Fiat to enter Chinese car market July 6, 2009 Italian carmaker Fiat is to enter the rapidly growing Chinese automotive industry which will see it make cars and engines there from 2011, in a joint venture with Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC). The deal will see the two firms invest more than €400m (£344m) in the project, including the construction of a 700,000 square metre [...]
New GM may be launched by end of July July 6, 2009 A SENIOR figure in President Obama’s automotive task force said last night that GM could be relaunched as a new company by the end of the month. Steve Rattner said a judge’s ruling that GM can sell its assets to a government-backed company would clear the way for the firm to emerge from bankruptcy and [...]
MG Rover quartet slam call for probe July 6, 2009 A QUARTET of executives accused of asset-stripping in relation to their purchase of collapsed carmaker MG Rover yesterday described moves towards a probe by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) as “mystifying”. Business secretary Lord Mandelson has asked the SFO to decide whether a criminal investigation should be launched into the 2005 collapse of MG Rover, [...]
Nomura eyes top broker spot July 6, 2009 Japan’s Nomura is planning a swift return to the top spot among LSE brokerages for the European equities unit it bought from Lehman Brothers, the former leader on the exchange. The unit is currently sitting in third place behind Credit Suisse and top-ranked Merrill Lynch, acting on 6.3 per cent of all orders sent to [...]
Taxpayer bill for Rock to rise July 6, 2009 The Treasury’s bill for Northern Rock’s losses looks set to increase, after one of the mortgage lender’s subsidiaries breached a contract, putting other creditors ahead of the taxpayer for repayment. Granite, a unit which securitised Northern Rock mortgages, will be forced to speed up the return of £26bn of debts to noteholders. Rock will be [...]
Cinven drafts in Langmuir July 6, 2009 Private equity house Cinven has appointed Hugh Langmuir as managing partner, after Robin Hall became executive chairman. Langmuir’s appointment comes as the group prepares to raise a new fund, amid signs that some of its investments are struggling. Hall’s decision to move upstairs mirrors recent reshuffles seen at rivals such as Permira, BC Partners and [...]
Calls for QE to be expanded July 6, 2009 THE worst of the recession may be over but the Bank of England should expand its £125bn quantitative easing (QE) programme to ensure the economy stabilises rather than heads into a double-dip recession, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said. David Kern, chief economist at the BCC, said: “With cashflow, capacity utilisation, and price pressures [...]
Brown and Sarkozy team up to tackle oil price volatility July 6, 2009 PRIME Minister Gordon Brown joined French President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday in an attempt to curtail oil price volatility, as part of a move towards tougher global governance to prevent a return to problems that existed before the financial crisis. Speaking at a Franco-British summit ahead of a meeting of G8 leaders in Italy this week, [...]
Former AIG chief lied in court, alleges the insurer’s lawyer July 6, 2009 MAURICE “Hank” Greenberg, former chief executive of American International Group (AIG), fabricated documents and lied under oath in a bid to cloud who is the rightful beneficiary of over $4.3bn (£2.6bn) from stock sales, AIG lawyer Ted Wells told a jury yesterday. Wells said Greenberg’s assertions at trial that the stock was intended for a [...]
7/7 MEMORIAL UNVEILED July 6, 2009 PRINCE Charles will today officially unveil the Hyde Park monument to the victims of the 7/7 bombings of four years ago. The £1m memorial consists of 52 three-metre tall stainless steel pillars, in memory of each of the victims who died when terrorists detonated four explosive devices on public transport in London. A plaque naming [...]