Firms slam government’s slow progress on aviation July 12, 2012 BUSINESSES yesterday lashed out at the coalition’s attempts to kick the future of Britain’s aviation policy into the long grass. Transport secretary Justine Greening yesterday formally unveiled a watered-down consultation with focus on noise reduction and green issues instead of options for adding capacity to UK airspace as expected. Some suggestions in the consultation were [...]
Demographic timebomb will force government to downsize July 12, 2012 IN the long run, we are all dead, as John Maynard Keynes used to say. But plenty of us will still hopefully be around by 2061, by which time the Office for Budget Responsibility informs us the public finances will once again be in crisis. The UK faces a demographic timebomb which will, in my [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 12, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Co-op nears cut-price Lloyds deal The Co-operative Group is close to agreeing final terms with Lloyds Banking Group to buy 630 of its branches in a deal expected to be struck at a steep discount to the previously mooted £1.5bn price tag. But Lloyds, 40 per cent owned by the government, would be [...]
G4S denies its Olympics guard is a shambles July 12, 2012 SECURITY firm G4S was battling to restore its reputation yesterday after an MP said the firm had “let the country down” following concerns that it will not be able to supply the 10,400 security guards it promised as part of a £284m deal to protect Olympic venues. The company could face substantial penalties after the [...]
Wells Fargo pays $175m fine July 12, 2012 Wells Fargo yesterday agreed to pay $125m (£81m) to resolve allegations it discriminated against certain borrowers on the basis of race and national origin in its mortgage lending, the US government said yesterday. Wells Fargo also agreed to contribute $50m to help those buyers making down payments or improving their homes in some metropolitan areas [...]
Diamond picks top lawyer July 12, 2012 Barclays’ embattled former chief executive Bob Diamond is being represented by top white-collar defence lawyer Andrew Levander over his role in the Libor-fiing scandal. Levander, a partner at the firm Dechert, is one of the biggest names in the defence bar in the United States. He is currently also representing former New Jersey governor Jon [...]
Bollore profits handsomely in Aegis takeover July 12, 2012 DESPITE his failed attempts to merge Aegis with ad agency Havas, French businessman Vincent Bolloré will no doubt be pleased with the £3.2bn sale to Dentsu announced yesterday. The Japanese company said it will buy most of Bolloré’s 26.4 per cent stake in Aegis, which the investor has been building up since 2005. WPP boss [...]
Banks face bill of up to $22bn in Libor scandal July 12, 2012 BANKS linked to the Libor scandal face up to $22bn (£14.3bn) in regulatory fines, legal bills and civil damages, according to the most detailed estimate so far. The total cost to banks, calculated by Morgan Stanley in what it admits is a “crude” estimate, takes into account the impact the rate-rigging scandal will have on [...]
ADVISERS GREENHILL AND OTHERS July 12, 2012 Greenhill managing director Richard Hoyle led the team advising Aegis on its £3.2bn sale to Dentsu. Hoyle has been a long-standing adviser to Aegis, having worked on the agency’s £210m purchase of Australian ad firm Mitchell Communication and last year’s sale of market researcher Synovate to Ipsos. The 36-year-old, who joined Greenhill from Credit Suisse [...]
Ashmore share price down as equity shrinks July 12, 2012 SHARES in funds house Ashmore tumbled 6.7 per cent yesterday after it said it has lost about a fifth of the money it manages in equities during the last quarter. The London-based manager, which focuses on investments in emerging markets, reported a 20.5 per cent drop in equities to $6.2bn (£4bn) in the three months [...]
