Santander seeks US expansion May 18, 2010 Santander will redouble its efforts to expand its US operations , holding talks with regional lender M&T. However, talks are said to have reached an impasse over the joint venture that would command assets of $150bn (£105bn) and consist of more than 1,500 branches.
Osborne loses fight against hedgie rules May 18, 2010 EUROPEAN Union governments yesterday dismissed British objections to a draconian crackdown on hedge funds and private equity houses, and threw their weight behind tough new regulations. The move comes as a major blow for George Osborne, who opposes the plans but had already resigned himself to defeat in the face of overwhelming support from other [...]
Tories in bid to limit CGT law May 18, 2010 DOZENS of senior Tories are trying to convince George Osborne to water down plans that could see capital gains tax (CGT) jump to 40 per cent. City A.M. understands that the chancellor is considering an alternative set of proposals masterminded by veteran right-winger John Redwood. Hiking CGT so it is taxed at a similar rate [...]
Arch-bear Paulson buys up shares in US housing May 18, 2010 HEDGE fund managers increased their stakes in financial stocks in the first quarter, showing confidence the US economy is back on a sustainable growth path. Even hedge fund manager John Paulson, who famously bet three years ago that US housing prices would slide, put his toe back into the homebuilder market. He bought five million [...]
DoJ to launch BP spill probe May 18, 2010 THE US Department of Justice (DoJ) has been asked to launch a full-blown investigation into BP’s involvement in the Gulf of Mexico disaster as the oil giant faces a $625m (£434m) bill for the clean up. US attorney general Eric Holder is understood to have launched the investigation on the back of demands made by [...]
Yell shares plummet after top execs announce departure May 18, 2010 SHARES in embattled Yell tumbled by almost a fifth yesterday as news of the imminent departure of two of its top men gave investors the jitters. The chief executive and chief financial officer will quit the struggling yellow-pages publisher after preventing a debt crisis from escalating into insolvency. Chief executive John Condron, who will leave [...]
Head of Moody’s sovereign debt rating service to leave the firm May 18, 2010 MOODY’S Investors Service yesterday said the head of its sovereign rating group is leaving the firm, but a spokesman said the decision was not related to market events or recent criticisms of rating agencies. The decision by Pierre Cailleteau, head of the sovereign rating group, to leave was his own, the spokesman said. Cailleteau’s departure [...]
Smartphones help Vodafone double profits May 18, 2010 VODAFONE yesterday said a surge in demand for smartphones helped it to more than double its full year profit. This was despite growing despair over its key Indian unit, which was forced to take a £2.3bn impairment charge thanks to fierce competition and rapidly escalating spectrum costs. Vodafone’s overall profit soared from £4.2bn to £8.7bn. [...]
Vodafone May 18, 2010 VODAFONE is on the verge of staging a recovery. In Europe, things are finally improving, with service revenue in the UK turning positive, increasing by 1.4 per cent since the firm finally started selling Apple’s iPhone (what a shame it took so long). If the iPad is a hit in the UK, and early signs [...]
US trials curbs to stop Dow plunge repeat May 18, 2010 NEW rules to curb stock trading when markets plunge uncontrollably will go into effect in June for the largest stocks. The plan has been hastily crafted by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the major US exchanges in response to the unexplained “flash crash” on 6 May that drove the Dow Jones industrial average down [...]