Merger Monday: Big deal developments spark hopes of M&A pick-up this autumn August 22, 2016 Global deals valued at nearly $65bn (£49.5bn) cleared a series of major hurdles yesterday, amid hopes of a renewed drive in worldwide mergers and acquisitions next month. US pharmaceutical company Pfizer agreed a $14bn deal for San Francisco-based Medivation, which specialises in cancer treatments. It came as a welcome boost to the pharma giant whose [...]
Bank of America escapes $1.3bn fine after court declines to go back on decision August 22, 2016 Bank of America has dodged a $1.3bn (£990m) fine, after a US court decided to drop the issue. The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York opted not to reconsider its previous decision to overturn the bumper penalty the bank had been initially slapped with after a jury decided the lender was liable for mortgage [...]
Sadiq Khan’s plans to build affordable homes on TfL land have been thrown into doubt by questions over the sales process August 22, 2016 Sadiq Khan's hopes of forcing developers to build up affordable homes on former Transport for London property have been put in doubt by requirements on getting value for money on land deals. Khan was elected on a pledge of making sure that half of new homes would be affordable, and the sale of TfL land [...]
Wonga to get a new UK boss August 22, 2016 Payday lender Wonga is due to get a new UK top dog. Former Travelex executive Tommy Jordan is set to head up the business' UK operations, replacing Tara Kneafsey. Kneafsey was promoted earlier this year to lead the wider business. According to Sky News, which first reported the story, insiders have said Jordan, whose promotion is due to [...]
Merkel, Renzi and Hollande had this to say about Brexit August 22, 2016 The French President has today urged EU countries to reject nationalist tendencies as he met with the leaders of two of the bloc's major economies. Francois Hollande is meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in Italian aircraft carrier Garibaldi, which is currently playing a critical role in Europe's migrant rescue efforts. According [...]
Now’s your chance to be the voice of the speaking clock August 22, 2016 Clear your throat, gargle that water and prepare for the opportunity to go down in British history… as the voice of the talking clock. Yep, it still exists (somehow still receiving 12m calls a year) and BT wants to find a new person to takeover the prestigious job – only the fifth in the peculiarly British institution's 80 year history. The [...]
The public sector’s vast bank of unused land is a national disgrace August 22, 2016 So Brexit means that overseas demand for London property will decline, prices will fall and the housing crisis will ease, right? Think again. Whatever the effects of Brexit on London house prices, short or long term, the basic problem persists: the capital faces a chronic shortage of homes. Demand for all but the most expensive [...]
Downing Street is hinting that future devolution will not require the election of regional mayors August 22, 2016 Future city devolution deals may not require the election of a mayor, Downing Street has hinted, after fears were raised of Theresa May abandoning the previous government's desire to pass down power. A total of 10 city-regions have secured devolution deals so far in talks with the government, and each one has required the adoption [...]
Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour should focus on growth above inequality August 22, 2016 It used to go without saying that growth matters. But if former US Treasury secretary Larry Summers now feels the need to take to the pages of the FT to make the “progressive case for economic growth”, it shows just how far other issues, whether inequality or climate change, have come to dominate the thinking [...]
Even Switzerland doesn’t want Britain to adopt the Swiss model post-Brexit August 22, 2016 Imitation may be the most sincere form of flattery, but it is doubtful whether anyone in Switzerland is thanking the City and the British Bankers’ Association for coming up with the idea that London should seek a Swiss-style relationship with Europe once Brexit is fully consummated. The reason Swiss banks and finance firms are so [...]