National Grid’s UK dominance under threat September 23, 2009 NATIONAL GRID’s monopoly on electricity in England and Wales is set to be challenged by 12 companies, the sector’s regulator Ofgem said yesterday. Equitix, a PFI specialist, and Balfour Beatty, which was yesterday fined for price-rigging in its construction bids, are among those challenging the utility’s dominance. They will be bidding to operate £1.15bn of [...]
Analysts say Lloyds could still exit APS September 23, 2009 LLOYDS Banking Group could avoid the government’s Asset Protection Scheme (APS) altogether if it can raise £16bn via a rights issue, analysts from stockbroker Execution said yesterday. The APS is a “sub-optimal way to recapitalise the sector”, analysts led by Joseph Dickerson said, adding that rights issue would lower the bank’s wholesale funding costs. “Our [...]
BP SLAMMEDONSAFETY September 23, 2009 BRITISH oil giant BP, led by chief executive Tony Hayward, has failed to carry out safety improvements after an explosion that killed 15 workers at its refinery in Texas in 2005, the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration said in a letter to the company last month. The complaint by the regulator is bad news [...]
Geely sets sights on expansion September 23, 2009 Goldman Sachs’ $334m (£203m) investment in Geely Automobile will boost the Chinese carmaker’s global ambitions, including a potential bid by its parent for Ford’s Volvo brand it said yesterday. Shares in Hong Kong-listed Geely spiked 26 per cent yesterday after the company said it would issue convertible bonds and warrants to an affiliate of Goldman [...]
Ford to open new China factory September 23, 2009 Ford, the US carmaker, is opening a new factory in China, its third, as it seeks to catch up with rival General Motors. Chief executive Alan Mulally is set to break ground on the new plant in Chongqing tomorrow. It will produce high-end sedans and sport-utility vehicles. Ford was the only major US carmaker not [...]
Siemens issues an ultimatum September 23, 2009 Mobile company Siemens issued an ultimatum yesterday to a range of its ex-executive board members, including former chief executives Heinrich von Pierer and Klaus Kleinfeld, and called on them to agree to pay damages relating to a multibillion euro bribery scandal. The German company, which is Europe’s biggest engineering group, said seven former managers would [...]
US regulators to plan how to rebuild FDIC September 23, 2009 USREGULATORS will meet next week to discuss how to rebuild the deposit insurance fund, which has been depleted by a sharp increase in bank failures, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said yesterday. The FDIC’s board is expected to propose on 29 September and put out for public comment a number of options to replenish [...]
JPMorgan arm ups EcoSecurities offer September 23, 2009 JPMORGAN Chase vehicle Carbon Acquisition Company (CAC) yesterday hiked a cash offer for the carbon offset aggregator EcoSecurities, in a bid to win round shareholders. CAC increased its initial offer of 100p per share to 105p, valuing EcoSecurities at £129m and also bought a further 18.3m shares in the company, taking its stake to nearly [...]
Mortgage approvals soar 81 per cent year on year September 23, 2009 MORTGAGE approvals have risen 81 per cent year on year as the housing market recovers from its sharp spiral downwards, the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) said yesterday. Approvals fell slightly in August compared to July after seven consecutive monthly rises, the BBA said, attributing the dramatic year-on-year increase to the lending drought that gripped the [...]
CITY ON THE CUSP OF APPOINTING NICK ANSTEE AS NEXT LORD MAYOR September 23, 2009 UNDER a week to go until the appointment of the man who will replace Lord Mayor Ian Luder at the helm of the City of London. The new boss won’t officially take up residence in his swanky Mansion House digs until his official inauguration in November, though the election – if you can call it [...]