A vintage performer relives a year when he made £7m in just one day October 26, 2010 AS THE wine is poured, Greg Dyke winces slightly: “just a little for me”. That’s nothing to do with the wine, which is one of the world’s best – a 1991 Penfolds Grange – but Dyke, whose stint as Director-General of the BBC ended in controversy in 2004 when he resigned on the publication of [...]
UK economy grows by better than expected 0.8pc October 26, 2010 The economy grew by just 0.8 per cent in the three months to the end of September, official figures have shown. Most analysts had predicted that it would have expanded by an even lower 0.4 per cent, in the third quarter. Construction grew by four per cent while manufacturing was up by one per cent. [...]
Brit Insurance accepts £888m offer from Apollo and CVC October 26, 2010 Brit Insurance has accepted a formal offer from buyout firms Apollo Management and CVC Capital Partners after recommending an approach which values Brit at up to £888m. Lloyd’s of London insurers, which offer cover against large-scale risks such as natural disasters, have emerged as potential takeover targets because cyclically low insurance prices have weighed heavily [...]
KPMG faces probe into BAE audits October 26, 2010 The accounting regulator said it will investigate consultancy firm KPMG over its audits of defence firm BAE Systems, which was fined earlier this year for questionable payments to secure contracts. Audits covering the ten years between 1997 and 2007 will be investigated, as well as “commission payments paid by BAE,” Britain’s Accountancy and Actuarial Discipline [...]
ArcelorMittal profit jumps by 48 per cent October 26, 2010 ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steel company, has said profits jumped 48 per cent in the three months to the end of September compared with the same period a year earlier. Third-quarter net profit was $1.35bn (£858bn), up from $910m a year earlier. Sales increased by 30 per cent against a year ago, to $21.04bn. However, [...]
Dudley: Fed has no “magic wand” October 26, 2010 The US Federal Reserve cannot “wave a magic wand” to fix the economy overnight, but it can provide “essential” support, a top Fed policymaker. Indeed, support will likely be warranted unless economic conditions improve, William Dudley, president of the New York Fed and a permanent voter on the Fed’s policy-setting panel, said in a speech [...]
Foster’s courts new bids for wine business October 26, 2010 Foster’s, Australia’s largest brewer, stands ready to consider any further offers for its $3bn (£1.9bn) wine business, Chairman David Crawford told Foster’s annual general meeting on Tuesday. Crawford reiterated that an earlier approach from a private equity firm reportedly Cerberus – worth up to $2.5bn was “totally inadequate”.
UBS stops bleeding client money October 26, 2010 Switzerland’s biggest bank UBS has stopped bleeding client money for the first time since early 2008, meeting a key turnaround goal earlier than anticipated, though investment banking reported a third-quarter loss. Third-quarter net profit at UBS was 1.664bn Swiss francs (£1.09 bn), the world’s second-largest wealth manager said, beating a forecast of 1.225bn francs in [...]
UK raids Swiss bank accounts October 25, 2010 THE UK and Switzerland have struck a historic deal, which will see over 15,000 Britons with Swiss bank accounts pay billions extra in tax. Under the landmark agreement, which was thrashed out yesterday afternoon, the Swiss government will impose a so-called withholding tax on the interest earned by all British depositors. It will hand over [...]
Google and Carphone in mobile deal October 25, 2010 THE SECOND Google-branded mobile phone will hit the UK in time for Christmas through an exclusive deal with Carphone Warehouse, City A.M. has learned. Its predecessor, the Nexus One, is the flagship device for the search giant, which is desperately trying to wrest market share from Apple’s iPhone. The deal with Carphone represents a major [...]