Standard Chartered chooses to keep KPMG as its audit provider January 27, 2014 STANDARD Chartered will keep KPMG as its auditor after hearing pitches for the contract from other so-called Big Four accountants. The bank, which put its audit contract out to tender in August, is expected to reconfirm KPMG in the post in its annual report in spring. KPMG has checked StanChart’s books for around 40 years. [...]
Punch lenders reject a £2.3bn restructure plan January 27, 2014 PUNCH Taverns has hit another stumbling block in its efforts to resolve its £2.3bn debt-pile after creditors said yesterday that they would not support its revised restructuring plans. The pub group, which has over 4,000 pubs in the UK, warned on 15 January that it could be unable to continue trading unless a deal can [...]
Albemarle & Bond still on the hunt for a debt rescue deal January 27, 2014 PAWNBROKER Albemarle & Bond is scrambling to find a buyer of its £50m debts after it said talks for a traditional takeover had fallen through. The firm, which has seen profits and its share price tumble after a collapse in the gold price last year, had been in discussions with several suitors to sell the [...]
ICAP loses role collecting data for swaps benchmark ISDAfix January 27, 2014 UK BROKER ICAP is losing its role in establishing ISDAfix, a widely used benchmark for derivatives, with Thomson Reuters set to take on the job of collecting data for the US dollar rates. The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) announced the change yesterday, in another blow for ICAP after its involvement in the Libor [...]
UBS chief calls for end to banker bashing January 27, 2014 UBS CHIEF Sergio Ermotti has called for critics to stop banker bashing. In an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Ermotti said he was frustrated by constant lectures about ethics and integrity. “We are far from being perfect…but it’s not going to be very helpful to be constantly bashing banks,” he said.
BG Group drops 13pc as Egypt output suffers January 27, 2014 UNREST in Egypt caused shares in BG Group to plunge almost 14 per cent during trading yesterday, after the oil and gas company declared force majeure notices under its liquefied natural gas agreements in the troubled country. The FTSE 100-quoted firm slashed its production forecasts for this year and next year, missing market expectations by [...]
Analyst Views: What is your take on BG Group’s ominous results forecast? January 27, 2014 MALCOLM GRAHAM-WOOD | OIL AND GAS ADVISORY I have said before that one of the reasons for holding BG is the asset value that is in the company and that if the management didn’t deliver then somebody else could and should. I suspect that time has now come. BG has world class assets in its [...]
Diageo takes a shot of surfers’ tequila January 27, 2014 DIAGEO, the world’s biggest spirits maker, has added to its tequila offering with the acquisition of super-premium brand Peligroso, the company said yesterday. Diageo said Peligroso, founded by two avid surfers, was popular in the action sports scene of southern California and would give the firm a foothold in super premium $20-$40 tequila, the fastest [...]
Gores takes a £30m bite out of Hovis bread January 27, 2014 PREMIER Foods has struck a deal to spin off its struggling Hovis bread business into a new joint venture controlled by US billionaire investor Alec Gores, ending 125 years in British hands. The group confirmed yesterday that private equity firm Gores will pay £30m for a 51 per cent controlling stake, ending months of speculation [...]
McColl’s kicks off retail IPOs with plan for £50m stock market float January 27, 2014 CONVENIENCE store group McColl’s is set to jump the queue of retailers preparing to join the stock market after confirming plans yesterday to float next month. The retailer, which owns 1,276 newsagents and convenience stores, wants to raise £50m in a main market listing that is expected to value the group at around £225m. McColl’s [...]
