Europan Union fines E.on and GDF Suez 1bn for collusion July 8, 2009 UTILITY giants E.On and Gaz De France (GDF) Suez were fined a total of almost £1bn by the European Commission’s competition regulators yesterday, who said the pair had divided up gas markets and deprived customers of price competition. Germany’s E.On and France’s GDF Suez were fined €553m (£477m) each, after it emerged that they had [...]
M&G cashes in on credit gap with loans for UK mid-cap firms July 8, 2009 M&G, the asset management arm of Prudential, said yesterday that it has raised over £1bn for a new fund aimed at lending to mid-cap companies in desperate need of financing after the collapse in bank lending. The launch of the UK Companies Financing Fund (UKCFF) will match companies in need of refinancing with investors such [...]
Council of regulators led by chancellor to monitor risks to the financial system July 8, 2009 A NEW Council for Financial Stability (CFS), composed of representatives from the tripartite authorities, will be handed responsibility for monitoring emerging risks in the financial system, chancellor Alistair Darling announced yesterday. The CFS, to be chaired by Darling himself, will see figures from the Treasury, Bank of England and FSA meet regularly to discuss and [...]
GRINDING TO A HALT July 8, 2009 COFFEE Republic, the chain which fell into administration earlier this week, named 20 group-owned stores which will close yesterday. The list of stores to shut up shop includes London branches in Canary Wharf and on the King’s Road. Another 167 franchises and concessions will not be affected, said administrator KPMG.
Rose sees off revolt among shareholders July 8, 2009 SIR Stuart Rose yesterday quelled investor rebellion and hung on to his job as Marks & Spencer’s executive chairman. But despite seeing off a protest vote at the group’s annual meeting, he did not get an easy ride, with a higher-than-expected 38 per cent of investors backing a resolution that could have forced him to [...]
Tycoon Quinlan to step down July 8, 2009 DEREK Quinlan, one of Ireland’s most prominent property tycoons, said yesterday that he plans to step down as chairman of investment group Quinlan Private (QP), which he founded 20 years ago. Quinlan – who built the company from a small tax consultancy to an international private equity firm with over €10bn (£8.6bn) in assets under [...]
WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF ALISTAIR DARLING’S WHITE PAPER? July 8, 2009 RICHARD LAMBERT DIRECTOR-GENERAL, CBI“We recognise the case for new regulations to ensure that financial crises of the kind we have experienced are not repeated. We do not see the advantage of pre-funding the already successful Financial Services Compensation Scheme. There is also a risk of over-regulating financial product design.” ANGELA KNIGHT CHIEF EXECUTIVE, BBA“Much of [...]
China holds Rio Tinto man on spying charges July 8, 2009 CHINESE authorities have detained Rio Tinto’s top iron ore negotiator on suspicion of espionage and stealing state secrets, the miner which is listed in London and Australia said yesterday. The news comes as China and iron ore producers, including Rio Tinto, are locked in talks regarding annual contract prices, and less than a month after [...]
SHAREHOLDER VIEWS: DO YOU BELIEVE ROSE SHOULD RELINQUISH THE EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN ROLE? July 8, 2009 JEANETTE CAWLEY“Sir Stuart Rose does a fantastic job. I just don’t think that having two separate people for chairman and chief executive would bring anything extra to the company, because he knows the business really well from top to bottom.”HAZEL HOARE“As far as I’m concerned they should get rid of him. I think the board [...]
Luxembourg off tax haven list July 8, 2009 Luxembourg has been removed from a “grey list” of countries seen by the OECD as lacking financial transparency, budget minister Luc Frieden said yesterday. “As of this afternoon Luxembourg will be on the OECD tax haven white list,” he said. The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development had placed Luxembourg on the so-called grey [...]