Rio Tinto in China strife July 15, 2009 RIO Tinto, the world’s second-largest iron-ore producer led by Tom Albanese, has been accused of mass bribery by an official Chinese newspaper, as the row over arrested executives from the firm continues to mount. The state-owned China Daily paper said Rio has bribed all of China’s 16 major steelmakers, and threatened to cut them out [...]
Icap-backed bid rejected again by LCH July 15, 2009 CLEARING house LCH.Clearnet has rejected a second takeover offer from a group including Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Michael Spencer’s Icap, City A.M. can confirm The 14-strong consortium, known as the Lily Group, which is being advised by Deutsche, has been rejected again after making a €12-per share offer valuing the firm at €887m (£762m), 20 [...]
Ex-West Brom boss nets 520k July 15, 2009 THE ousted chief executive of West Bromwich Building Society, Stephen Karle, trousered a £520,600 pay-off last year, including an £82,000 bonus, despite presiding over risky lending that almost led to its collapse. Karle’s total pay package for the seven months until his sudden departure in October was £686,600 and he is also entitled to a [...]
CIT’s shares halted on NYSE as regulators close in on rescue deal July 15, 2009 TROUBLED US lender CIT Group had its trading halted on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday, suggesting regulators were nearing a rescue deal. A source close to the situation said a temporary loan may be announced in the next 24 hours. The source added a temporary loan is one option being considered to give CIT [...]
Cattles’ loans are extended July 15, 2009 EMBATTLED sub-prime lender Cattles said yesterday it extended the maturity of its £500m banking facilities until the end of the year, although it still has other crippling debts. The business said its syndicate of 22 banks, led by Royal Bank of Scotland, had agreed to give it breathing space by extending the facility, which was [...]
JOB GLOOM FOR CLASS OF 2009 July 15, 2009 BRITAIN’S unemployment rate has surged to a 12-year high, with young adults aged 18-24 particularly badly affected, official data showed yesterday. The news confirms growing fears that unemployment will continue to rise for many months, even though the economy and the banking systems have stabilised. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that [...]
Unemployment inflicting huge toll on UK July 15, 2009 EVEN though the economy has now stabilised, the recession’s terrible human cost keeps on rising. Yesterday’s jobless data was horrific; younger people are being hit especially hard. Jobless numbers jumped by 281,000 to 2.38m in the three months to May, the largest quarterly rise since 1971; 7.6 per cent of the workforce is now officially [...]
O2 in NatWest joint venture July 15, 2009 MOBILE operator O2 said yesterday it has teamed up with NatWest bank to launch two new pre-paid cash cards to customers which can be loaded online or in stores. Called O2 Money, the business aims to cash in on the growing demand for mobile banking services. The two cards, Cash Manager and Load & Go, [...]
Thornton’s sales melt in summer July 15, 2009 Chocolate retailer Thorntons yesterday posted a fall in fourth quarter sales, blaming the hot weather, but said full-year profit will be a touch ahead of market forecasts. “The board expects that profit before tax and before the anticipated pension scheme credit for the full year ended June 2009 will be marginally ahead of the current [...]
Cattles’ loans are extended July 15, 2009 EMBATTLED sub-prime lender Cattles said yesterday it extended the maturity of its £500m banking facilities until the end of the year, although it still has other crippling debts. The business said its syndicate of 22 banks, led by Royal Bank of Scotland, had agreed to give it breathing space by extending the facility, which was [...]