HP trumps Dell with 3Par bid August 23, 2010 HEWLETT-PACKARD launched a $1.6bn (£1.03bn) bid for data storage company 3PAR yesterday, topping an offer by technology rival Dell. HP bid $24 a share for 3Par, about 33 per cent more than Dell planned to pay in a deal announced a week ago. At the time, Dell’s bid for 3Par, which makes storage products that [...]
UBS signs deal to be a Formula One sponsor August 23, 2010 FORMULA One signed up Swiss bank UBS as a global partner yesterday in a deal the sport will hope marks a turnaround after the exit of several other financial institutions due to the economic crisis. No financial details were given for a deal that will be presented formally at next month’s Singapore Grand Prix. However [...]
Catastrophe bond issues set for high August 23, 2010 NEW issues of insurance catastrophe bonds should rapidly rebound to pre-financial crisis highs as securities markets stabilise, insurance broker Aon Benfield said yesterday. Investors are showing sustained interest in so-called cat bonds, which enable insurance companies to transfer big risks such as for hurricane or earthquake damage to financial market investors, while their prices have [...]
Donations to political parties hit a record high August 23, 2010 A RECORD £26.3m of donations were made to political parties in the run-up to May’s general election. According to data published by the Electoral Commission between April and June the Tories received the highest number of donations, after it was paid £12.3m by supporters. Labour, which counts trade union Unite as one of its financial [...]
CITY VIEWS: WHO DO YOU THINK SHOULD BE THE NEXT LABOUR LEADER? August 23, 2010 ANTHONY ROBBINS | DEUTSCHE BANK “Since the general election, my interest in politics has waned. The next one is so far away that the outcome of the leadership contest is almost irrelevant. It will probably be David Miliband, but I’m not that bothered.” DAVID LLOYD | IN KIND DIRECT “The party needs someone younger and [...]
Fed’s Hoenig: Reform to hit smaller banks August 23, 2010 KANSAS City Federal Reserve Bank President Thomas Hoenig warned yesterday that landmark financial reforms may not end market perceptions that taxpayers will rescue the largest banks and cautioned against speculative investments in housing. Hoenig, testifying at a field hearing of the US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, said larger banks perceived as [...]
Speed of European rebound still driven by France and Germany August 23, 2010 ECONOMIC recovery in the 16-country Eurozone eased in August but employment continued to rise for the fourth consecutive month, Markit’s flash purchasing managers’ index (PMI) showed yesterday. The composite index slipped slightly to 56.1 from 56.7 in July but remained well above the 50 level that separates expansion from contraction. Manufacturers reported a faster increase [...]
BoA warns end of Bush tax cuts to cause slump August 23, 2010 THE US economy would see a two per cent annualised hit to household income, or roughly 1.3 per cent of GDP, if the Bush tax cuts were allowed to expire as scheduled at the end of this year, according to a note published by Bank of America Merrill Lynch chief North American economist Ethan Harris [...]
AIG pays back $4bn of loans from taxpayer August 23, 2010 BAILED-OUT insurer American International Group (AIG) said yesterday it paid back nearly $4bn (£3bn) in US loans in its single largest cash payment so far to reduce its debt to taxpayers. The payment reduces the size of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s credit facility by that amount to about $30bn. The outstanding principal [...]
China’s ZTE wins Hungary deal August 23, 2010 China’s ZTE Corp has won a major contract to roll out a 4G mobile network in Hungary in a coup for the Chinese telecoms industry. The deal with Telenor, valued at €200m (£163m), represents a thawing of the mistrust surrounding Chinese technology firms. As early as this month ZTE saw the Indian government block purchase [...]