AnaCap acquires a second bank August 3, 2009 Private equity firm AnaCap Financial Partners has received regulatory clearance to acquire Malta-based private bank Mediterranean Bank, its second private bank purchase of the year. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but AnaCap said that it would be injecting new capital into the bank to improve its Tier 1 capital ratio.
Airport tax threat to aid August 3, 2009 The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) said yesterday that the revised UK airport departure tax will discourage long-haul travel, reducing UK spending in emerging markets, and thereby undermining the government’s support of the Millennium Development Goals. The claims added to the widespread opposition to the tax already voiced by the industry around the world.
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 3, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES UK ATTORNEY GENERAL VOWS FRAUD CRACKDOWNBritain aims to become the most hostile country in the world to fraudsters, the government’s top law officer has pledged, in an eye-catching riposte to growing criticism about the lack of big financial crime cases being mounted. Baroness Scotland, attorney-general, said domestic investigation agencies would soon be giving [...]
Senior sees more 787 delays August 3, 2009 Senior, the engineering group, said its pre-tax profit fell by 22 per cent in the first half of the year to £21.1m as a result of the sluggish aerospace market, including the deferred delivery of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner aircraft. The 787, for which Senior supplies air ducts and other parts, is already two years late [...]
Profits jump at MillerCoors August 3, 2009 MillerCoors, the second largest brewer in the US, yesterday reported a 16.4 per cent rise in second-quarter net income while accelerating the timing of its merger savings. The firm, which consists of the combined US operations of SABMiller and Molson Coors, produces brands such as Miller Lite and Coors Light, and said underlying net income [...]
IT’S OFFICIAL: BANK PROFITS ARE BACK August 2, 2009 BRITAIN’S biggest banks will this week herald a return to the gilded banking days of old as they post bumper interim profits, despite the impact of their mounting bad debts. Barclays is this morning expected to reveal a first-half pre-tax profit of £3.5bn, boosted by a stellar performance in its investment banking division, Barclays Capital, [...]
House dip to last two more years August 2, 2009 THE HOUSE price slump will continue apace this year and next, according to a starkly bearish annual forecast from the National Housing Federation (NHF) released today. In a gloomy report the group has warned of a sharp 12.2 per cent fall in total in England during this year, and a further 4.6 per cent fall [...]
Geithner eyes more stimulus August 2, 2009 US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner yesterday said more actions may be necessary to firm up economic recovery, including extended unemployment aid, and he declined to rule out future tax hikes to reduce massive budget deficts. Geithner also said the government needed to show the will to reverse massive deficits after the recovery, including raising tax [...]
How finance can salvage its reputation August 2, 2009 FINANCIAL institutions almost never win the PR wars. When banks lose money, politicians and the media are angry. When they make money, politicians and the media are equally angry. The only time this golden rule breaks down is at the height of a bubble, when everybody – even the industry’s fiercest critics – gets drunk [...]
Ford in July sales uptick August 2, 2009 BELEAGUERED US carmaker Ford said last night it sold more cars in July than the same month last year, its first year-on-year sales rise since November 2007. The group will today become the first major US automaker to report a sales rise since the financial crisis kicked off, thanks to a surge of orders under [...]