China will not be forced on yuan April 13, 2010 China will chart its own course in reforming the yuan, President Hu Jintao told President Barack Obama yesterday, reinforcing the view that Beijing is likely to tip-toe, not leap, toward appreciation. The two heads of state, meeting for the first time since Sino-US tensions over the yuan threatened to escalate into a serious trade dispute, [...]
UniCredit appoints chair for Italy April 13, 2010 UniCredit has decided to appoint a chairman for Italy as the bank folds all its domestic units into one. Italy’s second-biggest bank by retail branches said in a statement that Gabriele Piccini, head of the Italy retail network, would be country head from 1 November in the revamped group which sees seven separate Italian banking [...]
Lubrizol in talks to buy Cognis April 13, 2010 US speciality chemicals group Lubrizol has approached Cognis about a potential takeover which could value its German rival at about €3bn (£2.7bn). Other interested bidders for Cognis include BASF, the world’s largest chemicals group. Goldman Sachs and Permira, the private equity group, the owners of Cognis, have not started a formal sales process. Lubrizol manufactures [...]
Titanic fine for Northern Rock bosses April 13, 2010 NORTHERN Rock’s former deputy chief executive has been fined an astonishing £504,000 for misreporting mortgage arrears at the stricken bank. David Baker was also banned from “performing any function in relation to any regulated activity”, effectively ending any chance of the 56-year-old returning from retirement. Northern Rock refused to comment on whether he will still [...]
Company pensions back in the black April 13, 2010 PRIVATE sector final salary pension schemes have moved into the black for the first time in almost two years on the back of rising equity markets and changing liability calculations. The 7,400 pension schemes run by UK companies had a combined surplus of £300m at the end of last month, up from a hole of [...]
JP Morgan to act for Jupiter April 13, 2010 INVESTMENT bank JP Morgan has been chosen to act for the fund management group Jupiter in its forthcoming flotation, City A.M. has been told. Jupiter has temporarily delayed its float plans in the wake of the crisis at Gartmore where one of its star managers has been suspended. But a flotation of the group, headed [...]
Intel sees surge in tech spending April 13, 2010 INTEL last night posted stronger-than-expected first quarter results and predicted further strong figures for the current quarter. Boosting expectations of a recovery in the tech sector after businesses and consumers slashed spending in 2009, the chipmaker said gross profit margin for the quarter was 63 per cent. Net income was $2.4bn (£1.6bn), or 43 cents [...]
Nomura wins employment tribunal discrimination battle April 13, 2010 NOMURA has won an employment tribunal battle launched against it by two former employees who claimed they were dismissed unfairly and alleged they suffered from sexual and racial abuse while at the bank. The Japanese bank was first hauled into the London Central employment tribunal in November last year, after former employees Maureen Murphy and [...]
Twitter runs first site ads April 13, 2010 TWITTER ran the first advert on its $1bn valued site yesterday, heralding the next phase in its business model. The site will show ads from companies including Starbucks, Virgin America, Sony Pictures and Red Bull. The advertising programme branded “Promoted Tweets” will be rolled out to up to ten per cent of users this week. [...]
Hoodless deal in doubt as Astaire reveals debt hole April 13, 2010 A SHADOW has been cast over fast-growing stockbroker Astaire’s latest acquisition, after the firm yesterday revealed it had discovered a yawning hole in the finances of its retail subsidiary Rowan Dartington. Astaire, which was renamed last year after Evolve Capital’s ambitious chief Edward Vandyk took over Blue Oar Securities, said it had become aware of [...]