Lenders give INM a break May 18, 2009 TROUBLED newspaper publisher Independent News & Media (INM) said yesterday it had agreed a grace period from lenders to renegotiate a €200m (£177m) bond. The owner of the Independent and Independent on Sunday said it now has until 26 June to hammer out a repayment deal on its senior debt, which was due for payment [...]
We need a new online democracy May 18, 2009 PRETTY much every UK citizen is ready to shout “you’re fired” at their local MP after the depressing expenses revelations. I’ve always believed that form is content – that how you say something is just as important as what you say. Barack Obama came to power by having such an effective way of expressing himself, [...]
Resolution is still on the hunt for life fund assets May 18, 2009 BRITISH buyout firm Resolution told investors yesterday it remains “fully engaged” in pursuing acquisition opportunities, despite deciding not to proceed with a number of deals in the quarter to the end of March. The company, launched by City heavyweight Clive Cowdery, revealed it spent £4m on due diligence investigations into possible buyout targets in the [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 18, 2009 Collins Stewart The financial services group has appointed Mark Wilson to its equity research team as an analyst covering the pan-European capital goods sector. Wilson has covered both mechanical and electrical stocks for a number of years, from large cap through to mid cap companies. He previously worked at Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers and, for [...]
BLANK’S CHELSEA APPEARANCE SETS CITY TONGUES WAGGING ON HIS HEIR May 18, 2009 ANY idea that the downturn would affect corporate hospitality at the Chelsea Flower Show, traditionally one of the biggest, most important corporate schmooze-fests of the year, was smashed to smithereens at last night’s gala preview opening. Chelsea veterans including Marks & Spencer boss Sir Stuart Rose, WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell, ICAP billionaire Michael [...]
BLANK QUITS LLOYDS OVER HBOS DISASTER May 17, 2009 LLOYDS Banking Group must begin the hunt for a successor to chairman Sir Victor Blank, after the bank chief announced yesterday that he would retire before the bank’s 2010 AGM. In a board meeting at the bank’s Gresham Street headquarters, Blank officially notified fellow board members of his departure, which follows massive investor anger over [...]
FSA vets job movers May 17, 2009 A NUMBER of executives have withdrawn their applications for senior roles at UK financial institutions after the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has questioned their suitability. Addressing the Association of Corporate Treasurers, FSA chief executive Hector Sants said that the regulator has conducted interviews with 51 candidates for senior roles, and that a number have been [...]
Blank’s exit won’t end Lloyds’ troubles May 17, 2009 IT was always Sir Victor Blank, one of the Labour Party’s favourite businessmen, who was most likely to be Lloyds Banking Group’s sacrificial lamb. It was he, after all, who was the main driver of Lloyds TSB’s ill-fated takeover of HBOS; he first discussed the idea of the deal with Gordon Brown over drinks in [...]
Fund star hits out at rivals May 17, 2009 FORMER New Star hedge fund heavyweight Alan Miller has issued a blistering attack on some of his peers, ahead of the launch of his wealth management boutique today. Miller, part of the original team that ditched Jupiter to join John Duffield’s New Star, said a number of fund managers are locking in their clients’ funds [...]
Clegg: Martin should go May 17, 2009 PRESSURE on Michael Martin to step down as Speaker of the House of Commons was mounting last night, after Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg called for his resignation over his handling of the MP expenses scandal. In an unconventional move for a party leader, Clegg said that the Speaker is a “dogged-defender” of the status [...]