Big Four set to face the Lords October 17, 2010 THE HEADS of the Big Four auditors are likely to face an influential House of Lords committee next month, in a probe into the lack of competition in the audit market and the role the firms played in the financial crisis. Watchdogs including the Financial Services Council (FRC) have submitted papers to the Lords’ Economic [...]
Chi-X courts possible bidders with eye on £300m price tag October 17, 2010 EQUITY trading platform Chi-X is courting interest from a number of potential bidders, as speculation around a takeover of the upstart bourse intensifies in the wake of an approach in August. Chi-X is thought to be eyeing a sale worth up to £300m after sending out information to interested parties, though sources close to the [...]
Osborne gets boost from 35 top business leaders over spending cuts October 17, 2010 DOZENS of business leaders have backed George Osborne’s swingeing spending cuts, saying hesitation could cost £100bn in extra debt, more taxes and an increase in the rate of interest. A total of 35 captains of industry, including BT chief executive Ian Livingston and Asda chairman Andy Bond, penned a letter to the Daily Telegraph urging [...]
GMG’s review could see sale of Autotrader October 17, 2010 THE owner of the Guardian newspaper and a private equity group are considering selling the business behind car buyers’ magazine Auto Trader for £2bn, it emerged yesterday. Guardian Media Group (GMG) and Apax Partners are understood to have begun work on a strategic review that could lead to the disposal or flotation of Trader Media [...]
Satellite broadcaster BSkyB nears key 10m subscriptions October 17, 2010 SATELLITE broadcaster BSkyB is tipped to say it is edging closer to its target of 10m subscribers when it reports first quarter trading on Friday. Broker Numis Securities expects the group to reveal that it picked up 53,000 subscribers in the three months to September, leaving it with more than 9.9m customers. Numis also forecasts [...]
Rightmove: October jump saves London from a year-on-year fall October 17, 2010 AN eleventh-hour price jump in the London housing market saved it from a year-on-year fall, according to the latest Rightmove House Price Index. Asking prices spiked five per cent in October compared to the previous month – from £399,019 to £418,778 – as sellers aim to capitalise on the traditionally lively run-in to Christmas. This [...]
Hands set for day in court over EMI deal October 17, 2010 AN explosive court case brought by Guy Hands, founder of buyout house Terra Firma, against Citigroup over indebted record label EMI opens in Manhattan today. Hands is suing Citigroup for up to £7bn in damages to cover equity lost since it bought EMI for £4.2bn in 2007, alleging that David Wormsley, a senior Citigroup banker [...]
US banks set to suffer from trading slump October 17, 2010 ANALYSTS have slashed their forecasts ahead of the slew of US banks reporting third quarter earnings this week, as concerns over a steep fall in trading activity and the housing foreclosure ruckus in the States weighed on expectations. Wall Street bank shares had rallied last week after JP Morgan topped analysts’ consensus earnings forecasts of [...]
ECB should stay silent about monetary policy October 17, 2010 JEAN Claude Trichet and his colleagues at the ECB are playing a dangerous game. Despite the Eurozone’s recovery still looking fragile, the central bank’s key playmakers seem determined to talk about pushing policy back onto a more “normal” footing. Just last week, the Bundesbank’s Axel Weber, in a speech given in New York, indicated his [...]
BAE pushed to cut contract prices October 17, 2010 Defence contractor BAE Systems is set to be forced to slash the price of its contracted services with the government in the future, as part of the Ministry of Defence’s drive to cut costs. Ministers are this week poised to announce a strategic defence review which will aim to cut the department’s annual budget by [...]