Select Committee launches probe into sexist City culture July 22, 2009 THE Treasury Select Committee plans to grill senior business figures over the treatment of women in the City as part of its ongoing investigation into the banking crisis, the government said yesterday. The committee’s new inquiry will look at the proportion of women occupying senior positions in financial services, as well as probing pay inequalities, [...]
Online auctioneer eBay slows its decline as PayPal pays off July 22, 2009 AUCTION website eBay reported a 29 per cent fall in second-quarter profit yesterday, but saw its shares rise as it beat analysts’ expectations. Net profit was $327.3m (£199m), or $0.25 a share, down from $460m, $0.35 a share, in the equivalent quarter of 2008, while revenues fell marginally, down to $2.1bn from $2.2bn. Excluding one-off [...]
GOODWIN SNAPPED IN NICE July 22, 2009 FRED Goodwin, the disgraced former Royal Bank of Scotland banker, yesterday returned to Nice, in the south of France, after his “goodbye lunch” with Prince Charles at Clarence House. Goodwin came out of hiding to mark his stepping down as chairman of The Prince’s Trust after six years at the helm of the charity. It [...]
Deutsche admits spying on staff July 22, 2009 Deutsche Bank admitted yesterday that it had backed four surveillance operations against its own staff, but denied the involvement of any senior executives. The bank, which has been probing the allegations of spying, said the surveillance was prompted by the findings of external investigators hired by its corporate security team. Deutsche’s head of corporate security [...]
Intel appeals 1bn EU fine July 22, 2009 US Computer chip maker Intel yesterday filed an appeal against a ¤1.06bn (£1.25bn) fine handed down by the European Union relating to antitrust allegations. The company said it had lodged a formal appeal against the ruling, which determined that the firm had abused its dominant market position to the disadvantage of rival Advanced Micro Devices.
Amazon acquires Zappos.com July 22, 2009 The world’s top online retailer Amazon has sealed an $807m (£490m) deal to buy fashion retailer Zappos.com, it said yesterday. Amazon will hand over 10m shares for Zappos.com, which specialises in the sale of clothes and footwear. The company will also give Zappos.com employees $40m in cash and stock as part of the deal.
Third straight quarterly loss for MorgStan July 22, 2009 MORGAN Stanley reported a worse-than-expected second quarter loss yesterday on the back of charges linked to its government bailout and tightening credit spreads. The Wall Street bank slumped to a loss of $1.26bn (£770m), or $1.10 a share, during the three months to the end of June, as it incurred an $850m charge on the [...]
Writedowns hit BNY Mellon July 22, 2009 BANK of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) saw its second-quarter profit fall by 43 per cent, due to charges on the state aid it received from the US government, coupled with losses in securities and writedowns relating to the housing market. The New York-based custody bank said net income sank to $176m (£107m), or $0.15 [...]
Record profit can’t ease Wells Fargo bad loan fear July 22, 2009 WELLS Fargo, the largest mortgage lender in the US, reported record second-quarter net income yesterday but gave a bleak assessment of its rising bad loans problem. Net income for the three months to the end of June rocketed 81 per cent to a record quarterly profit of $2.58bn (£1.57bn), or $0.57 a share, compared to [...]
US Bancorp beats forecasts but credit losses mirror US economic troubles July 22, 2009 US BANCORP posted a 76 per cent year-on-year decline in second quarter profit yesterday, as it suffered mounting credit losses amid ongoing deterioration in the US economy. Second-quarter net income fell to $221m (£134m), or $0.12 a share, compared to $926m, or $0.53, a year earlier, despite a nine per cent rise in revenue to [...]