US regulators failed to act January 14, 2010 REGULATORS failed to protect the American public from the global financial crisis, one of its leading watchdogs said yesterday. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation chairwoman Sheila Bair told the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission that regulators had acted too slowly to stop the problems with sub-prime mortgage lending. “Not only did market discipline fail to prevent [...]
Hopes of rival Cadbury offer melting away January 14, 2010 CADBURY remained defiant last night in the face of a hostile takeover bid by Kraft, as hopes of a rival offer appeared to fade. Hershey emerged as a potential rival to Kraft after its board authorised a bid for the chocolatier. “In recent times they have reaffirmed their interest,” Cadbury chairman Roger Carr said yesterday, [...]
The chances of a Hershey counter-bid are slim January 14, 2010 THOSE Cadbury shareholders hoping Hershey will take Kraft on in a bidding war are likely to be disappointed. The maker of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups is going to find it awfully hard to fund a takeover, as its enterprise value is estimated at around $10bn (£6.1bn) compared to Cadbury’s $21.3bn. Simply raising the funds in [...]
Fee income at top legal firms dives January 14, 2010 INCOME at the UK’s top ten law firms plunged more than 10.5 per cent in their second quarter (Q2), compared with the previous year, new figures show. The poor results for 2009 Q2 were reflected across the industry, with the top 100 firms dropping 5.7 per cent. Firms including Allen & Overy and Linklaters reported [...]
Fund bosses at Pendragon pocket £8m January 14, 2010 SENIOR managers at beleaguered hedge fund Pendragon Capital shared £8m last year before it was wound up and taken over by GLG Partners. Five directors – including co-founders Julian Harvey Wood and Kaveh Sheibani – split the money, with the highest-paid member taking home £3m. The payout came after the event-driven hedge fund’s assets under [...]
United bond roadshow hits the City January 14, 2010 MANCHESTER United’s chief executive David Gill took the club’s marketing of its £500m bond issue to the City yesterday, 24 hours after pitching it to investors in Edinburgh. The United management team met potential investors at the Grocers’ Hall near the Bank of England. There is expected to be sufficient demand for the issue, although [...]
FSA bans insurance broker January 14, 2010 The Financial Services Authority has banned Stephen Allen, a director of Fabien Risk Services, for failing in his duties as a director of a regulated firm. The regulator said the action follows a probe that also resulted in the 2007 banning of Allen’s co-director Shane Garvey and Fabien office manager Lee Goddard. Allen failed to [...]
F&C REIT tops £1bn January 14, 2010 Property firm F&C REIT has smashed through the £1bn mark for total transaction values since being created in 2008 through the merger of REIT Asset Management and F&C’s property division. The latest transactions come through the acquisition of three out-of-town office complexes from the National Farmers Union.
Civil justice costs overhauled January 14, 2010 Britain is set to overhaul the costs of increasingly “excessive and disproportionate” civil litigation in an attempt to promote access to justice – and encourage people to take out legal expenses insurance. One of the most senior judges published a series of proposals he said could cut litigation costs by “many millions of pounds”. Pulling [...]
Contract win for Jarvis January 14, 2010 Infrastructure group Jarvis yesterday announced its Jarvis Rail subsidiary has won a £55m contract during 2010, with an option for a second phase of work worth around £36m to begin the following year.