Brown to hire Royal spin doctor June 15, 2009 Prime Minster Gordon Brown is set to appoint the man responsible for the turnaround of the Queen’s public image after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales as his new spin doctor. Simon Lewis, whose clients include Buckingham Palace, Centrica and Vodafone, will try to restore Brown’s dogged reputation. Lewis is an old acquaintance of [...]
Addax shares fly on China talks June 15, 2009 Shares in London-listed oil explorer Addax soared yesterday on talks that Chinese state-owned refiner Sinopec was making a £4.8bn bid for the company. The offer, which is understood to be advised by Credit Suisse, looks set to trump a bid from the state-run Korea National Oil Company.
Deripaska appoints GM chief June 15, 2009 Russian indebted carmaker GAZ said yesterday it had invited a former General Motors executive to head its board of directors. The group, owned by tycoon Oleg Deripaska, said former purchasing chief Bo Andersson had expressed his agreement to take the post. GAZ, along with Russia’s largest lender Sberbank and Canadian car parts group Magna is [...]
Aquascutum thrown lifeline June 15, 2009 Struggling luxury fashion brand Aquascutum has been thrown a lifeline by Crombie chairman Alan Lewis. Lewis is believed to be early talks with Japanese owner, Renown, to acquire the label’s UK business including its manufacturing operation after an attempted management buyout collapsed. The move will offer hope to the group’s 340 staff, including 120 factory [...]
IMF boss says further pain may lie ahead June 15, 2009 DOMINIQUE Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has spoken out after recent reports of “green shoots”, warning the worst of the global financial crisis may not yet be behind us. Speaking on a visit to Kazakhstan, he said the IMF needed to be cautious about calling an economic recovery, although he said [...]
Hedge funds back on track, says report June 15, 2009 HEDGE funds are once again performing favourably now that outflows have stabilised, according to a report. In its latest investment outlook, Swedish financial group SEB says that the hedge fund industry is over the worst, following its toughest year on record in 2008. The report predicts that strong hedge funds will be able to strengthen [...]
AIG is at war with ex-chief June 15, 2009 AIG began a legal fight with former boss Maurice Greenberg in a New York federal court yesterday, in a bitter fight over disputed assets worth $4.3bn (£2.6bn). Greenberg, chairman of privately-held Starr International, is accused by AIG of snatching the assets unlawfully in 2005. He is due to take the stand to testify this week. [...]
Premier League issues warning to Setanta over rights payments June 15, 2009 THE Premier League warned yesterday that it will put the rights held by troubled broadcaster Setanta back up for sale if the Irish group does not pay its next instalment due on Friday. The Premier League said that it would terminate the existing agreement “if Setanta does not meet certain contractual requirements of the Premier [...]
CITY VIEWS: IS THE WORST OF THE DOWNTURN OVER? June 15, 2009 DANIEL OLLIVER LIFE ASSURANCE“I think we are coming out of the downturn, but that recovery will be slow. Everyone is nervous about saying we’re coming out of the slump, as they don’t want to be seen overreacting to a market blip.” DOUGLAS CHU NYSE EURONET“The institutional credit market still isn’t working, and until it does [...]
EU SLAMMED OVER CITY POWER GRAB June 14, 2009 THE EUROPEAN Commission (EC) is being too hasty in its drive for pan-European regulatory reform, a House of Lords committee will warn this week, as fears mount in the City over encroachment from Brussels on the UK financial services sector. The House of Lords sub-committee on economic and financial affairs will say that the pace [...]