Fighting talk as Geithner wants action June 18, 2009 US TREASURY Secretary Tim Geithner yesterday testified before lawmakers, as he fought for proposals from President Barack Obama which will lead to the biggest overhaul of the US system of financial regulation since the 1930s. Geithner yesterday urged Congress to act quickly on the administration’s reforms, saying past efforts had started too late after the [...]
Big Swiss banks face break up June 18, 2009 SWITZERLAND yesterday became the latest country to join the global regulatory assault on the banking industry, warning that it could force the break up of large banks like UBS and Credit Suisse because they were too big to fail. The Swiss National Bank (SNB), which says that UBS and Credit Suisse still pose a risk [...]
Bernanke will testify to Congress on BoA merger June 18, 2009 FEDERAL Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to testify to a House committee on 25 June about Bank of America’s acquisition of Wall Street rival Merrill Lynch last year, a committee aide said yesterday. The hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is set to begin at two o’clock London time. On [...]
YOU’RE STILL HIRED June 18, 2009 SIR Alan Sugar has won a fight to continue his hit series The Apprentice, after the BBC decided that his new role as the government’s enterprise champion would not not compromise the BBC’s impartiality. The BBC said that “Sir Alan has agreed that he will suspend all public facing activity relating to this unpaid post [...]
Gazprom closing in on Sibir June 18, 2009 Russian gas export giant Gazprom Neft yesterday appointed Igor Tsibelman as new chief executive of Sibir Energy in a sign the state-controlled oil major is tightening its grip on the London-listed company. Tsibelman, head of international legal affairs at Gazprom Neft, will replace Sibir Energy’s acting chief executive Stuard Detmer with immediate effect, Sibir said. [...]
Rudd to take helm of MAC fund June 18, 2009 Sir Nigel Rudd, former deputy chairman of Barclays is to chair a new fund set up by Marwyn Alternative Capital. It will specialise in small to mid-cap companies that have short term liquidity problems. Supported by Royal Bank of Scotland, the new fund will look at investing in construction, science and engineering, among other sectors. [...]
Retail rents to dive by a fifth June 18, 2009 Retail rents across the UK’s high streets and shopping centres are set to drop by almost a fifth between now and the end of next 2010, quashing hopes of a revival of the troubled retail property sector, according to a report by Colliers CRE. Rents are forecast to drop by about 11 per cent by [...]
MP expenses are censored June 18, 2009 OVER a million pages of MP expenses were made available to the public yesterday in a bid for transparency, but the government was hit by accusations of a cover up after huge swathes of crucial information was censored. Items hidden under thick black blocks include addresses of second homes, destinations on train tickets and the [...]
Hewitt expands BT role June 18, 2009 FORMER trade and health secretary Patricia Hewitt will become BT’s new senior independent director, the telecoms giant said yesterday.Hewitt, who takes up the new role next month, is expected to be a key contact for major institutional shareholders. The MP for Leicester West, who retires from Parliament at the next general election, has sat on [...]
Budget deficit biggest threat to recovery June 18, 2009 WE are in danger of getting blasé when it comes to Britain’s disastrous public finances. Yesterday’s figures were truly shocking; the monthly deficit total is now close to what we used to get for a whole year. It is fortunate for Gordon Brown that Sir Fred Goodwin’s decision to repay part of his pension and [...]
