Saudi Arabia oil minister Ali al-Naimi: We won’t cut production to prop up prices December 22, 2014 Saudi Arabia’s oil minister has insisted the country will not cut oil production to prop up prices, despite the key commodity collapsing by a further 25 per cent in value over the past month. “Whether it goes down to $20, $40, $50, $60, it is irrelevant,” Ali al-Naimi said yesterday. “We are [...]
Come all ye faithful… to watch the big screen at paternoster square December 22, 2014 Choristers were in full voice at St Paul’s cathedral yesterday, ahead of today’s Christmas carol service. The service is free to attend, and will also be relayed live on to a screen in Paternoster Square.
Forex price fixers may face jail under George Osborne’s new plans December 22, 2014 Chancellor George Osborne yesterday confirmed the government would make price-fixing in foreign exchange markets a criminal offence in 2015. It is part of a larger plan that extends the rules put in place to regulate Libor – a rate at which banks lend to each other – to several other financial market benchmarks. [...]
Further oil price drop could pose financial threat to UK stability December 22, 2014 Financial market regulators have warned that if the fall in oil prices were sustained, it could be a problem for the UK’s financial stability. Falling prices could impact on the ability of some businesses to service their debt. Some such businesses are US oil and gas exploration firms, according to the minutes of [...]
American Apparel approached on takeover December 22, 2014 FASHION retailer American Apparel yesterday confirmed it had received a takeover offer of between $1.30 and $1.40 per share. At $1.40 per share the company is valued at $267m (£171m). It comes just a week after the company let go of chief executive Dov Charney.
Kingfisher sells off loss-making B&Q business in China for £140m December 22, 2014 DIY GROUP Kingfisher said yesterday it had agreed to sell a 70 per cent stake in its loss-making B&Q China business to Wumei Holdings for £140m. The deal came after the retailer announced in March that it was searching for a strategic partner to help grow its B&Q business in China, which is made up [...]
French multinational Alstom hit with largest foreign bribery fine in US Department of Justice history December 22, 2014 Alstom – the French power and transportation company – yesterday agreed to pay $772.29m (£494.23m) after pleading guilty to charges relating to bribery. If approved by the court next year, this will be the largest foreign bribery penalty in the history of the US Department of Justice (DoJ), according to a statement it [...]
Tesco profit overstatement: PwC faces double investigation by accountancy watchdog FRC December 22, 2014 The Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the regulator for the UK’s accountancy industry, yesterday announced it was launching two separate investigations into the activities of professional services giant PwC. The probes will look into the book-keeping role played by the Big Four accountant in recent scandals involving UK supermarket chain Tesco and banking monolith Barclays. In [...]
Cinven buys up KKR’s Northgate Public Services for undisclosed fee December 22, 2014 Software and outsourcing business Northgate Information Solutions yesterday sold its public services division to Cinven, a top European private equity firm. David Meaden, chief executive of Northgate Public Services – which was owned by KKR – said Cinven’s acquisition of the division was “a huge vote of confidence in the strength of our [...]
Warburg and Carlyle snap up rating agency December 22, 2014 ALTERNATIVE asset manager the Carlyle Group and US private equity firm Warburg Pincus yesterday agreed to acquire the world’s fourth largest credit rating agency, DBRS. The buyout pair completed a deal for the Toronto-based company in partnership with a consortium of Canadian-based individual investors, including DBRS founder, Walter Schroeder, and other members of the company’s [...]