Lottery winner takes £84.4m May 16, 2010 An unidentified person has won £84.4m on the National Lottery, the largest-ever UK jackpot. Camelot, the operator, said the prize money for Friday’s EuroMillions draw could be awarded today.
Tories braced for defeat in hedgie fight May 16, 2010 GEORGE Osborne will go to Brussels tomorrow to make the case against controversial anti-hedge fund and private equity legislation, although hopes of averting a draconian crackdown are fading fast. Osborne has privately admitted that he is resigned to failing his first major test as chancellor, after a last-ditch appeal to delay tomorrow’s crunch vote fell [...]
Pru gets the all-clear for its cash call May 16, 2010 PRUDENTIAL received clearance from the Financial Services Authority for its mammoth rights issue over the weekend and could launch the deal as early as this morning. The prospectus for the $21bn (£14bn) cash call, which was delayed after the regulator raised fears over Prudential’s capital position, is likely to price the rights at the lower end [...]
Terra Firma holds on to EMI May 16, 2010 Terra Firma has confirmed it secured enough additional finding to keep record lable EMI out of the clutches of its debtor Citigroup. The struggling record label looked set to be taken over by the bank after it struggled to keep up payments on its £2.6bn debt pile. Investors stumped up an additional £105m. EMI requires [...]
Libor rises on EU debt worries May 16, 2010 Fears that European banks could be exposed because of Eurozone debts has increased banking lending fees. The London inter-bank offer rate, known as the Libor, has risen to its highest level since August, even though central banks have not tightened monetary policy. Economists blame the recent rise on fears the agreed EU bailout will not [...]
London rights issues fall to zero May 16, 2010 No company listed on the London Stock Exchange held a rights issue in the first quarter, according to research by Trowers & Hamlins. The three months to March was the first quarter without a cash call since the credit crunch bit in the third quarter of 2007, indicating the urgent need for funds to repair [...]
Lower renminbi “would hurt US” May 16, 2010 The chief economist for the World Bank has said that if China were to revalue its currency it would actually hurt rather than help the US economy. Speaking on China’s role in the world economy, Justin Yifu Lin said critics who claim an intentionally undervalued Chinese currency is a hampering US growth are wrong. Lin said [...]
German call for fiscal law May 16, 2010 GERMANY is keen for other Eurozone countries to adopt a version of Berlin’s balanced budget law after economists voiced concern over Greece’s ability to repay its huge debt. Germany’s fiscal constraints – known as Schuldenbremse – will prohibit the federal government from running a deficit of more than 0.35 per cent of the gross domestic [...]
Europe should have allowed Greece to default May 16, 2010 THE vested interests have won the battle against the taxpayers in the Greek debt crisis. The risks of Greek profligacy are now spread around EU citizens. They will either bear the costs of default directly or, if the Eurozone inflates its way out of the problem, through the imposition of an inflation tax on holders [...]
BP not helped by Hayward’s silly slip-ups May 16, 2010 SOMEWHAT excruciatingly, BP boss Tony Hayward decided to downplay the volume of oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend. His tactic has not been universally applauded as the oil giant struggles to maintain a clean reputation. Hayward argued that the “amount of volume of oil leaking into the Gulf, is tiny in [...]