Bernanke defiant over BoA deal June 25, 2009 Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke last night denied that he had strongarmed Bank of America (BoA) into buying Merrill Lynch in a $50bn (£30.5bn) deal, in testimony before a congressional committee. BoA chief executive Kenneth Lewis has claimed that he was pressured into the deal by former Treasury secretary Hank Paulson, at Bernanke’s request. The [...]
BBC boss in expenses row June 25, 2009 Mark Thompson, the director-general of the BBC, claimed £2,000 in expenses when he cut short a family holiday in the US to fly back to the UK and deal with the Andrew Sachs telephone furore, it emerged yesterday. The claim was published among hundreds released under the Freedom of Information Act. Thompson said the release [...]
FESTIVAL ATMOSPHERE June 25, 2009 City workers gathered yesterday in Paternoster Square as a musically-gifted one of their number performed an impromptu recital on one of the pianos dotted about London by mayor Boris Johnson. The piano initiative was put in place as part of this year’s City of London Festival, running until 7 August, which involves a number of [...]
GLAMOROUS DRAGON HAS SIGHTS ON TV DEN June 24, 2009 ENTREPRENEURIAL types and their brave backers packed the Institute of Directors yesterday for the fifth bi-annual Entrepreneur Country conference, hosted by BBC Dragon, Ariadne Capital chief executive and City A.M. columnist Julie Meyer. Meyer was proud to introduce her new protégé, Warren Cole, to the investors in the room, after he became her third investment [...]
Comet owner Kesa plunges into the red June 24, 2009 KESA Electrical, the owner of Comet, yesterday said it had plunged to a £81.8m full-year loss due to a slump in demand for electrical goods. The group, which owns a number of European electrical retailers including Darty in Frnace, boasted a pre-tax profit of £128.8m a year ago. The losses were largely due to a [...]
CAN KESA ELECTRICALS RECOVER FROM ITS NOSEDIVE INTO THE RED? June 24, 2009 DAVID JEARY INVESTECIt is clear that trading conditions remain challenging. The company has already announced cost cutting measures for Comet and its Spanish division, and cost reduction is to remain a key focus. Much will depend on the continued resilience of the key Darty division, which has performed solidly.” MATTHEW MCEACHRAN SINGER CAPITALThese results look [...]
KESA’S SLUMP June 24, 2009 LOSS BEFORE TAX£81.8m2008: Profit £128.8m DARTY FRANCE REVENUE&9660;5%like-for-like basis OPERATING PROFIT£77m2008: Profit £141.3mCOMET REVENUE&9660;7.7%like-for-like basis GROUP REVENUE&9660;6.2%like-for-like basis OTHER REVENUE&9660;6.3%
BAE wins $124.8m US contract June 24, 2009 Defence company BAE Systems won a $124.8m (£70m) US army contract yesterday to reset, upgrade and maintain M113 vehicles – armoured personnel carriers. During the reset process, BAE Systems will repair existing vehicles to pre-deployment condition and provide some upgrades to enhance survivability, mobility and communications.
Madoff victims told to wait June 24, 2009 Decisions over compensation for the thousands of investors defrauded by Bernard Madoff will be deferred for three months, the US judge who will sentence the confessed swindler on June 29 ruled yesterday. US prosecutors argued they needed more time to calculate the amount of money lost and the number of those swindled in Madoff’s alleged [...]
Woolworths given new life June 24, 2009 Shop Direct Group is today giving Woolworths a new lease of life in an online form. Chief executive, Mark Newton-Jones acquired the brand name twenty weeks ago after the highstreet retailer collapsed and has since launched woolworths.co.uk. Pick’n’Mix and twenty different types of piñata are a few of the products that will be sold on [...]