Ocado reels as rival IPO fails July 14, 2010 OIL and gas group Fairfield Energy last night pulled its upcoming stock market flotation in a move that further undermines the chances of online grocer Ocado floating at a sky-high valuation of £1bn. Fairfield was hoping to raise £330m as part of its flotation but on Tuesday it became clear that the group’s advisers were [...]
LSE boss slams regulation July 14, 2010 LONDON Stock Exchange chief executive Xavier Rolet yesterday warned that uncertainties over the regulatory environment are crippling the City. “It is almost inhumane, the level of regulatory uncertainty financial services businesses are facing today,” Rolet told City A.M., adding that getting to grips with the ever-changing regulatory landscape “goes beyond the abilities of any rational [...]
Credit Suisse PCs searched July 14, 2010 CREDIT Suisse offices throughout Germany were searched by investigators yesterday as part of a crackdown on tax evaders. A search involving 13 offices and 150 tax officials focused on unnamed employees at the Swiss bank who may have helped clients evade taxes. “The searches won’t be finished by the end of today or perhaps not [...]
Dangers of psychological groupthink July 14, 2010 THERE is something strange about human psychology – or at least, a major flaw in the way we extrapolate trends based on a very limited amount of recent historical data. This is of major importance to the way we make predictions about the economy and the performance of individual companies. Whenever something goes badly wrong [...]
DLR strike dates decided July 14, 2010 COMMUTERS travelling into the City on the Dockland Light Railway (DLR) next week could face severe disruptions as trade union RMT yesterday announced strike dates for workers on the line. From 4am next Friday morning, DLR workers will walk off the job for three 24-hour periods, including 27 July and 6 August. RMT said the [...]
Treasury to meet with bankers July 14, 2010 Britain’s biggest banks are set to clash with the government today as ministers try to force HSBC, Barclays and Santander to agree to commitments on business lending. George Osborne and Vince Cable are also expected to push for the introduction of net lending targets when they meet with the banking bosses at the Treasury this [...]
Singapore sees sharp growth July 14, 2010 Singapore’s economy grew more sharply than expected in the second quarter, in a further sign of an Asian-led economic recovery. Gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 26 per cent in the last three months compared with the fourth quarter of 2009. Compared with the same period last year, GDP rose by 19.3 per cent. The [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 14, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES FRANCIS MAUDE TACKLES CIVIL SERVICE PAY-OFFS Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, attempted to force the hand of civil service unions yesterday as he laid emergency legislation to slash their redundancy terms while offering negotiations on a new severance deal. With up to 100,000 civil service jobs likely to go during the next [...]
BP faces ban on drilling in US waters July 14, 2010 BP could be banned from offshore drilling in the US for up to seven years following a US?Congressional vote last night that agreed to preclude companies with poor safety records from offshore oil exploration permits. The proposed law does not name BP, but would apply to any company that has experienced 10 or more deaths [...]
Rambourg quits to focus on FSA probe July 14, 2010 GARTMORE’S star fund manager Guillaume Rambourg has resigned to concentrate on the Financial Services Authority’s investigation into his conduct, the company said yesterday. Rambourg only returned to the firm in April, following an internal investigation that found he breached company rules by directing trades to specific brokers instead of allowing a separate team to allocate [...]