CIT in crisis as US regulators at odds over bailout plan for lender July 13, 2009 THE survival of CIT Group, a key source of financing for thousands of small and medium-sized companies in the US, became ensnared in disagreements between regulators in Washington yesterday. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, which insures deposits at US banks, opposed an attempt by the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve to rescue the struggling lender [...]
Geithner says end in sight July 13, 2009 THERE is a strong chance America and other leading economies around the world will start growing again over the next few quarters, but big risks to the outlook remain, US treasury secretary Timothy Geithner said yesterday. Geithner, speaking after talks in London with Prime Minister Gordon Brown and chancellor Alistair Darling, said support measures were [...]
Red faces at C&C after cider group gets its figures wrong July 13, 2009 THE new management team at cider company C&C Group suffered a blow to its credibility yesterday when it announced a correction to a positive trading statement it issued just four days ago. C&C said last week that revenue for the four months to end-June was up three per cent on the year due to good [...]
Four Seasons creditors use their force to push through proposals July 13, 2009 FOUR Seasons’ senior creditors were yesterday thought to be looking at legal options to force through a restructuring proposal – without the backing of junior lenders. On Friday, City A.M. revealed that the care home company had convinced senior creditor Credit Suisse to support its latest restructuring plan for its £1.5bn debt pile. Without backing [...]
CANTERBURY TRIES BUT FAILS July 13, 2009 THE European arm of rugby shirt maker Canterbury yesterday fell into administration, with the loss of 72 jobs in the UK. Canterbury Europe supplies teams including the London Wasps, Leinster and the Scottish national side. Administrators KPMG said all contracts with clubs have now been cancelled. The rest of Canterbury Group, including the global Canterbury [...]
BARCLAYS EYES MORE SELL-OFFS July 12, 2009 BARCLAYS is edging closer to a sale of its private equity business, just weeks after it offloaded its fund management unit Barclays Global Investors (BGI) to BlackRock. The bank – widely seen as one of the big winners from the credit crunch – will meet with investors in Barclays Private Equity (BPE) this week to [...]
Friends deal is rebuffed July 12, 2009 RESOLUTION Clive Cowdery is expected to approach life insurer Friends Provident’s shareholders directly with his £1.7bn merger bid, after it emerged that the board will reject his approach later today. Friends’ board will issue a statement rejecting the offer price, which it believes to be too low. But investment vehicle Resolution is understood to have [...]
UBS delays US hearing July 12, 2009 UBS and the US government yesterday appealed to a federal judge to delay the start of a hearing, scheduled for today, as they seek to resolve their dispute over US demands for the identities of thousands of wealthy Americans suspected of using the Swiss bank to dodge taxes. The parties asked that the trial be [...]
RHJ fights for GM Opel deal July 12, 2009 RHJ INTERNATIONAL is stepping up its bid to broker a deal with General Motors for a controlling stake in Opel after talks between the US carmaker and Magna International stalled. The Brussels-listed industrial holding company, linked to US buy-out firm Ripplewood, is set to present GM with a better offer early this week. In May, [...]
Higher mortgage rates are here to stay July 12, 2009 SO Nationwide is offering a mortgage that will allow some of its customers suffering from negative equity to move homes. So far, so mundane – but the loan will be worth 125 per cent of the value of the new property. I spent an hour debating this with David Kuo of Motley Fool, the popular [...]