Burger King chief named September 9, 2010 3G CAPITAL said yesterday it plans to name Bernardo Hees chief executive of Burger King Holdings when it closes its $3.26bn (£2.11bn) purchase of the world’s second-largest hamburger chain later this year. Hees, who joined the US private equity firm as a partner in July, was most recently boss of America Latina Logistica, Latin America’s [...]
Austerity means cheaper mortgages September 9, 2010 SO the Bank of England, entirely unsurprisingly, kept its base rate unchanged yesterday, as advocated by almost all economists. I, together with a tiny number of dissidents, thought rates should go up, to send a signal to the markets that extreme measures were no longer required and that it was time to start readjusting to [...]
Race row banker resigns September 9, 2010 A CENTRAL bank board member who outraged Germany with his remarks on Muslim immigrants and Jews dramatically resigned yesterday after facing pressure from political leaders including chancellor Angela Merkel. Thilo Sarrazin, aged 65, accused Turks and Arabs of exploiting the welfare state, refusing to integrate and lowering the average intelligence. The Bundesbank said yesterday he [...]
AIA strikes deal with ICBC September 9, 2010 AIA has signed a distribution deal with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, as AIG’s Asian arm bids to seal its position as the leading foreign life assurer in the communist state. The bancassurance?deal could be announced as early as today. The move comes as AIA presses ahead with plans for a $20bn (£13bn) initial [...]
EU to wield finance powers September 9, 2010 Europe’s single market commissioner Michel Barnier warned banks and hedge funds that Brussels will use its new financial powers to police risky speculation in the City and across the Eurozone. “The EU authorities are going to look at every product. They can restrict leverage, or in exceptional circumstances even ban a product temporarily,” he told [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 9, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES TRICHET CALLS FOR TOUGHER EURO RULES Eurozone members that break the region’s rules on public finances should be excluded temporarily from Europe’s political decision-making, the president of the European Central Bank has proposed. The controversial suggestion by Jean-Claude Trichet would be part of a “quantum leap” in the governance of Europe’s 11-year old [...]
Outgoing BP boss to face MPs over spill September 9, 2010 BP’S outgoing chief executive, Tony Hayward, will be grilled by MPs next week over the UK implications of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Hayward is to appear in front of the House of Commons energy and climate change select committee next Wednesday as the accident has raised concerns globally about the dangers of drilling [...]
Private equity groups try to sniff out Foster’s dealM&A September 9, 2010 PRIVATE equity groups were circling Australian brewer Foster’s yesterday, after the firm rejected a surprise A$2.7bn (£1.6bn) offer for its wine operations from US investment group Cerberus capital. Private equity groups Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and TPG are thought to be working on offers for the ailing wine business, after Foster’s said on Wednesday it would [...]
Morgan Sindall claims the first Connaught job September 9, 2010 CONSTRUCTION group Morgan Sindall struck a deal with Connaught’s administrator KPMG to acquire the bulk of its social housing repair operations last night, according to several people close to the agreement. Morgan Sindall is set to announce the coup to the stock market today, in a move that will secure jobs for around 2,500 of [...]
Chote to lead UK spending watchdog September 9, 2010 ROBERT CHOTE, director of top think-tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), will succeed Sir Alan Budd at the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) as chairman of the independent economic forecaster established in May. Chote, who has headed up the respected think-tank for eight years and been an active critic of both the Labour and [...]