Lebedev close to Independent buyout with competition request February 25, 2010 RUSSIAN oligarch Alexander Lebedev and Independent News & Media (IMN) have approached the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) over the planned sale of The Independent newspapers. In a move indicating an imminent deal, the submission invited competition-related comment on the “anticipated acquisition of The Independent and The Independent on Sunday by Lebedev Holdings Limited”. Exclusive [...]
MADOFF NET EXPANDS February 25, 2010 AN AIDE to jailed fraudster Bernard Madoff was charged with fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday. Daniel Bonventre (above), Madoff’s former director of operations, was charged with conspiracy, tax fraud, falsifying accounting records and stealing investor funds in relation to the $65bn (£41bn) Ponzi scheme.
February sees bumper sales on high street February 25, 2010 BRITISH consumers returned to the high street in their droves in the first half of February, after January’s cold snap kept them at home. The Confederation for British Industry (CBI) said that in early February retailers had seen the strongest annual growth in sales volumes since May 2007. Almost half of all firms surveyed (46 [...]
Collapse in UK business investment gathers pace February 25, 2010 BUSINESS investment slumped in the last three months of 2009 by an annual 24.1 per cent – the worst since 1967 – as firms have been forced to cut costs and improve cash flow to survive the worst post-war recession. Official figures showed that investment in the fourth quarter declined at an accelerated quarterly pace [...]
MPC may need to extend QE February 25, 2010 Further quantitative easing may be needed, the Bank of England’s David Miles said yesterday. He said: “It is entirely plausible that as economic events unfold it will become clear that an even more expansionary monetary policy will be appropriate.” Miles had voted in November for a £15bn extension but earlier this month agreed it should [...]
German jobless rate rises February 25, 2010 The number of people out of work in Germany has risen by less than expected in February, according to official figures. The Federal Labour Office said yesterfday that the number of jobless rose by 7,000 from the previous month, taking the unemployment total to 3.43m. The country’s unemployment rate rose to 8.7 per cent, from [...]
Losses at RBS are slashed to just £3.6bn February 25, 2010 Royal Bank of Scotland claimed its darkest days have passed as it posted annual losses of £3.6bn – down from £24bn in 2008. The group’s core business – which includes only the departments that will remain after the bank is forced to restructure – saw profits jump from £4.4bn in 2008 to £8.3bn last year. [...]
Investment banking is star of show February 25, 2010 IT looks like Stephen Hester deserved his £1.6m bonus after all. Yesterday, the bank delivered a stronger-than-expected set of numbers, even if the mainstream media continued to fixate on the government’s decision to rubber stamp bonus payments for staff. Analysts at Nomura think RBS could end up back in the black before this year is [...]
Just £1.3bn bonus pot … but more than 100 will get £1m February 25, 2010 More than 100 Royal Bank of Scotland bankers will receive bonuses of more than £1m. The news comes as RBS announced it will pay out just £1.3bn in bonuses this year – the lowest compensation ratio in the industry. The ratio is set at just 27 per cent, far below the 38 per cent revealed [...]
New look board behind the turnaround at RBS February 25, 2010 The Royal bank of Scotland chairman yesterday pinned the bank’s change in fortunes on the strength of its new board. Philip Hampton said the people who brought the institution to the brink of collapse have all been culled. The board, which has stemmed RBS’ losses at £3.6bn after it lost £24bn the year before, has [...]