New GM to be liable for old car defects June 28, 2009 BANKRUPT US carmaker General Motors (GM) has agreed to accept liability for legal claims over defects on products it has sold over the years, in a key concession to US officials and consumer groups. As part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy plans the group is to split into a “New GM” of healthy assets being [...]
Marston’s ploughing on with 176m rights issue June 28, 2009 MARSTON’S, which brews Pedigree and Banks’s ales, believes it has the support of investors over its plans for a rights issue to raise £176m, following reports leading shareholders were gearing up to vote the plans down. Sources close to chief executive Ralph Findlay’s plan, designed to fund new pub acquisitions, said it will go ahead [...]
Nat Express rejects bid from rival FirstGroup June 28, 2009 THE BOARD of coach and train operator National Express, which recently renegotiated restrictions on its £1.2bn debt pile, has rejected an unsolicited takeover bid from larger rival FirstGroup. Ahead of a Wednesday trading update which is expected to disappoint investors, it has emerged National Express is now being circled by potential buyers. And talks with [...]
GIRL POWER IN THE CITY June 28, 2009 Never one to pass up the chance to dwell upon the successes of the ladies in the business world, The Capitalist has been perusing this year’s list of the top 35 women under 35 with interest. The list is compiled by Management Today, and the world of the City, as ever, features heavily. Nestled alongside [...]
BILL OF THE WEEK June 28, 2009 A FEAST fit for kings, this – in volume as well as in quality. This group of three happy couples hogged the private room at the West End’s newly-launched Keelung restaurant last week, celebrating the 30th birthday of one of their number. The group certainly kept the restaurant’s waiters on their toes, shuttling back and [...]
Unemployment flies in the face of green shoots June 28, 2009 IN THE good old days of open outcry trading the Liffe market was at its busiest between 1.29pm and 1.31pm on the first Friday of every month. This was when several thousand of us derivatives traders and brokers would cram into the pits ready for the release of the “Daddy of all Data” – the [...]
Putin hands Shell a role in gas projects June 28, 2009 ANGLO-DUTCH energy giant Shell has accepted an invitation from Russian president Vladimir Putin to participate in two giant natural gas projects, as the country eases its nationalistic clasp over its energy sector. Royal Dutch Shell was yesterday asked to take part in the Sakhalin-3 and Sakhalin-4 deep-sea gas projects off Russia’s Pacific coast. Putin yesterday [...]
Pension fund managers under scrutiny over engagement with investments June 28, 2009 PENSION fund managers face mounting pressure to use their shareholder powers to engage with the companies they invest in, according to a survey of pension schemes by the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF). Almost half of pension schemes questioned said they will be spending more time checking that the fund managers they employ to [...]
Citi ads banned in Japan as regulator cracks down June 28, 2009 THE JAPANESE financial regulator has launched disciplinary proceedings against US bank Citigroup over allegations that its policy to prevent money laundering is not strict enough. Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) ordered the bank to suspend all advertising of its products for one month at its 35 retail branches in the country. The regulator said the [...]
Tory lead grows as City donors swell coffers June 28, 2009 THE Conservative Party has extended its opinion-poll lead over Labour as City donations continue to pour into the Tory coffers, a survey has shown. Support for the Conservatives is up two points to 40 per cent while Labour is down one point to 24 per cent, according to a YouGov survey conducted for the People [...]