Ex-Vivendi boss to stand trial October 22, 2009 Former Vivendi boss Jean-Marie Messier, who notoriously declared himself “master of the world” at his peak, has been ordered to stand trial on charges of share manipulation. Messier has will stand trial in court in France over allegations he divulged misleading information and manipulated stock prices. The decision was made earlier this month by Judge [...]
QUESTION TIME FOR THE BNP October 22, 2009 BNP leader Nick Griffin insisted he was “not a Nazi” during his first appearance on the BBC’s Question Time last night, as police tried to contain hundreds of anti-fascist protesters outside Television Centre. He told the studio audience – who constantly jeered him – that the UK was the subject of a “multicultural experiment”
EU to allow Rock plan to split itself up October 22, 2009 The European Commission (EC) is expected to approve plans to split Northern Rock into a “good” and “bad” bank by the middle of next week, paving the way for the break-up and sale of the nationalised bank. The EC is set to authorise the plans next Wednesday. They were originally submitted by Northern Rock, led [...]
BoE’s Tucker contradicts King on carving up banks October 22, 2009 The deputy governor of the Bank of England Paul Tucker contradicted his boss yesterday when he poured cold water on governor Mervyn King’s idea of splitting up big banks in a bid to ensure financial stability. Tucker said: “I do not much like the notion of a list of ‘systemically important firms’ because, as a [...]
ECB speaks out over EU’s hedge fund directive October 22, 2009 THE EUROPEAN Central Bank (ECB) has warned EU bureaucrats that their plans to clamp down on the hedge fund industry could damage competitiveness with rival fund centres like the US. In a legal opinion on the European Commission’s proposed directive to regulate hedge funds and private equity houses, the ECB added its voice to a [...]
Credit Suisse joins bumper profits haul October 22, 2009 Credit Suisse became the latest banking giant to rack up strong profits yesterday, although its shares fell on fears that rivals may gate-crash the party. The Swiss bank posted a net profit of Sfr2.4bn (£1.4bn) in the three months to September, its best quarter this year and comfortably above analysts’ expectations of Sfr1.6bn. Buoyant financial [...]
PRINCELY NEWCOMER JOINS CITY CLUB SCENE October 21, 2009 WORK hard and play hard has long been the City’s mantra, so dedicated party-goers will be happy to hear that a new club is coming to town. It’s not just any old dive, either – we’re talking about a true A-list hotspot, from the people behind Prince Harry’s favourite nightspot Mahiki. Clubowners Nick House and [...]
The numbers man on why London needs to give the right message October 21, 2009 John Griffith-Jones definitely comes across as a man on a mission. Whether he’s talking about hooking accountancy giants KPMG up with as many of its European partners as possible, helping the banks through one of the most catastrophic crises in their history, preserving the status of London as a financial centre, or teaching young children [...]
Boeing slumps on back of 787 October 21, 2009 BOEING posted a larger-than-expected quarterly loss on costs related to its long-delayed 787 Dreamliner, but the world’s second-largest planemaker reaffirmed the commercial aircraft is on track to fly this year. Boeing said yesterday the aircraft would fly this year with first delivery set for the fourth quarter of 2010. “The surprise was they reiterated the [...]
BHP increases output of iron as demand picks up October 21, 2009 MINING giant BHP Billiton upped its quarterly iron ore production to a record high for the third quarter, it said yesterday. Production of the metal went up by 11 per cent to 30.1m tonnes, as economic conditions pick up, particularly in China. Petroleum output from BHP was also at a record high as its projects [...]