Australian PM stands firm on mining tax June 16, 2010 MINING giants Rio Tinto, Xstrata and BHP Billiton met with the Australian government yesterday to discuss a proposed mining super-tax, but complained that their concerns “had not been addressed”. The battle over the 40 per cent “resource super profits tax” showed little sign of resolution following the meeting, as the government held firm on introducing [...]
Greece’s OTE gets loan approval June 16, 2010 OTE, Greece’s biggest telecoms company, got shareholder approval to seek loans from its parent company Deutsche Telekom as part of efforts to reduce borrowing costs. Shareholders yesterday granted management the right to conclude debt agreements with Deutsche Telekom under financial terms and conditions equal to or better than those offered by a third party, OTE’s [...]
United, Continental merger probed June 16, 2010 US lawmakers yesterday sought assurances on safety, pensions and job security from executives of United Airlines and Continental Airlines ahead of their merger to create the world’s biggest carrier. United Airlines Glenn Tilton and his counterpart at Continental Airlines, Jeff Smisek, received a frosty reception from the House of Representatives aviation subcommittee, and faced the [...]
BP ON THE BRINK AS US CLOSES IN June 15, 2010 US PRESIDENT Barack Obama ordered BP last night to relinquish its control over the Gulf of Mexico claims response in his first address to the nation from the Oval Office. The President reassured the American public during the televised speech that the government was in control of the crisis that has already caused severe financial [...]
Hammond: We’ll build Crossrail June 15, 2010 TRANSPORT secretary Philip Hammond yesterday said the government would deliver the Crossrail project in its entirety. There had been concerns the coalition would scrap some stations as it grapples with a massive budget deficit. But speaking in an exclusive interview with City A.M., Hammond said he had no plans to reduce the scope of the [...]
E&Y is probed over Lehmans June 15, 2010 A FULL-blown investigation into the conduct of Ernst & Young (E&Y) as auditors to fallen bank Lehman Brothers has been launched by the Accountancy and Actuarial Discipline Board (AADB). The independent body, which sits under the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), said that it has started investigating the conduct of E&Y in “the preparation and audits [...]
Osborne must show his true colours June 15, 2010 THERE will be plenty of banker-bashing from George Osborne when he delivers his first Mansion House speech to the City tonight. The audience of movers and shakers will barely notice; financiers are used to the abuse by now. Most of the proposals have been well trailed: a new levy on balance sheets (which could raise [...]
Rating overhaul averted June 15, 2010 US lawmakers crafting the final regulation bill voted yesterday to kill a controversial Senate provision to match rating agencies with debt issuers. The Senate measure was designed to crack down on perceived conflicts of interest at the largest credit rating agencies, which are paid by the issuers whose debt they rate. The measure was also [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 15, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES SONY COMMITMENT BOOSTS GAMES SECTOR Sony, one of the largest computer games developers in the UK, has committed to remaining in the country in a boost to a sector hit by an exodus to lower-cost countries. The Japanese maker of PlayStation, which has its European game design headquarters in Liverpool, is to receive [...]
Spanish banks forced to tap ECB June 15, 2010 In a worrying sign of their inability to get funding from international capital markets, Spanish banks are borrowing record amounts from the European Central Bank. Iberian institutions borrowed €85.6bn (£71.3bn) from the central bank in May, double the amount extended to them in the run-up to the Lehman Brothers collapse in 2008 and the highest level [...]
