AIG sells offices in New York July 19, 2010 Deutsche Bank is set to buy AIG’s building at 72 Wall Street for about $60m (£39.4m) from a consortium including South Korea’s Kumho Investment Bank. The sale, if completed, will give AIG a return of about $26m from its investment made slightly over a year ago. People familiar with the situation said AIG will lease [...]
UK Coal posts increased losses July 19, 2010 Coal miner UK Coal expects to post a higher interim loss of about £94m, up from £81.5m, despite the global rise in coal prices. The firm blamed its recent refinancing, which cost £7.5m in legal fees, and a £10m drop in property values. Its operating loss will be £52m, it said in its six month [...]
Brits don’t save for a rainy day July 19, 2010 The average Briton would only be able to survive financially for a month if they were unable to work, a survey by insurer Unum said. Around one in five employees, 5.5m of the workforce, admitted they have no savings or insurance to support them if they are unable to work. Around one in four said [...]
Is Google violating our privacy? July 19, 2010 YES KARIN RIIS JORGENSEN, EPA GOOGLE is in the dog-house as far as we and many other privacy campaigners are concerned. The internet giant is guilty of playing fast and loose with people’s privacy. It has been found capturing people’s WiFi information, including private emails, bank information, and passwords in the course of its Street [...]
Internet search giant faces its first public grilling July 19, 2010 GOOGLE will today face a grilling by privacy campaigners who claim the firm should be held accountable for collecting sensitive personal information. It will face accusations its Street View project, which uses special cars to record photographic images and WiFi network data, intentionally collected unencrypted information, including private emails and bank details. Google strongly denies [...]
FAIRFAX CO-FOUNDER CRAWFORD ON THE HUNT FOR A NEW INVESTOR July 19, 2010 IS A changing of the guard in the offing down at boutique investment bank Fairfax? I hear that Rolly Crawford, who co-founded the firm back in 2006, is on the lookout for a new major investor to take Fairfax forward in its ambitions. A number of interested parties have already been sounded out about the [...]
Nokia Siemens to buy Motorola unit for $1.2bn July 19, 2010 NOKIA Siemens Networks will buy Motorola’s telecom network equipment business for $1.2bn (£784.8m), getting a stronghold in the North American market and taking No 2 position in the mobile market. Nokia Siemens Networks – a 50-50 joint venture of Nokia and Siemens – has struggled to make a profit in the $82bn market, which was [...]
Unilever sells Findus for €805m July 19, 2010 UNILEVER has agreed to sell its slow-growing Italian frozen foods unit Findus to Birds Eye, which belongs to private equity group Permira for 805m euros (£687.9m). The disposal of Unilever’s last remaining frozen foods business in Europe reunites it with Birds Eye Igloo which the consumer goods giant sold in 2006 for 1.73bn euros. Unilever [...]
Eurotunnel sees increase in traffic July 19, 2010 EUROTUNNEL has said traffic has gone up in the past six months. The channel tunnel operator said truck traffic had soared by 41 per cent while were 17 per cent more cars passed through the tunnel. And the Eurostar passenger train, which runs through the tunnel, saw a six per cent increase in traffic on [...]
Cable claims banks “ripping off” customers July 19, 2010 BRITAIN’S banks are “ripping off” their customers, business secretary Vince Cable has claimed. Cable told the BBC forcing banks to change their practices would be a key test of the coalition government. His comments came as research revealed that high street banks surveyed are charging as much as 167 per cent interest on unauthorised overdrafts. [...]
