BlackRock piles into €2bn VW investor lawsuit September 15, 2016 The world's largest money manager, BlackRock, is adding considerable weight to a pile of investors who want cash from Volkswagen over emissions rigging. Law firm Quinn Emanuel will file the suit on behalf of a group of investors – including BlackRock – who are seeking a total of €1.3bn (£1.1bn). Earlier this year Quinn Emanuel [...]
Swedish teleco hit with $1.4bn fine for bribery September 15, 2016 Authorities in the US and the Netherlands have presented Swedish telecom carrier Telia Company AB with a $1.4bn (£1bn) bribery charge. It’s alleged Telia distributed hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to secure business in Uzbekistan in 2007. The suggested fine would be one of the largest ever under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act [...]
It’s eight years since the Lehman Brothers collapse. What’s changed? September 15, 2016 Eight years ago today US banking giant Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy. This was an unprecedented event in the modern financial world and it sent shock waves through global markets. We're still recovering from some of them. The bank's collapse has now entered the vocabulary as a term for when an industry has a potentially catastrophic moment. It is used again. And again. And again. And again (maybe it [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open September 15, 2016 The Bank of England has conformed to market expectations and held its key rate of overnight interest at 0.25 per cent, while Apple can't cook up iPhones fast enough. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 2:30pm London time. US futures are pointing to a very health rise ahead of [...]
Hold fire: Bank of England leaves interest rates at 0.25 per cent but warns the economy may need further assistance September 15, 2016 The Bank of England has conformed to market expectations and held its key rate of overnight interest at 0.25 per cent. The nine-strong rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously in favour of keeping rates on hold and maintaining its massive stimulus package. The rate was cut last month from 0.5 per cent as the Bank tried to [...]
Cyber attack fears push up hack insurance September 15, 2016 Increasing fears over potential cyber attacks has pushed up the number of firms taking out hack insurance. Research from insurance broker Marsh has found 83 per cent of respondents say they have a basic or complete understanding of their company’s cyber exposure, compared to 61 per cent last year. According to Marsh almost a third [...]
The UK’s bonus system among the world’s most unfair – CIMA September 15, 2016 The UK’S bonus system is not fair a survey from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) has revealed. It found the UK has the second-least meritocratic bonus system in the world with bonuses causing resentment among two-thirds (35 per cent) of UK firms. Only the United Arab Emirates faired worse than the UK, with 42 [...]
Secure Trust Bank eyes graduation to London main market September 14, 2016 Secure Trust Bank, one of the UK’s challenger bank brands, is planning to move to from London’s junior market to the main market. The move is expected to happen around 12 October. Shares in Secure Trust have rebounded after hitting yearly lows on 7 July and have climbed by almost 30 per cent. Challenger banks [...]
Allergan to buy pharma firm in $639m buyout September 14, 2016 Irish pharma firm Allergan is buying psoriasis and autoimmune treatment developer Vitae Pharmaceuticals for $639m (£484m) in cash as it hopes to expand its dermatology division – best known for its Botox treatment. Allergan and US rival Pfizer have been on buying sprees since the US treasury stepped on their proposed tax inversion tie-up. Brent Saunders [...]
