Investors fear a greek tragedy April 8, 2010 MARKETS cranked up the pressure on Greece for the third day in a row yesterday in a perilous game of brinksmanship with its financial backers, the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund. Betting on a default from the struggling country, investors forced the interest charge on Athens’ 10-year bonds beyond 7.5 per cent at one [...]
Brown: I’ll crack down on bonuses April 8, 2010 GORDON Brown put bankers’ bonuses at the heart of the general election campaign last night, as he pledged to give the FSA powers to “quash” individual pay contracts. The Prime Minister launched a broadside against “reckless risk taking” and said a Labour government would force banks to take more responsibility. He added: “In our manifesto, [...]
TNT considers mail unit IPO April 8, 2010 DUTCH post and logistics company TNT is considering a listing or partnerships for its mail unit, as investors grow concerned over poor performance. Increased competition due to European mail liberalisation and a rise in electronic communications have seen TNT struggle with volumes and costs at its mail unit. TNT’s management has already held strategy talks [...]
No bailout for Greek debt investors April 8, 2010 INVESTORS should have seen the sub-prime crisis coming. Yes, I know, it’s easy to say that with the benefit of hindsight, though a fair few economists and investors actually did get it right, not least the doctor turned hedge fund manager Michael Burry, who is brilliantly depicted in Michel Lewis’ new book, The Big Short. [...]
Apple launches mobile ads April 8, 2010 APPLE chief executive Steve Jobs yesterday began a war with Google after he laid out plans to launch a phone operating system with a new advertising platform to compete with its rival. Jobs, speaking at the company’s California headquarters, said the iPhone 4.0 operating system available later this year – also available on iPads this [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 8, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES HOLLYWOOD TOP GUNS TAKE SHOT AT REVIVING DEBT-RIDDEN MGM Tony and Sir Ridley Scott have emerged as surprise contenders to steer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer back to solvency after submitting a restructuring plan to the Hollywood studio’s lenders. The brothers, who between them are responsible for Alien, Top Gun and Gladiator, have expressed interest in running [...]
BP to take $500m Mexican hit April 8, 2010 BP will face costs of about $500m (£327m) in lost production and direct construction costs following the group’s decision to shut down 50 per cent of the wells feeding its Thunder Horse oil and gas platform. The group has had to postpone production at the platform, after problems such as inferior welding on subsea pipelines [...]
Rio workers to appeal China trial April 8, 2010 Rio Tinto’s China iron ore head Stern Hu, an Australian citizen, has decided not to appeal his 10-year sentence for accepting bribes and stealing commercial secrets, his lawyer said yesterday. However, his three Chinese colleagues will challenge the 29 March verdict, which put them behind bars for between seven and 14 years for accepting bribes. [...]
BlueCrest to move its HQ to Guernsey April 8, 2010 BLUECREST Capital Management, which recently said it would open an office in Geneva, is continuing to move out of the UK by re-locating its headquarters to Guernsey in the Channel Islands. Michael Platt, the founder of the blue chip hedge fund, told investors in a letter that regulation was a factor in his decision to [...]
Former Citigroup directors rueful over their role in crisis April 8, 2010 Charles Prince and Robert Rubin, often blamed for bringing down Citigroup, expressed deep regrets for Wall Street’s meltdown in 2008 but did not take responsibility for the firm’s massive losses and the eventual taxpayer bailout at a hearing yesterday. “I can only say that I am deeply sorry that our management — starting with me [...]