Goldman hit with £17.5m fine from FSA September 9, 2010 GOLDMAN SACHS has been slapped with a £17.5m fine for failing to tell the City regulator about a US investigation into Fabrice Tourre, the trader at the heart of a derivatives scandal. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) criticised the Wall Street titan for a breakdown in internal communication that meant Goldman’s American branch did not [...]
US pastor cancels Koran-burning plan September 9, 2010 A CHRISTIAN pastor yesterday cancelled a plan to burn copies of the Koran at his obscure Florida church, which had drawn international condemnation and a warning from President Barack Obama that it could provoke al Qaeda suicide bombings. Defense secretary Robert Gates called Terry Jones, an obscure minister who heads the tiny Dove World Outreach [...]
3i to sell Hyva in €500m deal September 9, 2010 PRIVATE equity firm 3i is preparing to sell hydraulic pump maker Hyva for up to nine times its original investment. The company has appointed Credit Suisse to run the auction for Dutch firm Hyva which is valued at around €500m (£411.3m). 3i bought Hyva for just €125m six years ago, investing €30.7m of equity and [...]
Datacash sees its profits surge September 9, 2010 PAYMENT service provider DataCash, which is to be bought by the world’s second-largest credit card network MasterCard, posted a 9.6 per cent rise in first-half adjusted pre-tax profit on strong performance across its segments. For January to June, DataCash posted an adjusted pre-tax profit of £8.3m, up from £7.5m a year ago. Revenue rose 6.3 [...]
Montgomery quits Mecom September 9, 2010 DAVID Montgomery, the media entrepreneur and former head of Mirror Group Newspapers, yesterday announced his intention to retire from Mecom, the group he founded to exploit the integration of a number of European newspaper titles. Montgomery’s decision to retire in January follows pressure from a number of the company’s leading shareholders who wanted him to [...]
Vodafone may sell minority assets after investor pressure September 9, 2010 VODAFONE, the world’s largest mobile operator by revenue, is to simplify its structure following a drive to overhaul its portfolio after investor complaints. The company had said in July it would reconsider its strategy and look to “maximise shareholder value”, with analysts expecting it to seek to sell certain minority-owned assets. Vodafone, which this week [...]
Mecom September 9, 2010 THERE won’t be too many tears shed for David Montgomery, who yesterday agreed to retire from Mecom after shareholders representing more than 50 per cent of the stock said they wanted him out. As chief executive of the Mirror Group Montgomery made enemies with his legendary cost cutting and a dour manner. At Mecom Montgomery [...]
Thames River bosses share £26m payout September 9, 2010 THAMES RIVER CAPITAL, the fund firm recently bought by rival F&C, has shared £25.9m between the partners of its main subsidiary, despite a fall in profits and big outflows from its hedge funds. The payout to the 25 members of Thames River Capital, including chief executive Charlie Porter, chief operating officer Jeremy Charles and commercial [...]
APPLE RELAXES APP RULES September 9, 2010 APPLE, led by chief executive Steve Jobs, said it will ease restrictions for building iPhone and iPad applications, a move that should allow for the use of third-party tools such as Adobe Systems’ Flash software, and could ease the tension between the two companies. The US computer giant had been criticised by developers for what [...]
Takeover Panel prepares Code review response September 9, 2010 A PRIVATE put-up-or-shut-up deadline is the most likely significant proposal to come out of the consultation on proposed changes to the Takeover Code, according to M&A experts. The Takeover Panel’s response to the consultation – sparked by controversy over Kraft’s takeover of Cadbury earlier this year – is due in the next couple of weeks, [...]