Obama turning US into a bureaucracy July 21, 2010 LET us hope Barack Obama actually read the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Bill he signed into law last night. Astonishingly, it is 2,319 pages long and instructs government agencies to create new rules in 243 separate areas, guaranteeing many thousands more pages of guidance. That is as excessive as it sounds and confirms yet again that [...]
United Biscuits on the block July 21, 2010 UNITED Biscuits, the snack food firm whose products include Jaffa Cakes and Hula Hoops, is up for sale. Private equity firms Blackstone and PAI Partners, who bought the company for £1.6bn in 2006, are looking for offers of £2bn and above. Banks including Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, are said to be competing for the [...]
Judge seals Goldman’s SEC deal July 21, 2010 Manhattan district judge Barbara Jones yesterday gave the thumbs-up to the $550m (£362m) compensation arrangement between?Goldman?Sachs and the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Goldman Sachs was fined as punishment for allegedly deceiving investors during the structuring of Abacus, a sub-prime mortgage-backed collateralised debt obligation. Abacus was designed with input from hedge fund investor John Paulson, [...]
Facebook records 500m users July 21, 2010 Social networking website Facebook has crossed the landmark figure of 500m users. Since its launch in 2004, Facebook has become the largest and fastest-growing online tool, and with some of the most dedicated followers. Facebook says half its users log onto the site for an average of 34 minutes every day. Around 150m users access [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 21, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES FIAT CONFIDENT OF BANK FINANCING Fiat’s ambitions to marry off its auto division with Chrysler of the US took a step forward yesterday, as it said banks were ready to provide €4bn ($5.1bn) in loans to help finance the demerger of its non-automotive operations next January. The Italian group also reported better-than-expected second [...]
BP boss to say spill liabilities exceed $20bn July 21, 2010 embattled BP chief executive Tony Hayward is expected to tell shareholders that liabilities connected to the Gulf of Mexico spill have passed $20bn (£13.2bn) when he outlines a new business strategy alongside the oil major’s second quarter results next Tuesday. Hayward, who has recently been absent from the public eye, will tell shareholders that costs [...]
Business lashes out as Obama signs finance reforms into law July 21, 2010 AMERICAN business groups rounded on President Barack Obama as he signed the country’s historic finance reform bill into law last night. Sealing the most comprehensive overhaul of banking regulation since the 1930s, Obama acknowledged the importance of the financial industry. But he declared: “Because of this law, the American people will never again be asked [...]
Santander revives £3bn flotation plan for UK arm to fund growth July 21, 2010 SPANISH bank Santander is re-examining plans to list its UK operations to raise cash for the purchase of assets including 318 Royal Bank of Scotland branches, it is understood. Depending on economic conditions, the group could float 20 per cent of the division comprising Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and parts of Bradford & Bingley in [...]
Morgan Stanley continues down the road to recovery July 21, 2010 WALL Street lapped up a solid set of second-quarter results from Morgan Stanley yesterday, buoying market sentiment after a disappointing performance over the same period from some of the bank’s peers, notably Goldman Sachs. Morgan Stanley beat analyst expectations with post-tax profit of $1.4bn (£921m) for the three months to June, swinging back into the [...]
Reckitt agrees £2.5bn bid for Durex maker July 21, 2010 CONSUMER goods group Reckitt Benckiser yesterday agreed to buy Durex condoms and Scholl sandals maker SSL International for £2.5bn in cash to increase its presence in the health and personal care markets. The Anglo-Dutch maker of Nurofen painkillers, Strepsils and Lemsip cold remedies, said SSL stockholders would receive 1,171p a share. Regulators and investors are [...]