Babcock in closing stage of due diligence on merger target VT March 16, 2010 DEFENCE engineer Babcock is at an advanced stage of carrying out due diligence on rival VT Group after the companies entered into friendly merger talks a fortnight ago. Babcock is understood to have identified cost savings well ahead of the £27m it estimated before VT allowed access to its projected profit and revenue figures. Analysts [...]
Merrill trader is struck off by the FSA March 16, 2010 Former Merrill Lynch banker Alexis Stenfors has been banned from trading by the FSA. His career is in tatters after the watchdog said he was not a “fit and proper person” to work in financial markets. Stenfors says he will not refer the matter to a tribunal. The inquiry centered around undisclosed losses of around [...]
Double dip recession a real possibility, say property firms March 16, 2010 Property investment managers and developers have warned that the threat of a double dip recession in the UK is real and would force banks to sell off their property portfolios. Delegates at MIPIM, Europe’s largest property fair, said the UK has survived on government aid since the recession and that a cut in spending could [...]
Greece avoids downgrade from S&P but risks remain March 16, 2010 Greece escaped the threat of an immediate downgrade by Standard & Poor’s yesterday, sending the euro to a session high and helping push US stocks up. S&P affirmed the debt-ridden country’s BBB+ rating but warned Greece was still at risk of a rating cut within the next 18-24 months if it failed to implement its [...]
General Electric expects profit March 16, 2010 General Electric expects its profit and dividend to rise in 2011, the largest US conglomerate’s chief financial officer said. The world’s largest maker of jet engines and electricity-producing turbines expects its results to improve after the first quarter of 2010, chief finance officer Keith Sherin told an investor conference yesterday. GE shares rose almost five [...]
No International Power payout March 16, 2010 British utility International Power, which ended talks about a tie-up with French peer GDF Suez SA in January, has quashed market speculation it would make a special payout to make it a less attractive takeover target. There is “no plan for a special dividend”, said chief executive Philip Cox.
Oil demand picking up March 16, 2010 Oil demand is picking up and that could mean OPEC does not need to take any further action on supply this year, the group’s biggest producer Saudi Arabia said as ministers prepared to rubber stamp existing outpaced targets. “We have been sailing very well and we will continue to sail very well,” Saudi Arabian Oil [...]
Hiscox hit by a £100m loss in Chile chaos March 16, 2010 INSURER Hiscox has estimated it will record a net loss of £100m as a result of last month’s Chilean earthquake and Xynthia wind storm. The Bermuda based company said the losses fell within its budget and that it had sufficient reinsurance cover should other similar disasters occur. Chief executive Bronek Masojada said the company felt [...]
Big EU insurers can pass critical stress testing March 16, 2010 Europe’s insurers are able to withstand even a major financial crisis, an EU watchdog said yesterday, boosting industry hopes for less onerous regulation. EU insurance watchdog CEIOPS unveiled the long-awaited results of its stress tests of how insurers would weather another financial market storm like that which followed the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, [...]
Close profits rocket 50pc March 16, 2010 British merchant bank Close Brothers saw first-half profits rocket 50 per cent, smashing analyst expectations. However, it sounded a note of caution saying the buoyant conditions had sagged recently. Chief executive Preben Prebensen said uncertainty surrounding the upcoming election has spooked markets and hit its profits. Its operating profit before tax reached £62.3m for the [...]