Regulators raid the offices of Porsche August 20, 2009 THE OFFICES of German luxury carmaker Porsche were raided by federal prosecutors yesterday, as part of a probe into suspected market manipulation of Volkswagen shares. The investigation centres on Porsche’s former chief executive Wendelin Wiedeking and its ex-finance chief Holger Haerter, both of whom resigned last month. Porsche said: “On Thursday morning, officers from Stuttgart [...]
Merkel comes out top in rundown of world’s elite ladies August 20, 2009 GERMAN chancellor Angela Merkel has been crowned as the most powerful woman in the world for the fourth consecutive year, beating Anglo American boss Cynthia Carroll and AIG’s chief restructuring officer Paula Reynolds to the coveted title. The annual list of the 100 most powerful women, compiled by Forbes magazine, rated US Federal Deposit Insurance [...]
Bond fund bosses declare an end to giant rallies in junior banking credit August 20, 2009 FUND MANAGERS are ditching junior bonds issued by banks that have been forced to take state investments, believing the stellar rallies of the last few months are now well and truly finished. The bonds, issued by banks such as bailed-out Lloyds Banking Group, have staged a massive recovery since mid-March, but all easy money has [...]
NEW BLOW FOR THE PUBLIC FINANCES August 20, 2009 THE disastrous state of Britain’s public finances was laid bare yesterday, as new figures showed that July’s deficit hit a record £8bn following a slump in tax receipts. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that government net borrowing widened to £8bn in July, far worse than the £0.5bn that the City had [...]
Bern nets SFr1.2bn on UBS stake August 20, 2009 THE Swiss government yesterday sold its stake in UBS, netting a SFr1.2bn (£680m) profit and demonstrating market confidence in the bank. Switzerland bought the 9.3 per cent stake in UBS late last year, after the credit crisis threatened the country’s largest bank’s survival. It yesterday offloaded its 332m shares at SFr16.50 (£9.40) each, at a [...]
London Paper set to close August 20, 2009 FREE afternoon newspaper the London Paper is set to close next month, its owner News International said yesterday, putting 60 jobs at risk. The title, which booked pre-tax losses of £12.9m on revenues of £14m in the year to June 2008, had “fallen short of expectations,” said James Murdoch, chairman and chief executive of News [...]
Why the Autumn promises so much August 20, 2009 CITY A.M will be taking its customary break next week and will not be publishing again until Tuesday 1 September, after the August Bank Holiday. By then the Ashes will be over, the football season will be well under way and the nights will be drawing in. As far as City A.M is concerned, the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 20, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES UNIVERSAL MUSIC LICENSES SINATRA RIGHTSUniversal Music has secured the international rights to 38 albums recorded by Frank Sinatra, heralding an acceleration of plans to commercialise the entertainer’s estate on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the release of My Way. GAP PROFITS SLIP IN SECOND QUARTERGap, the US specialty clothing retailer, said [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 20, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES UNIVERSAL MUSIC LICENSES SINATRA RIGHTSUniversal Music has secured the international rights to 38 albums recorded by Frank Sinatra, heralding an acceleration of plans to commercialise the entertainer’s estate on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the release of My Way. GAP PROFITS SLIP IN SECOND QUARTERGap, the US specialty clothing retailer, said [...]
Jet Republic is grounded August 20, 2009 JET REPUBLIC, the private-jet charter company, has ceased trading and become technically insolvent, it said yesterday. “It is with great regret that I announce that Jet Republic appears to be technically insolvent,” chief executive Jonathan Breeze said to staff in an email. “The business expected to receive funds today that have not arrived, nor do [...]