More US banks are struggling May 27, 2009 The number of US banks in financial difficulty jumped by 40 per cent in the first quarter, the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said yesterday. The FDIC said 305 banks were still struggling in the period between January and March, up from 252 in the previous quarter. However, bank profits rose substantially, topping $7.6bn [...]
Virgin Media in debt offering May 27, 2009 UK cable operator Virgin Media said last night it would price a $650m (£407.1m) offering of new debt before the end of the week, in a bid to pay off debt due in the next two years. The new offering of senior notes will give the US-listed group more breathing room and builds on its [...]
Arrests in insider dealing probe May 27, 2009 Five men and one woman have been arrested in connection with an investigation into organised insider dealing, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) said yesterday. In a joint operation between the FSA and the City of London Police Economic Crime Directorate (ECD), officers raided eight addresses in London and Essex. The round of arrests was the [...]
Shell revamps for Voser era May 27, 2009 OIL giant Shell announced a massive shake up yesterday, as incoming chief executive Peter Voser starts to make his mark on the company. The exploration and production, gas and power, and oil sands unit will be moved into two divisions, one covering North and South America, one covering the rest of the world. Voser, who [...]
Portsmouth Sheikh-up as Dr Al Fahim nears a takeover May 27, 2009 THE Arabic businessman at the centre of last summer’s multi-million pound Manchester City takeover, had an offer to buy Portsmouth accepted last night. Dr Sulaiman Al Fahim was in charge of the Abu Dhabi United Group consortium which took control at Eastlands in September, but is no longer involved with the City owners. Now, after [...]
Braford & Bingley’s bid to defer bond interest could be repeated May 27, 2009 BRADFORD & Bingley (B&B) has said it will not pay interest on £325m of subordinated bonds, fuelling speculation that other nationalised lenders such as Northern Rock might follow suit. The bank said last night that it would not pay interest on three tranches of notes, £150m of floating rate notes due on 30 June, £125m [...]
Margetts: No pay boost for top L&G staff May 27, 2009 LEGAL & General (L&G) chairman Sir Rob Margetts yesterday said no staff at the firm earning over £100,000 received a payrise last year and confirmed all directors waived their bonuses, as he faced shareholders at the group’s annual meeting. He said it “would be inappropriate to make those payments when the company is reducing headcount [...]
Brussels to seize regulatory power May 27, 2009 THE EU is poised to grab control of financial regulation after the European Commission yesterday debuted plans to erect a pan-European supervisory framework with genuine power. Three new bodies are to be created, a European Banking Authority in London, a European Securities Authority in Paris and a European Insurance Authority in Frankfurt. All three will [...]
OPD Group sets out offer terms May 27, 2009 RECRUITER OPD Group yesterday revealed the terms of a cash offer for the firm from a management buyout team led by chairman Peter Hearn and backed by private equity firm Graphite Capital. The 57p-a-share offer values the group at around £15.1m. Hearn and Graphite are supported by chief executive Francesca Robinson and directors Richard Boogis-Rolfe [...]
Outlook tough for Speedy Hire May 27, 2009 TOOL hire company Speedy Hire reported a 29.5 per cent fall in profit yesterday, reflecting the downturn in construction, and said trading continued to be tough, sending its shares down as much by 6.5 per cent to 176p. Adjusted pre-tax profit fell to £33.9m for the year ended 31 March, from £48.1m in the same [...]