Amec board’s pay too much May 14, 2009 THE furore over City pay hit another company last night, as over half of investors at engineering group Amec refused to back the company’s remuneration report. Around 40 per cent of its shareholders opposed the report on directors salaries and bonus plans, while 13 per cent abstained. Amec wanted to give its chief executive Samir Brikho [...]
MP expenses hit a high May 14, 2009 JUSTICE minister Shahid Malik ran up the highest expenses claim among his MP peers, it emerged yesterday. He has claimed the maximum amount allowed for a second home – £66,827, over three years. During 2008, he claimed £443 a week for a London town house, or £23,083 over the whole year. Meanwhile, on his constituency [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 14, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMESQINETIQ TO SELL UK UNDERWATER SYSTEMS ARM Qinetiq, the defence research group, has agreed to sell its UK underwater systems business for £23.5m as it continues to restructure its European division. Atlas Elektronik will take over the business, which makes sonar acoustic counter measures for customers such as the Royal Navy, protecting about 220 [...]
CARLYLE GROUP TO PAY $20M FINE May 14, 2009 Private equity firm The Carlyle Group yesterday agreed to pay a $20m (£13.3m) fine, and to sign a strict code of conduct to resolve its role in an investigation into alleged corruption involving New York’s largest public pension fund. Carlyle, an $85.5bn private equity firm, will be the first buy-out firm to pay a fine [...]
GERMANY’S LOSSES SET TO DOUBLE May 14, 2009 Germany’s finance minister Peer Steinbrück said yesterday that the federal budget deficit would double to €90bn (£59bn) next year as tax revenues dry up and public spending rockets. He said this year’s federal deficit alone would exceed €50bn, up from a deficit of €11.9bn last year. This would break Germany’s budget deficit record of €40bn, [...]
TOSCAFUND IN 15M PAYOUT AS PROFITS DIVE May 14, 2009 HEDGE fund group Toscafund paid its highest earner £15m last year, even though profits at the group fell by 83 per cent, it emerged yesterday. Official US filings show one member of staff at the firm received a “profit entitlement” of £14.9m in the year, despite the group profit dive which was thanks mainly to [...]
RIO CHAIRMAN SET FOR INVESTOR TALKS May 14, 2009 NEW Rio Tinto chairman Jan du Plessis will meet key shareholders today, as pressure builds on the indebted miner to change its controversial $19.5bn (£13bn) tie-up with Chinese state-owned Chinalco, in favour of a rights issue. Du Plessis has already held meetings with a number of shareholders this week and has said he is prepared [...]
MADOFF FUNDS TO BE RETRIEVED May 14, 2009 The trustee given charge of recovering assets from Bernie Madoff’s fraudulent investment scheme said yesterday he expects to reach financial settlements over the coming weeks with a handful of investors who reaped profits from the plan. Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee, said last night he expected “significant settlements”.
Stanford employee ‘not guilty’ May 14, 2009 The chief investment officer at Allen Stanford’s companies pleaded “not guilty” yesterday to charges stemming from the first indictment in the federal government’s investigation of the troubled financial firm. Laura Pendergest-Holt will remain free on bond after being indicted earlier this week on conspiring to obstruct an SEC investigation.
Fujitsu shuts final salary scheme May 14, 2009 Fujitsu Services, the UK arm of the Japanese technology company, yesterday decided to close its defined benefit pension scheme to existing workers. The closure, which marks the first large employer to close such a scheme in almost two years, is likely to be the start of a trend, say experts, who expect the recession to [...]