Vivendi eyes Brazilian telco September 9, 2009 French telecom company Vivendi has launched a €2bn (£1.76bn) takeover bid for Brazilian telecoms provider GVT.The bid is a move away from the African and south-east Asian markets the firm had been looking at. A takeover would put Vivendi into competition with Spain’s Telefónica, which has a 31 per cent market share in Brazil.
BoA hits back at Cuomo September 9, 2009 Bank of America yesterday rejected allegations brought on Tuesday by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo that it is hiding behind attorney-client privilege as a defence for its decisions over Merrill Lynch. Cuomo has threatened to sue top executives if the bank is not more forthcoming by 14 September.
Barclays and JPMorgan top poll September 9, 2009 Barclays Capital and JPMorgan Chase have been given top rankings for fixed-income market share and quality of debt sales, trading and research. A survey of institutional investors by Greenwich Associates showed BarCap received 14.8 per cent of fixed-income market share while JPM took 14.2 per cent.
Goldman boss urges end to bonus culture September 9, 2009 LONG-TERM guaranteed bonuses should be banned and clawbacks introduced into contracts to prevent the excessive risk-taking of the past, Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein said yesterday. Speaking at the Banks in Transition conference in Frankfurt, Blankfein said there was “little justification of outsized discretionary compensation when a financial institution has lost money”. He said [...]
Apple’s Jobs struts the stage for the first time since his liver transplant September 9, 2009 STEVE Jobs, the Apple chief executive, stepped back into the spotlight for the first time in a year yesterday, unveiling new iPods and drawing a standing ovation. It was his first public appearance since returning to work in June after six months of leave, during which the charismatic corporate showman underwent a liver transplant. Dressed [...]
Oil discovery by BG trumps BP’s big find September 9, 2009 OIL giant BG Group said yesterday its Guara discovery off the coast of Brazil will trump the “giant” find BP made in Mexico last week. The company, which is the UK’s third-largest oil and gas producer announced its Guara site could contain between 1.1bn and 2bn barrels of oil. BP said last week its site, [...]
US Beige book sees recovery September 9, 2009 HALF of the Federal Reserve’s 12 districts saw evidence that the US economy had improved by the end of August, although labour markets remained weak and retail sales were flat, a Fed report said last night. Dallas, Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Richmond and San Francisco noted gains. “Most districts noted that the outlook for economic activity [...]
Marks & Spencer promotes Dixon to the board fuelling Rose succession talk September 9, 2009 MARKS & Spencer (M&S) has promoted its head of food, John Dixon, to its executive board, strengthening his chance of succeeding Stuart Rose as chief executive next year. M&S has always said it would prefer an internal candidate to succeed Rose, and signs of recovery at the group’s upmarket food business in recent months have [...]
Moody’s says UK’s credit rating is safe for now September 9, 2009 THE UK’s triple-A sovereign debt ratings is safe for now but the Treasury will need to “severely adjust” fiscal policies in the wake of the global financial crisis, Moody’s Investors Service said yesterday. “Moody’s believes that the UK continues to warrant the ‘resilient’ characterisation. However, to retain its ‘resilient’ status, it will need to severely [...]
Commerzbank pays back state September 9, 2009 Commerzbank moved to reduce its dependence on the German state as chief executive Martin Blessing said the bank decided to pay back state guaratnees immediately. The German state took a 25 per cent stake in the country’s second largest bank in January as a way to stabilise Commerzbank during the credit crisis. Commerzbank said it [...]