BA and Unite in new talks January 7, 2010 BRITISH Airways will hold talks with union leaders representing cabin crew this week, in a bid to avoid potentially crippling industrial action. Unite is already balloting its members for a second strike after a planned 12-day action over the Christmas period was ruled illegal by a High Court judge. Discussions will revolve around planned changes [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 7, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES INEOS PUTS IPO ON BACK BURNER Ineos, the world’s third-largest chemicals producer, has put on ice exploratory work for an initial public offering, according to people close to the situation. A listing, which would have been among the largest by a UK company, was one of a range of options that had been [...]
China to release Rio Four January 7, 2010 China is expected to complete its investigation into four Rio Tinto staff accused of spying next week. Lawyers acting on behalf of the Rio staff said that their five-month detention would end on 11 January. The arrests have caused tensions between Australia and China as one of the people being held is Australian. The arrests [...]
BIS calls summit on risk fears January 7, 2010 The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) has asked top central bankers and banking executives to attend a meeting in Basel amid concerns that financiers are returning to the “excessive risk taking” that helped cause the financial crisis. The BIS said it had received reports that “financial firms are returning to the agressive behaviour that prevailed [...]
MPs blast ministers over deficit cut plan January 7, 2010 THE government yesterday faced attacks over the lack of detail in its plans to cut Britain’s ballooning budget deficit. MPs on the influential Treasury Select Committee said ministers had failed to spell out in December’s Pre-Budget Report where the axe would fall in future departmental budgets. Labour has pledged to halve the deficit in the [...]
Goldman set to sell out as SMFG taps markets for £6bn January 7, 2010 GOLDMAN SACHS agreed yesterday to convert 100 billion yen worth of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) preferred shares into common stock, as part of the Japanese bank’s preparation for tougher capital requirements. The agreement, which comes as part of Japan’s third largest bank’s plans to raise up to 888.9bn (£6bn) yen through a public offering [...]
Pearl’s creditors set to reject deal on suspended payments January 7, 2010 PEARL Group’s bondholders plan to reject a deal that the insurer hoped would end a bitter dispute over suspended interest repayments. The firm, founded by pizza entrepreneur Hugh Osmond, suspended interest payments on £500m of its bonds last year, sparking outrage from bondholders. Pearl has tabled a deal offering to buy back £100m of the [...]
Top UK banker at Morgan Stanley quits January 7, 2010 ONE of Morgan Stanley’s top London bankers has quit the firm just days after new chief executive James Gorman took over at the US bank. London-based John Hyman, co-head of global capital markets, left the firm two weeks ago for personal reasons, and his departure was revealed in an internal conference call on Monday. It [...]
WII SALES ROCKET January 7, 2010 STRONG Christmas sales for Nintendo’s Wii games console, revealed yesterday, helped allay fears that the popularity of the gadget has waned. Nintendo’s US Wii sales exceeded 3m units in December up sharply from 2.12m units a year earlier. Meanwhile, total sales of Nintendo’s handheld game player, the DS, have reached 40m units in Europe, making [...]
THE COUP THAT MELTED FASTER THAN THE SNOW January 6, 2010 TWO former cabinet ministers yesterday called for a secret ballot to decide whether Gordon Brown should lead the Labour party into the general election, although the plot against the Prime Minister soon fizzled out. Former health secretary Patricia Hewitt and ex-defence secretary Geoff Hoon wrote to all Labour MPs urging them to back a secret [...]