Li seeks to cash in on growing plane leasing September 10, 2014 LI KA-SHING, Asia’s richest man yesterday aims to become a force in the global aircraft leasing business after it was announced that as his flagship investment firm held talks with lessors on building up a portfolio of planes. The Hong Kong tycoon’s Cheung Kong Holdings was reported by Reuters to be in discussions to form [...]
Russia cutting gas supply to Poland by 20pc September 10, 2014 POLAND and Germany yesterday announced that Russia had cut their gas supply, with Warsaw saying it was down 20 per cent. Some European officials believe Moscow could use gas supply disruptions as its trump card in a confrontation over Ukraine that has already brought ties between Moscow and the west to their lowest since the [...]
Twitter seeking to raise $1.3bn in debt offering September 10, 2014 MICROBLOGGING site Twitter yesterday announced it planned to raise $1.3bn (£800m) to invest in acquisitions and expansion. The company planned two offerings worth $650m each in convertible senior notes due to mature in 2019 and 2021, the microblogging website said in a filing. Twitter will also grant initial purchasers an option to buy up to [...]
The new queen of Kingfisher September 10, 2014 B&Q-owner Kingfisher is to replace Sir Ian Cheshire, its long-standing chief executive, with Véronique Laury, the head of its French DIY business. The DIY and horse jumping enthusiast will become the fifth woman chief executive in the FTSE 100
Investors are “most optimistic” about UK property and equities September 10, 2014 Investors are more optimistic about British shares and housing than any other asset class – including emerging market stocks, a study by Lloyds showed today. UK property far and away led the rankings, indicating investors believed the house price resurgence still has a long way to run. The survey asks investors how they think an [...]
US regulator fines 33 firms and execs for not reporting trades September 10, 2014 US REGULATORS yesterday imposed a total of $2.6m (£1.6m) in fines on 33 companies, corporate executives and major shareholders after they agreed to reach a settlement after being charged with not reporting transactions in company stock. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said that companies included well-known companies such as Jones Lang LaSalle and Sankaty [...]
Obituary Emilio Botin September 10, 2014 Emilio Botin, the patriarch and dealmaker whose vision transformed Banco Santander from a domestic lender to a global bank, grew to become one of the most powerful unelected people in Spain. Botin, who was chairman of Santander for 28 years, died suddenly of a heart attack late on Tuesday, leaving a vacuum that the bank [...]
David Cameron dealt EU job reprieve as Lord Hill handed finance role September 10, 2014 President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker has dealt David Cameron a reprieve yesterday by giving the financial services portfolio to Conservative peer Lord Jonathan Hill. Cameron, who opposed Juncker’s appointment earlier this year, had made no secret of his desire for a strong economic portfolio to bolster the UK’s influence in Europe. The Prime [...]
French budget deficit up again as Hollande fails to restore growth September 10, 2014 THE FRENCH government will miss its borrowing targets again this year, the state conceded yesterday. It now expects to run a deficit of 4.4 per cent of GDP, up from a previous pledge to borrow 3.8 per cent. All Eurozone members are supposed to run deficits of below three per cent of GDP. France had already been [...]
Barratt boss warns of labour shortage September 10, 2014 The boss of Britain’s largest housebuilder Barratt Developments warned yesterday that a shortage of skilled workers could prevent the country from delivering the homes needed to tackle housing crisis as the company reported a doubling of full-year profits. Mark Clare said the lack of skilled workers – from bricklayers to architects and plasterers – is [...]