OBAMA: WE MUST REFORM BANKING September 14, 2009 US PRESIDENT Barack Obama issued a stark warning to bankers yesterday not to ignore the lessons of the demise of Lehman Brothers, in a hard-hitting speech marking a year since the Wall Street investment bank filed for bankruptcy. Obama said the US financial system was beginning to “return to normalcy”, but said that there could [...]
Judge rules against BoA & SEC deal September 14, 2009 A US federal judge yesterday rejected a $33m (£19.9m) settlement reached by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Bank of America (BoA) over accusations that the bank misled shareholders over millions of dollars of bonuses. In the third rejection of the deal by American courts, USDistrict Judge Jed Rakoff said the agreement could not [...]
BoNY nears Russian deal September 14, 2009 THE RUSSIAN government is set to bring its $22.5bn (£13.6bn) lawsuit against Bank of New York Mellon (BoNY) to an end after the bank agreed to provide credit to Moscow-based banks, sources told City A.M last night. An out-of-court settlement is being discussed that will see the USbanking giant restart trade-finance lending to banks nominated [...]
Bad banks must be allowed to fail again September 14, 2009 ONE year after Lehman’s demise, there is much we should be grateful for. The economy has shrunk by about 6 per cent, compared to the 25 per cent or so collapse suffered in the US during the Great Depression. We have got off relatively lightly, even though it doesn’t feel that way to the hundreds [...]
Six-months’ leave for dads September 14, 2009 GORDON Brown will today unveil plans that will enable fathers to take six months paternity leave instead of the existing two weeks, in a move that will push up employment costs for businesses. Brown will unveil a new system of switching between paternity and maternity leave, which will allow a mother to pass over her [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 14, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES RSA CONSIDERING ‘LARGER’ DEALSRSA, the general insurer, is looking at large acquisitions – potentially worth about £600m – that might need to be supported with a rights issue, it has told investors and analysts. The company, which has a strong capital cushion and a stated strategy of pursuing smaller, bolt-on deals, said there [...]
Eli Lilly wields axe over 5,500 September 14, 2009 Eli Lilly, the US-based drugmaker, has sparked fears hundreds of UK jobs could be lost after it unveiled plans to cut 5,500 staff worldwide in a bid to slash its costs. The cuts, equivalent to 13.5 per cent of the firm’s workforce of 40,500, are likely to affect its 1,600 UK staff. The group said [...]
Sarkozy issues plan for happiness September 14, 2009 French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called for the nation’s economic success to be calculated using new measures including “happiness”. Sarkozy yesterday announced a “revolutionary” plan to shift the focus away from economic growth towards issues like work-life balance, traffic congestion levels and household chores. He said there is too much focus on growth measures like [...]
Mandelson in hint at Labour spending cuts September 14, 2009 BUSINESS secretary Lord Mandelson yesterday promised that Labour would be “wise spenders, not big spenders”, as he sought to regain ground lost to the Conservatives ahead of next year’s general election. Reviving a slogan last used in Labour’s 1997 electoral campaign, Mandelson attacked the opposition, whom he said would hamper economic recovery by withdrawing stimulus [...]
Darling: Banks to be forced to write living wills September 14, 2009 CHANCELLOR Alistair Darling has said banks will be forced to draft so-called “living wills” to make it easy to break them up without damaging the wider economy if they collapse in a future financial crisis. Darling said the Queen’s speech in November will outline the plans, which will force banks to simplify their structures and [...]