Germany agrees budget cuts targeting the deficit July 7, 2010 Germany’s government yesterday agreed on a four-year, €80bn (£66.6bn) austerity plan, committing the country to slashing its bloated budget deficit and shoring up chancellor Angela Merkel’s centre-right coalition. The seal of approval from the cabinet on the package is welcome news for Merkel, who had been under pressure to tone down measures criticised at home [...]
Carlyle Group faces $1bn lawsuit over failed fund July 7, 2010 CARLYLE Group is being sued by the liquidators of a failed mortgage-securities fund that was set up by the private equity group, a spokesman for the liquidators said. The lawsuit, which is being filed in the United States and Europe, alleges that Carlyle Group and the former directors of the mortgage-securities fund, Carlyle Capital Corp, [...]
LSE cash equity trading slumps as bonds soar July 7, 2010 ACTIVITY on the London Stock Exchange’s UK cash equity order book slumped in June, though the fall was offset by Europe’s sovereign debt crisis driving volatility and a heightened interest in bond trading. The average daily value of cash equities traded in June was £4.3bn, down one per cent from June last year, while the [...]
Investec may sell Rensburg fund division July 7, 2010 SOUTH African bank Investec yesterday said it had brought in advisers to explore the possibility of hiving off the fund management division of Rensburg Sheppards, which it bought out fully at the end of March. Investec said it had received “a number of expressions of interest” from potential buyers for Rensburg Fund Management (RFM), which [...]
Natural catastrophe costs in 2010 reach record $70bn high July 7, 2010 THE total costs associated with natural catastrophes in the first half of 2010 were $70bn (£46bn), more than the average over the past 10 years and more than for the whole of 2009, according to Munich Re. The world’s biggest reinsurer by revenue said yesterday that losses jumped due to three major earthquakes — in [...]
Henderson hands international property unit to Aviva Investors July 7, 2010 FUND management group Henderson has transferred its international property fund over to Aviva Investors following a strategic review of the fund’s prospects. The international property fund, which faltered under previous owner New Star as redemptions ballooned in the credit crisis, was only re-opened to daily dealing in February after a closed period of over a [...]
FORMULA ONE CHIEF UNLEASHES TAX FURY July 7, 2010 WITH all the hubbub about capital gains tax rates in the run-up to the recent Budget, investors are no stranger to vituperative attacks on their profits, but it does come as a surprise when the abuse comes from someone who’s supposed to be on their own side. The latest high-profile character to get vocal about [...]
3i rediscovers its appetite for big deals July 7, 2010 PRIVATE equity giant 3i yesterday said its portfolio of investments had turned the corner and that the outlook for new deals was looking more positive. The largest listed private equity firm said it invested £105m in the three months to the end of June, up from £76m in the same period of 2009, when the [...]
3i July 7, 2010 BARONESS Hogg, 3i’s chairman, is ending her eight-and-a-half year stint on a high note. It’s been a rocky ride: staggering growth in the early part of her tenure was tempered by a plummeting share price in the face of the financial crisis. Since he joined in January 2009, chief executive Michael Queen has been quietly [...]
McAlpine wins Heron job July 7, 2010 DEVELOPERS Heron International yesterday appointed Sir Robert McAlpine as the main contractor on the Heron, its residential development in the City of London. McAlpine has beaten rival construction firms to the deal to build the 36-storey tower next to the Barbican. Work is set to begin next week and conclude in 2013. Heron’s commercial director [...]