BT workers vote for a strike ballot… May 26, 2010 BT workers could take industrial action after its union delegates unanimously backed a strike ballot over pay yesterday. The firm’s “blue collar” workers, represented by the Communication Workers Union (CWU), rejected BT’s two per cent pay rise at its annual conference. Now all 55,000 CWU members will vote on whether to escalate the dispute to [...]
… as top executives take home millions in bumper bonuses and share packages May 26, 2010 TOP BT executives received bumper bonuses yesterday, pouring petrol on the fires of unrest among the firm’s rank and file. Chief executive Ian Livingston topped up his £850,000 basic salary with a bonus of £1.2m. He also qualifies for £1.2m in shares that he can collect in three year’s time. He was offered a six [...]
Lloyd’s firms launch BP legal action May 26, 2010 BP’S woes worsened yesterday when syndicates in the Lloyds of London insurance market launched legal action to stop the oil giant claiming against its Gulf of Mexico spill. The FTSE 100 oil major is trying to claim up to $700m (£487m) for cleanup costs and damage lawsuits resulting from the crude haemorrhaged by its Deepwater [...]
BP May 26, 2010 LLOYD’S of London syndicates are taking BP to court to stop it from claiming on cover held by rig operator Transocean. But the oil spill is a drop in the ocean compared to other disasters. This year is set to be a relatively quiet year for the insurance market. These syndicates are only launching legal [...]
AIG to repay taxpayers, says Robert Benmosche May 26, 2010 AMERICAN International Group is on its way to repaying government bailout money, its boss said, but a US Treasury official warned taxpayers could still face losses. AIG is operating with $132bn (£92bn) in government support after being rescued by the government in 2008 and early 2009 on fears that an uncontrolled bankruptcy would trigger a [...]
ABI NAMES L&G BOSS AS CHAIRMAN May 26, 2010 TIM Breedon, chief executive of executive of Legal & General, has been appointed the new chairman of the Association of British Insurers. The 51-year-old said it was “an honour to be asked to become ABI chairman at this vital time for the insurance industry”.
OFT launches review into bank industry May 26, 2010 THE Office of Fair Trading will launch a major investigation into barriers to entry in the retail banking sector. The move is a response to calls for competition to be injected into the sector, with the government hoping a host of new names will appear on the high street. The OFT stressed the review is [...]
SEC boosts market oversight May 26, 2010 US financial watchdogs will overhaul their regulatory power in light of the mysterious “flash crash” on the day of the UK election. The Securities and Exchange Commission will ramp up its market surveillance by tracking stock orders across all equity markets in real time. SEC Commissioner Luis Aguilar said: “It is shocking that the SEC [...]
Banks to keep swap desks May 26, 2010 THE outlook for a plan to force banks to spin off their swap-trading desks dimmed yesterday when an Obama administration official made clear it is not a core Wall Street reform goal for the White House. The plan – proposed by Democratic Senator Blanche Lincoln, who faces a reelection challenge – is one of the [...]
Lehman Bros creditors issue JPMorgan suit May 26, 2010 LEHMAN Brothers Holdings and a group of unsecured creditors yesterday sued JPMorgan Chase for more than $5bn (£3.5bn), accusing the bank of siphoning billions of dollars of critically-needed assets, and hastening its bankruptcy. In a lawsuit filed in Manhattan bankruptcy court, the plaintiffs accused JPMorgan of extracting billions of dollars of collateral just before Lehman’s [...]