Grieve orders probe into SFO February 14, 2012 MINISTERS have ordered an inquiry into the running of the Serious Fraud Office following the collapse of a string of major investigations. The review, which will begin next month, will be carried out by the head of the Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and will look at SFO cases and how it chooses investigations. Dominic Grieve, [...]
The real reasons why UK is in trouble February 14, 2012 FORGET about the reasoning Moody’s cited when putting the UK on negative watch this week. The problem with the credit rating agencies is not that they are too harsh – they are invariably too soft, too backwards-looking and cautious. Their decisions are always months out of date. Here is the real reason why the UK [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 14, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES PRESSURE RISES ON PRIVATE EQUITY BOSSES’ TAX Pressure is rising across the globe to raise taxes for private equity bosses, with German and Swedish authorities pushing for legislative changes and a leading US pension fund investor calling the 15 per cent rate in America “indefensible”. HSBC SETS TARGET OF 800 BRANCHES IN CHINA [...]
Britain defiant on triple-A February 14, 2012 THE GOVERNMENT is highly confident that Britain will keep its triple-A rating despite Moody’s warning there is a 30 per cent chance of a downgrade, according to a person familiar with Treasury thinking. The source said there is “no expectation” of an actual downgrade and it is business as usual, despite the more cautious official [...]
Yahoo investor calls for new board February 14, 2012 Yahoo activist investor Daniel Loeb, of the hedge fund ThirdPoint, last night launched a campaign to install his own slate of directors on the embattled internet firm’s board, highlighting the turmoil engulfing the one-time online pioneer. His move came after talks between Yahoo and China’s Alibaba over the US internet giant’s Asian assets hit an [...]
Paulson sells his BAML stake February 14, 2012 Veteran hedge fund manager John Paulson sold his entire stake in Bank of America Merrill Lynch in the last quarter, according to filings last night. Bank of America shares fell 15 per cent during the fourth quarter, but it is not clear when Paulson offloaded his 64m shares. Bank of America’s losses helped turn 2011 [...]
Rothschild’s rivals to take fight to board February 14, 2012 NAT Rothschild will have to affirm his loyalty to the FTSE 250 miner Bumi in order to get the full support of its board after rival shareholders in the company dropped a call for an emergency investor vote to oust him. Rothschild is likely to lose his title of co-chairman to new Indonesian shareholder Samin Tan [...]
Stratford shines as Westfield sells small malls February 14, 2012 AUSTRALIAN developer Westfield hailed the “exceptional” performance of its Stratford shopping centre last night as it outlined plans to invest in new malls this year and in 2013. The east London site, next door to the Olympic park, received more than 13.6m shopping visits in its first 14 weeks from opening to 31 December, at [...]
Lloyd’s losses from Thailand reach £1.4bn February 14, 2012 LLOYD’S of London has estimated its net claims from last year’s Thai floods will hit $2.22bn (£1.4bn), the third biggest loss in the market’s history. The initial estimate is based on a projected worldwide cost to the insurance industry of $15bn–20bn and could change, but Lloyd’s is financially strong enough to cope according to chief [...]
RBS Insurance to be renamed Direct Line in advance of sale February 14, 2012 RBS Insurance is to be rebranded as Direct Line Group, after the firm’s best-known consumer brand, as part of the preparations for the division’s sale. The bank was ordered to dispose of its insurance business as part of the conditions attached by the European Union when it approved state aid given to RBS Group in [...]
