded by the Swiss Alps.
HEIR WITH SOMETHING TO SPARE
John Cullen and Veronica Juliano, the trustees of $500 million belonging to 104-year-old Manhattan heiress Huguette Clark, are suing Citibank over its management of her trust fund.
Her father, mining magnate Senator William Andrews Clark, amassed a Citizen Kane-sized fortune and left her $3 million at the height of a stock market boom in 1926. Cullen and Juliano allege that her estate would be worth a lot more today if the bank had managed it properly, a claim that Citi says is “baseless”.
Washington DC’s Corcoran Gallery of Art is watching proceedings carefully, as it is said to be the beneficiary of whatever is left of the estate once Ms Clark passes on – and the lawyers have had their cut.
