City lives in Bruce Wasserstein’s shadow October 14, 2009 ANYBODY who really wants to understand today’s City of London – its culture, its customs and its personalities – needs to acquaint themselves with the life of Bruce Wasserstein, one of the greatest corporate financiers of all time who died last night at the cruelly premature age of 61. He was, of course, a New [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 14, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES INVESTORS IN MADOFF SCHEME SUE SECTwo investors who lost more than $2.4m in the Bernard Madoff “Ponzi” scheme have filed suit against the US Securities and Exchange Commission, claiming that the government agency responsible for protecting investors was negligent in its oversight of Madoff’s operations. CHINA AND KENYA IN KEY INFRASTRUCTURE TALKSKenya’s government [...]
Mandelson delays worker laws October 14, 2009 Business secretary Lord Mandelson has delayed the introduction of new rights for workers, in an effort to give businesses a break as they try to recover. The new laws would have increased the rights of agency workers and given employees the entitlement to take time off for training or to perform “civic duties”.
Cairn to explore Greenland October 14, 2009 Oil company Cairn Energy has raised $310m (£196m) to fund exploration in Greenland, seen as one of the most likely sources of new oil reserves. Petronas, a stakeholder in Cairn’s Indian subsidiary, has contributed $70m in exchange for 10 per cent of the exploration sites off the coast of the country.
Alliance Trust in first buyback October 14, 2009 Investment firm Alliance Trust has staged its first ever share buy-back. The company bought 0.72 per cent of its equity capital for £15.4m at a price of 317p per share. The price is an 18 per cent discount to net asset value, but shares are trading at their highest in a year due to the [...]
Brokers open fire in High Court battle October 14, 2009 BGC PARTNERS offered well over £40m to key broking staff at fellow inter-dealer broker Tullett Prebon as part of a “carefully constructed raid”, a court heard yesterday on the opening day of a long-anticipated legal case between the two firms. Tullett, headed by City veteran Terry Smith, has accused its arch-rival of conspiring to poach [...]
Foreign banks sign up to bonus rules October 14, 2009 LONDON’S foreign investment banks yesterday signed up to an agreement to commit to guidelines on pay laid out by the Financial Services Authority and the G20 in a meeting with City minister Lord Myners. The 11 foreign banks will adopt guidelines including deferred bonuses, a higher percentage of payouts paid in shares and clawbacks to [...]
Permira plans October 14, 2009 EUROPEAN private equity firm Permira is preparing a number of companies for flotation or trade sale over the coming six to 24 months, co-managing partner Kurt Bjorklund said. Boosted by strong equity market sentiment, increasing numbers of private equity firms are eyeing exits and the prospect of returning cash to investors. However, Bjorklund told the [...]
Lloyds in rights issue setback October 14, 2009 THE government is preparing to tell Lloyds Banking Group it will not underwrite the bank’s planned rights issue, designed to help it exit the Asset Protection Scheme (APS). While the government – which owns 43.5 per cent of Lloyds – is expected to take part in the cash call, Treasury officials are understood to have [...]
Joblessness sees slowest jump in a year October 14, 2009 UNEMPLOYMENT rose in September by less than had been predicted, with the number of Britons claiming jobless benefit increasing at the slowest rate for 16 months, official data showed yesterday, raising hopes that the recent swathe of job losses may be ending. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that the claimant count – which [...]