New European finance sheriffs are finalised September 22, 2010 THE European parliament gave its blessing to the creation of new pan-EU financial regulators by the start of next year, heralding tighter controls for the financial industry. Three agencies will be established to keep tabs on banks, markets and insurers next January. A European Banking Authority will be based in London. Paris will be home [...]
Vodafone boss cool on merger speculation September 22, 2010 A merger between the mobile phone group Vodafone and Verizon Communications would be less likely than other alternatives for the parents of Verizon Wireless, the chief executive of Vodafone said yesterday. Vodafone owns a 45 per cent stake in Verizon Wireless, which is controlled by its majority parent Verizon Communications; but because Vodafone does not [...]
Redhall in £16m bid for Mount September 22, 2010 BRITISH engineering support services firm Redhall yesterday announced it had made an offer to buy rival Mount Engineering for around £16.4m to expand into international energy markets. Redhall, which caters to the nuclear, oil and gas, food, defence, safety and security and transport infrastructure sectors, has irrevocable undertakings or letters of intent from 45 per [...]
Shanks shares in the limelight as it fixes up awareness day for investors September 22, 2010 SHARES in the waste disposal group Shanks rose more than 10 per cent yesterday as dealers focused on an upcoming investor day on 5 October. There was some speculation in the stock market that a potential bidder was looking at making an offer. The US group Carlyle made an offer at 135p a share last [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 22, 2010 Arbuthnot Securities The investment banking firm has hired Craig Fraser as its new head of research. Fraser was most recently deputy head of research at Liberum Capital and also previously ran the large cap pan-European leisure and business services research teams at Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers and CSFB. Arbuthnot has also taken on Nick Spoliar [...]
UNICREDIT CHANGEOVER September 22, 2010 Italian banking group UniCredit confirmed yesterday that Alessandro Profumo has resigned as the group’s chief executive after a row over Libyan investment in the bank. UniCredit’s board has transferred the executive powers to chairman Dieter Rampl, who will lead the group until a new CEO is appointed. The board has also given Rampl the mandate [...]
Dana gets the go ahead for Dutch project September 22, 2010 DANA Petroleum got the green light from Dutch authorities for its Medway well development in the North Sea yesterday. The oil explorer, which is currently fending off takeover advances from Korea National Oil Company (KNOC), said the new well is expected to add an extra 4,100 barrels of oil per day to Dana’s total by [...]
Legal sector sees revenue rise September 22, 2010 THE UK’S top law firms have kick-started the financial year on an upward swing after collective first quarter revenues rose. Deloitte’s quarterly survey of the legal sector for the period ending 31 July showed that revenue across the top 100 law firms in the UK was up five per cent on the same time last [...]
Law firms seek help to pay negligence claims September 22, 2010 THE number of law firms looking for financial assistance to help cover professional indemnity (PI) premiums has risen dramatically, after a staggering rise in negligence claims in the High Court and the loss of a leading insurer. Independent financial provider Syscap said it has already received requests from 427 law firms seeking financial cover to [...]
Xstrata secures £2.6bn refinancing September 22, 2010 ANGLO-SWISS mining company Xstrata secured a £2.55bn multi-currency debt refinancing package that it intends to use to fund its expansion into new mines, it announced yesterday. The credit facility is equally split into a three- and five-year tranches and will be used to replace Xstrata’s existing £3.5bn debt, due to mature in October 2011. The [...]
