Nomura ups USstaff count amid cash call October 5, 2009 JAPANESE bank Nomura is boosting its presence in the US by doubling its headcount, as it prepares to raise 433bn yen (£3bn) in its second cash call of the year. The fast-growing investment bank, which bought the European and Asian units of failed US bank Lehman Brothers last year, is now turning its attention to [...]
Bulk carrier prices stabilise as world economy improves October 5, 2009 THE cost of chartering bulk carriers to transport commodities worldwide has stabilised but looks unlikely to reach the peak hit during 2008, the International Financial Services London (IFSL) body said yesterday. Duncan McKenzie, director of economics at IFSL, said the Baltic Dry Index (BEDI) – which is based on the average spot price for chartering [...]
Bank of America in hunt for an emergency heir to Lewis October 5, 2009 A COMMITTEE of Bank of America (BoA) executives will meet this week to identify an emergency successor to chief executive Kenneth Lewis, in case he is forced out before his planned retirement at the end of the year. The bank’s chief executive last month announced his intention to step down at the end of 2009, [...]
Power workers snub pay deal October 5, 2009 Power workers and oil refinery staff across the UK yesterday rejected an offer on pay and conditions aimed at ending a long-standing row. Up to 30,000 workers at sites including BP FPS Grangemouth, Sellafield in Cumbria and Shell UK Stanlow say they want employers to stop undercutting agreed rates and employing cheaper foreign labour. The [...]
Pilots strike on long flying hours October 5, 2009 Pilots are demonstrating across Europe over long flying hours, saying they are “putting lives at risk”. European air crew unions say current rules that govern how long they can fly for are unsafe, with fatigue a factor in 15 per cent of accidents. The European Aviation Safety Agency says it is still considering a scientific [...]
National Trust launches beer October 5, 2009 The National Trust is launching a range of food and drinks products, including its own beer. The charity, which has 3.5m members, said it will launch a range of foods, including bread, meat, potatoes and biscuits.
Hedgie status hit for London October 5, 2009 LONDON’S presence in the “billionaire’s club” of giant hedge fund managers slipped during the first half of the year while New York’s stayed the same, according to HedgeFund Intelligence (HFI). The group said London’s level of hedge fund firms running over $1bn (£627m) in assets fell two per cent to below 15 per cent in [...]
The Gulf states need to become a marketplace October 5, 2009 LAST week, I found myself in Doha with the man who brought us JK Rowling’s Harry Potter, Nigel Newton, the chief executive of Bloomsbury Publishing. He was in town to launch qfinance.com, a website focused on serving finance professionals in Qatar, in a joint venture with the Qatar Finance Authority. There, in a sea of [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS October 5, 2009 TRAVIS PERKINSRoyal Bank of Scotland said that Travis Perkins continues to manage its way through a difficult, but expected, merchanting market with DIY surprisingly resilient. It upgraded its forecasts to “buy” from “hold” with a target price increased to 925p. The firm’s shares remain the brokers prefered merchant play. HMV GROUPGoldman Sachs upgraded HMV to [...]
Half of takeover talks ending in no deal October 5, 2009 HALF of all takeover talks targeting UK listed companies now end without a deal being struck, according to law firm EMW Picton Howell. The findings underscore the difficulties would-be buyers of listed firms are having in putting together funding for their takeover plans. EMW said that 52 per cent of buyout talks ended without a [...]