CITY VIEWS: HAVE YOU SEEN MANY STAFF GO SELF-EMPLOYED IN THE RECESSION? June 24, 2009 MARK PRATT BERWIN LEIGHTON“I already know a number of people who have been made redundant from large companies and set themselves up as self-employed. I think sometimes people will take the plunge because they want to, but often it will be needs must.” STEPHEN AYME NATIXIS“Yes, I’ve seen it happening. I think if people can [...]
Apple’s Jobs had a liver transplant June 24, 2009 APPLE chief executive Steve Jobs underwent a liver transplant at a Tennessee hospital and has “an excellent prognosis”, the hospital that performed the operation has confirmed. Jobs, 54, received the transplant because he was “the sickest patient on the waiting list at the time a donor organ became available,” the Methodist University Hospital Transplant Institute [...]
Citigroup ups salaries as it cuts bonuses June 24, 2009 CITIGROUP, the stricken US banking giant, will boost salaries by up to 50 per cent to prevent an exodus of top staff. The move follows high-profile complaints from the US government that bailed out banks and financial services firms are still handing out large bonuses despite their reliance on the taxpayer. There are fears that [...]
US home sales rise during May June 24, 2009 SALES of previously-occupied homes in America rose in May for the second consecutive month in a row, though the results fell short of analysts’ expectations. The National Association of Realtors said sales rose 2.4 per cent between April and May, to an annual rate of 4.77m. Analysts had forecast an annual rate of around 4.81m. [...]
Wogen gets a 41p share offer June 24, 2009 METALS trader Wogen said yesterday it had received an £18.6m approach from its executive directors and the company’s co-founder, Colin Williams. An offer, if made, will be in cash and priced at 41p per share. In a separate statement, the specialty metals and minerals trader said it swung to a pre-tax loss of £3m in [...]
Football Association touting rights after Setanta’s demise June 24, 2009 THE FOOTBALL Association (FA) and the owners of other sports rights previously held by Setanta are desperately searching for new buyers to fill the payment void left by the collapse of the Irish pay-TV broadcaster. Setanta held the rights to the English and Scottish Premier Leagues, Premier Rugby, PGA golf, FA Cup and England football [...]
BARCLAYS TAKES THE METRO June 24, 2009 NEW YORK’S Brooklyn Atlantic Avenue subway hub is going to be renamed Barclays, after the bank struck a $4m (£2.4m) deal with the city’s transport authority. Barclays’ New York offices are actually in the more glamorous Manhattan, but the Barclays Centre sports arena is being built in Brooklyn as part of a local regeneration project, [...]
China snares 4.4bn Addax June 24, 2009 CHINESE state-owned Sinopec agreed a takeover of London-listed oil producer Addax yesterday, in a deal worth C$8.3bn (£4.4bn). The offer of C$52.80 a share – which comes after a behind-the-scenes bidding war with Korea National Oil – is a 16 per cent premium to Addax’s closing share price on Tuesday and more than four times [...]
Sants drops bonus payout June 24, 2009 FINANCIAL Services Authority (FSA) chief executive Hector Sants has turned down his £130,000 bonus for the last year, sending a message that the regulator is leading by example. “In view of the wider public debate relating to levels of bonuses payable in the financial services industry and the role of the FSA in seeking to [...]
Britain’s economy is improving slowly June 24, 2009 MOST commentators are focusing on the world’s appalling economic performance this year – the UK will collapse by 4.3 per cent, the US by 2.8 per cent, Japan by 6.8 per cent and the Eurozone by 4.8 per cent, according to yesterday’s revised forecasts from the OECD. But that is no longer really news. The [...]