Latvia to meet IMF conditions October 12, 2009 Latvia’s ruling coalition said on Monday it would meet 2010 budget pledges to international lenders. Latvia, facing an contraction of 18 per cent this year and soaring unemployment, is dependent on funds from a €7.5bn (£7bn) rescue programme agreed with the International Monetary Fund and European Union last year. But to keep the funds flowing [...]
Coventry bond issue nets 350m October 12, 2009 Coventry Building Society said yesterday that it had raised £350m in a heavily-oversubscribed issue of 10-year bonds. Finance director Rob Green said: “I am delighted that there was such demand for this bond – we actually had orders for £600m in just two hours. It shows that investors recognise the strength of the Coventry’s financial [...]
Alitalia boss says funding good October 12, 2009 Rocco Sibelli, the chief executive of Italian air carrier Alitalia, said yesterday that the firm had maintained access to funding. He said the company was able to tap around €500m (£468m) in cash and credit lines, but added that it is still planning to secure further financing to fund future business operations. Sibelli said the [...]
Dutch state seizes DSB Bank October 12, 2009 THE Dutch Central Bank (DNB) has seized control of floundering financial institution DSB Bank, after the firm’s consortium of lenders failed to agree on a rescue plan amid a slew of deposit withdrawals. The DNB went to a Dutch court to seek permission to take control of DSB, in the wake of mass withdrawals from [...]
Xstrata sells its interest in El Morro copper mine October 12, 2009 MINING group Xstrata agreed to sell its 70 per cent interest in the El Morro copper-gold project in Chile for $465m (£294m) to Canada’s Barrick Gold, Xstrata said yesterday. “While we have demonstrated through the feasibility study that El Morro has strong prospects, our agreement with Barrick is a recognition that it will create more [...]
Heidelberg to issue bond to cut bank debt October 12, 2009 HeidelbergCement plans to issue more than €1bn (£937m) in bonds, tapping the resurging junk-bond market to reduce its reliance on banks. The world’s fourth-largest cement maker will issue a five-year bond and a seven-year bond, each worth more than €500m, to repay parts of syndicated bank loans, the company said yesterday. While the move was [...]
Citigroup announces appointment of two new co-heads of EMEAbanking October 12, 2009 US BANK Citigroup has appointed two new co-heads of banking in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, it said yesterday. James Bardrick, 47, and Manuel Falco, 45, both veterans of the company will assume their new responsibilities with immediate effect. Bardrick, who has spent 22 years with Citi, will move from his role as co-head [...]
London Mining hires Liberum Capital and GMP Securities to advise on listing October 12, 2009 London Mining, the UK-based company which develops mines for the steel industry, said yesterday it had appointed investment bank Liberum Capital as its adviser and joint broker to help its planned listing on Aim. GMP Securities will be the joint broker on the listing, which was first announced in July. London Mining said it had [...]
CUBS STRIKE OUT FOR BANKRUPTCY October 12, 2009 THE Chicago Cubs baseball team filed for bankruptcy yesterday as part of the team's planned sale to the Ricketts family by media conglomerate Tribune Company, according to court documents. The Cubs bankruptcy is aimed at shedding any claims on the team related to the bankruptcy of Tribune. Tribune will contribute the Cubs, Wrigley Field and [...]
Irish builders fear Nama impact October 12, 2009 Ireland’s “bad bank” scheme, Nama, risks stifling the already struggling construction industry if implemented according to the government’s current plans, the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) said yesterday. The government plans to cleanse banks of risky commercial property loans with a total book value of €77bn (£72bn) to kickstart lending and boost the recession-hit economy. “Existing [...]