Glencore sees Xstrata tie-up May 3, 2010 SWISS mining and commodities trading powerhouse Glencore is working on a £55bn merger with Xstrata, the London and Geneva-listed metal extraction giant. Advisers to Glencore are understood to be drawing up plans for the privately-held company to join the public arena through a reverse takeover of Xstrata. Glencore, which already owns 34.4 per cent of [...]
Greedy Greece may have gulped all euro help May 3, 2010 CRISIS averted? For now, troubled Greece has been saved – but at what cost? The sums involved are staggering and could have been much lower if the Eurozone’s governments had appreciated the size and scale of the problem earlier and learned the lessons of history. By waiting for the 11th hour to agree a rescue [...]
Bankrupt Canwest sells off its TV operations and newspapers May 3, 2010 SHAW Communications said yesterday it reached a deal with Canwest Global Communication’s debtholders to acquire the television operations of the bankrupt Canadian media company for $2bn (£1.3bn) including assumed debt. Shaw reached an agreement with Goldman Sachs and other senior subordinated noteholders allowing it to acquire all of the shares of a restructured Canwest upon [...]
Madoff fund to get large boost May 3, 2010 BILLIONS of dollars will soon be added to the money recovered by the trustee leading the global search for assets from convicted swindler Bernard Madoff’s fraud, according to a court document filed yesterday. The document indicated the heirs and trusts of late investor and philanthropist Jeffry Picower, a longtime friend of Madoff who was found [...]
IPAD SMASHES SALES EXPECTATIONS May 3, 2010 Apple’s iPad has surpassed all expectations by shifting more than 1m units in just 28 days. The sales dwarf that of its revolutionary iPhone, which took 74 days to reach the same milestone. Apple began the second stage of a two-part roll-out of the iPad last week when it started selling the pricier, high-speed wireless [...]
China’s banks hit as reserve ratio is hiked May 3, 2010 CHINESE shares yesterday dipped on global markets after the country upped the proportion of deposits lenders must keep in reserve at the central bank, in a move to rein in inflation and mop up excess liquidity. China yesterday said it would lift lenders’ reserve requirement ratio by 50 basis points from 10 May, the third [...]
Prudential works on plans to sell off UK and US units May 3, 2010 PRUDENTIAL, the FTSE100 insurer, is believed to be firming up plans to offload its UK and US businesses should its $35.5bn (£23.3bn) swoop on Asia’s AIA go through. Although Prudential says it is committed to keeping its London listing, chief executive Tidjane Thiam has tacitly indicated to analysts that parts of the company may be [...]
Lending standards remain tight for US banks: survey May 3, 2010 MOST US banks kept lending standards unchanged while loan demand weakened in the first quarter, a US Federal Reserve survey showed yesterday, pointing to lingering weakness in credit markets. The Fed’s quarterly Senior Loan Officer Survey found banks with assets above $20bn (£13.1bn) easing some lending policies. With regard to lending to households, large banks [...]
Crédit Agricole and Citic plan Asian venture May 3, 2010 FRANCE’s Crédit Agricole and China’s Citic Securities have entered talks to create a broker and investment bank to chase growing opportunities in China and the Asia-Pacific region. The companies plan to explore combining Citic Securities with Crédit Agricole’s CLSA Asia brokerage, Cheuvreux European brokerage, financial advisory franchise in Asia, Europe and the United States and [...]
FirstGroup starts sale of Railfreight May 3, 2010 FIRSTGROUP, the FTSE100 transport behemoth, has put its rail freight haulage business up for sale in an attempt to reduce its £2.3bn debt pile. Potential buyers for GB Railfreight are understood to include Groupe Eurotunnel, the operator of the Channel Tunnel, British outfit Freightliner and French railway network SNCF. FirstGroup has grown steadily through a [...]