GE closes in on UK oil firm with top bid October 3, 2010 GENERAL ELECTRIC (GE) is plotting an £800m-plus takeover of British oil services group Wellstream, it emerged over the weekend. The US based conglomerate is thought to have been the first bidder for Wellstream, which makes specialist pipes used in offshore drilling. Late last month, Wellstream confirmed that it had received several bid approaches but would [...]
Banking bosses call on the City to work together to restore industry reputation October 3, 2010 LEADERS of the UK banking industry are this morning set to gather at the Mansion House for a summit to discuss ways to help the City rebuild public trust in the industry following the excesses and risk-taking of the pre-crisis years. Lord Mayor Nick Anstee will be joined at the event by banking scions such [...]
Chinese head backs a stable euro currency October 3, 2010 CHINA pledged yesterday to support a stable euro and not reduce its holdings of European government bonds in an effort to deflect criticism of its foreign exchange policy ahead of an EU-China summit this week. China, at loggerheads with the US over the yuan and likely to face similar complaints during his tour of European [...]
Irish government targets €4bn cuts October 3, 2010 IRELAND’S government is understood to be targeting target savings of €4bn (£3.5bn) in the 2011 budget as it seeks to get its fiscal crisis under control. Finance minister Brian Lenihan said this week he would need to go above an initial target of €3bn in savings from next year’s budget and would unveil a four-year [...]
Germany’s Hypo Real Estate puts €173bn of assets into a bad bank October 3, 2010 GERMANY’S Hypo Real Estate completed its transfer of non-strategic and risky assets to a “bad bank” as the nationalised lender restructures in the wake of the financial crisis. Hypo Real Estate (HRE) transferred loans and securities worth a nominal €173bn (£150.8bn) to a work-out institution called FMS Wertmanagement, HRE said in a statement yesterday, adding [...]
Banks ready to lend for big property buys October 3, 2010 MORE banks were willing to help fund large UK real estate purchases in the last six months than in the previous year, though many commercial property deals are being done without the need for debt, according to research out today. Twelve banks have lent at least £100m each in the period, in typical loan sizes [...]
Foyles to open a shop in One New Change October 3, 2010 BOOKSELLER Foyles is to open its first branch in the City after signing for space in the One New Change shopping centre near St Paul’s Cathedral. The book shop’s fifth branch in London will open on 28 October, the same day as the retail centre is set to launch. Land Securities, developer of the mall [...]
Big banks top High Court appearances October 3, 2010 THE UK’S largest four banks were repeatedly in court last year as the number of High Court cases involving FTSE 100 companies jumped by 16 per cent. Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and HSBC collectively made up 43 per cent of all High Court appearances by the UK’s largest companies, [...]
Taylor Wessing bolsters financial disputes group with BLG poach October 3, 2010 CITY law firm Taylor Wessing has bolstered its financial disputes practice after poaching Barlow Lyde & Gilbert’s (BLG) head of financial services. Tim Strong, who has led BLG’s financial services practice since October last year, will join Taylor Wessing within the coming months after more than a decade with the insurance-based firm. His departure from [...]
Report mulls impact of BHP bid for Potash October 3, 2010 AN INDEPENDENT report on the impact of a takeover of Canada’s PotashCorp will today reignite the country’s debate over the implications of such a move, as expectations of a Chinese-led counterbid to BHP Billiton’s $39bn (£24.7bn) offer begin to dwindle. The report by the Conference Board of Canada will make no recommendations, though it will [...]