HMV in possible Luminar deal January 13, 2010 Music and book retailer HMV is believed to be in advanced talks with Luminar over a deal analysts believe could lead to a takeover of the nightclub operator. Analysts compared the idea to HMV’s tie-up with live music business Mama Group. HMV set up a joint venture encompassing Mama’s 11 late-night venues and last month [...]
Banks confused by bonus tax January 13, 2010 Banks are unsure how to file their company reports owing to confusion over how to account for the 50 per cent bonus tax. Accountants for the big banks are still trying to get to grips with the complexities of the tax in time to file in two weeks. The tax has created a “mess” in [...]
RBS accused over Enron loan January 13, 2010 RBS has been accused of misrepresenting documents relating to a syndicated Enron loan sold to one of Austria’s biggest banks. Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich yesterday alleged it was mislead over Enron being allowed to monetise future income from a UK investment.
Banking levy will hit bank liabilities January 13, 2010 THE LEVY proposed by the White House will tax a portion of Wall St banks’ liabilities. President Obama could reap more than $100bn (£62bn) through the scheme, which he hopes will recoup losses incurred from the government funded bailout programme. Liabilities will likely be calculated by subtracting a bank’s total equity and insured deposits from [...]
Death toll from the devastating Haiti earthquake could reach half a million January 13, 2010 THE death toll of the devastating Haiti earthquake could reach well into six figures, the island’s Prime Minister said yesterday. Streets and buildings were filled with the dead as locals and rescue workers began to sift through the rubble last night. A team of 64 British firefighters arrived on the Caribbean island in the early [...]
SocGen profit warning bites January 13, 2010 FEARS that a fresh round of toxic asset writedowns are set to emerge from the banking sector were yesterday fuelled by a profit warning from Societe Generale. France’s second biggest bank warned on its fourth-quarter profits after taking a further €1.4bn (£1.25bn) hit from risky assets. Following the additional writedown, SocGen said it was now [...]
Tories to introduce new booze labels and scrap units system January 13, 2010 A TORY government would introduce legislation forcing brewers to display the exact amount of alcohol on drink labels. Shadow secretary of state for health Andrew Lansley said the “misunderstood units” system would be replaced by new labels detailing the amount of pure alcohol in centilitres on drink cans and bottles. The new labels would also [...]
SEC considers introducing new curbs on high frequency trading January 13, 2010 US SECURITIES regulators are deciding whether rules are needed to curb high-frequency traders, whose lightning-fast computer programmes now dominate equities markets. In a move that could overhaul how markets function, the Securities and Exchange Commission voted yesterday to seek public comment on the rapid trades, the anonymous trading venues known as dark pools, and other [...]
NIESR: Worst slump for 90 years is over January 13, 2010 BRITAIN’S fragile economy finally started to grow in the last three months of 2009, after suffering its worst year for almost 90 years, a leading think-tank said yesterday. The National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR) forecast modest quarterly growth of 0.3 per cent for the fourth quarter of last year, putting the annual [...]
NVM defies private equity drought to boost profits January 13, 2010 NVM Private Equity, the firm behind Cornish pasty maker Crantock Bakery and property group Paladin, beat the buyout crunch last year to raise profits 12 per cent. NVM saw turnover fall by £300,000 to £5.3m but boosted net income from £850,000 to £950,000. The improvement came despite a difficult year for the private equity industry, [...]