Tougher FSA doles out £4.2m fines for transaction reporting breaches April 8, 2010 THREE firms were yesterday rapped with £4.2m of fines from the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for breaching transaction reporting procedures, in another sign of the regulator’s ongoing crackdown on the City. Credit Suisse was ordered to cough up £1.75m, while trading firm Getco Europe will pay a £1.4m fine and agency broker Instinet Europe £1.05m. [...]
BROKEN DOWN April 8, 2010 AA patrol workers have called a two-day strike from 2 May – the first in its 105-year history. The dispute centers around new pension proposals. AA management say a strike will be counter-productive and can still be averted. Eighty-seven per cent of AA employees turned out to vote and 57 per cent voted in favour [...]
Misys posts an increase in revenues April 8, 2010 BRITISH IT company Misys yesterday posted a seven per cent rise in third quarter revenue and an 18 per cent growth in operating profit, on improved sales to the healthcare and financial services sectors. The company, which provides software to banks, brokers and doctors, posted revenue of £192m, against £179m for the same period last [...]
Jones Day is top M&A adviser April 8, 2010 Jones Day, Linklaters, DLA Piper, Allen & Overy (A&O) and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have been named as the top five law firms to advise on the most M&A deals during the first quarter of the year, according to Mergermarket data. Jones Day advised on 50 deals during the period, while Linklaters and DLA each advised [...]
Liquidation numbers rise April 8, 2010 A growing number of UK companies are choosing to cease trading before being forced into insolvency, leading to the highest number of liquidations since 1992. In 2008-2009, 23,500 companies went into liquidation. The number is expected to rise by nine per cent to over 25,600 for 2009-2010. This is the highest figure since 1991-1992 when [...]
World bank increases lending April 8, 2010 World Bank lending to developing countries to help them recover from the economic downturn reached $100bn (£65bn) yesterday. The level of support is at an all-time high for the global development bank and includes safety nets for the poor, infrastructure funding to create jobs and build a foundation for recovery, agriculture to support small farmers, [...]
Toyota executive claims he warned of accelerator defect April 8, 2010 A senior Toyota executive in the US warned in a January email that the automaker needed to “come clean” on a safety defect that caused accelerator pedals to become stuck open. The 16 January email from Irv Miller, then Toyota’s top US spokesman, was sent five days before the automaker launched a recall for about [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 8, 2010 Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Nick Booth has joined the wealth management firm as a business development director within the Merrill Lynch Portfolio Managers division. Booth, who will be based in Jersey, will focus on ultra high net worth clients and trust companies in the Channel Islands, working closely with the wealth structuring and advisory teams. [...]
BAILOUT CHIEFS FACE HOLLYWOOD PARADE April 8, 2010 HERE’S betting that the key players in the downfall and rescue of the US banking system never believed they’d have it so good. After countless sleepless nights and stress-soaked days, it’s probably fair to say that policymakers and bank bosses weren’t looking their best when they emerged, battered and bruised, on the other side of [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS April 8, 2010 SALAMANDER ENERGY Oriel Securities has maintained a “buy” rating on Salamander Energy after calling it one of the most active drillers in its peer group this year. Despite the announcement that Salamander was to close its Phu Kheng-1 exploration well in Thailand, Oriel says the move is broadly immaterial as it will be followed by [...]