US economy on the mend but deflation still a risk October 15, 2009 There was further proof yesterday that the US economy is starting to recover from recession as data showed that US consumer prices rose modestly in September. The US Labour Department said the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.2 per cent in September on the previous month, taking the annual inflation rate to -1.3 per cent [...]
FSA under fire over its hiring rules October 15, 2009 CRITICISM continued to mount yesterday over plans by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to vet senior appointments in the Square Mile, with one law firm calling it “a considerable expansion of its powers”. Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC) said the FSA made the proposals without any consultation. A letter to 5,000 institutions, sent out earlier this [...]
Death of star banker and Lazard boss Wasserstein is mourned on Wall Street October 15, 2009 TRIBUTES flooded in yesterday for star investment banker and chairman and chief executive of Lazard, Bruce Wasserstein, who died on Wednesday. The celebrated Wall Street dealmaker was hospitalised on Sunday due to an irregular heartbeat and had been said to be recovering until the news of his death. He worked right up until his last [...]
WHERE WILL XSTRATA LOOK FOR DEALS NOW THE ANGLO MERGER IS OFF? October 15, 2009 RICHARD CURR PRIME CFDSXstrata can find better deals than Anglo, so it’s no surprise it has walked away. The Anglo that Xstrata was looking at a year ago looks somewhat different. We suspect Xstrata might go for some low hanging fruit, as in Lonmin or First Quantum, but we wouldn’t rule out another approach for [...]
Further deflation in Eurozone October 15, 2009 Eurozone deflation widened to 0.3 per cent in September, taking core inflation in the single currency area to a nine-year low of 1.1 per cent. Inflation is expected to remain below the ECB’s target of just below two per cent for some time. Separately, the ECB said the Eurozone is stabilising and expected to recover [...]
UBS sells BPO unit to Cognizant October 15, 2009 Swiss bank UBS has sold its Indian IT services and business process outsourcing (BPO) unit India Service Centre Private to Cognizant for $75m (£46m). The sale echoes a similar move by Citigroup, which sold its Indian BPO operation to Tata and its IT services subsidiary to Wipro earlier this year. The transaction is expected to [...]
DSB gets 24 hours to find a buyer October 15, 2009 Dutch bank DSB was given a stay of execution yesterday as a judge gave the bank 24 hours to find a buyer before it is declared bankrupt. DSB has until midday tomorrow to come up with a buyer, at which point the court will hold a further hearing. DSB was placed under administration at the [...]
BAE predicts good growth, unsure over bribery costs October 14, 2009 BAE Systems, europe’s largest defence firm, forecast “good growth” for the rest of the year yesterday, despite a slump in its sale of land vehicles.The group also added it expected trading to “benefit from any continued weakness of sterling against the US dollar.” The US accounts for around 60 per cent of BAE’s sales, and [...]
REDSTONE SELLS $1BN OF STOCK October 14, 2009 SUMNER Redstone plans to sell $945m (£591m) of stock in CBS and Viacom, two media companies he controls, to pay off loans that threatened to unravel his media empire. Shares of both CBS and Viacom dropped after Redstone revealed he would use the proceeds to pay off the debts of his privately-held cinema chain, National [...]
Scrappage scheme gives Vertu a boost October 14, 2009 VERTU, the motor dealer, saw its profits for the six months to the end of August surge 47.4 per cent, as the government’s scrappage scheme boosted sales. The Newcastle-based group, which trades as Bristol Street Motors, reported pre-tax profits of £2.8m, up from £1.9m last year, and said it had sold 1,686 cars under the [...]