Haste and private equity look at possible bid for Direct Line July 22, 2012 ANDY Haste, the former chief executive of insurer RSA, is believed to have teamed up with private equity firms to study a possible bid for insurance group Direct Line. RBS, which plans to dispose of Direct Line by the end of the year, has not yet had a formal approach from his consortium, which includes [...]
Commercial court cases rise in recession July 22, 2012 THE NUMBER of winding-up petitions presented to the High Court rose by a quarter to 7,166 last year as UK companies continued to struggle, according to research released today. This drove a 1,282 rise in the total number of commercial cases launched in the High Court last year, up to 49,166 from 47,884 in 2010. [...]
Amazon makes London its base for digital R&D July 22, 2012 AMAZON will open an international development centre in London, its latest investment in the city’s growing technology scene, the company announced today. The web retail giant’s eight-floor Digital Media Development Centre in Glasshouse Yard, Barbican will house teams of engineers working on Amazon’s digital projects, including creating services for internet televisions and smartphones. The centre [...]
Multinationals seek advice on relocation after UK tax change July 22, 2012 MORE than a dozen multinational corporations are in discussions with tax advisers about re-locating to London to reap the benefits of changes to the UK’s tax framework, it was confirmed yesterday. A number of multinationals have asked accountancy firms to look into plans to transfer their tax status to the UK after reforms to the [...]
IMF may hold back on future bailout funds to ailing Greece July 22, 2012 GREEK woes deepened over the weekend, with the country’s Prime Minister saying it is now in a “Great Depression” similar to that of the 1930s, while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is reportedly considering cutting off aid to the struggling state. The Troika of lenders to Greece – consisting of the EU, European Central Bank, [...]
Which? calls for finance lessons as young suffer July 22, 2012 WHICH? is calling for compulsory personal finance education to be introduced in schools, after a survey carried out by the consumer campaigning charity found that young people aged 18-29 years old are bearing the brunt of the economic crisis. Which?’s quarterly economic survey, published tomorrow, shows that young adults’ living standards have fallen by twice [...]
NRG Energy acquires GenOn in $1.7bn deal July 22, 2012 NRG ENERGY and GenOn Energy Inc said last night they had agreed to combine themselves in a stock-for-stock tax-free transaction that will pay GenOn shareholders a premium of 21 per cent. The two energy companies said the combination would create the largest competitive US generator with a fleet of 47,000 megawatts, with assets concentrated in [...]
Europe fails to learn the lessons of history on calming creditors July 22, 2012 SHADOW banking panics are nothing new. Amsterdam experienced a pretty severe one in 1763. The collapse of the banking house Gebroeders de Neufville sparked a financial crisis that year not because depositors scrambled to recover their cash, but because creditors did. History repeated when Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers failed in 2008, and the same, [...]
Murdoch quits news boards July 22, 2012 RUPERT Murdoch has resigned as director of his UK newspaper operations, following mounting investor anger at his position and raising the possibility of his UK publications being sold. His exit from boards including News International and Times Newspaper Holdings, announced in an internal memo on Saturday, will distance Murdoch from the industry he built his [...]
Shops look to new payment methods to escape card fees July 22, 2012 RETAILERS are shunning credit cards as shoppers embrace mobile phone and contactless payments, research released today shows. Shops are rushing to fit tills with the technology and online sellers are using e-payment methods such as PayPal to avoid costly credit card processing fees, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Just under 30 per cent [...]
