Inside Track: Moncler’s heavily subscribed new issue gives Milan a boost December 5, 2013 LONDON has enjoyed something of a return to form in the new issues market during 2013, but it’s the Milan stock market that is going out with a flourish. While the Dubai-based luxury property group Damac limped in a rather pedestrian way towards a £1.6bn London flotation this week after flirting with a postponement, there’s [...]
Marks & Spencer chooses a new auditor after 87 years with PwC December 5, 2013 MARKS & Spencer has parted ways with PwC, picking a new auditor for the first time since the FTSE 100 retailer became a public company in 1926. M&S said yesterday it has appointed Deloitte as its new auditor following a competitive tender. The switch comes at a time when the close and often decades-long relationship [...]
BNP Paribas snaps up Polish lender for £832m December 5, 2013 FRENCH giant BNP Paribas yesterday bought Rabobank’s stake in Polish lender Bank Gospodarki Zywnosciowej (BGZ) for 4.2bn zloty (£832m). The sale is the latest step in the Dutch bank’s efforts to cut down its non-core business and shore up its capital position. And the purchase of the 98.5 per cent stake is a sign of [...]
Credit Suisse offloads German unit to ABN December 5, 2013 CREDIT Suisse is selling its private banking division in Germany to an ABN Amro subsidiary for an undisclosed price, the company announced today. The Swiss banking giant effectively exits its private banking activities in Germany with the sell-off, but said it will keep on servicing its most wealthy accounts and individuals from the bank’s offices [...]
StanChart says private bank client data stolen December 5, 2013 BANK statements for almost 650 of Standard Chartered’s private banking clients have been found on the laptop of an alleged website hacker in Singapore, the police and the firm said yesterday. Standard Chartered said the February 2013 monthly statements for 647 of its clients were stolen, taken from the server of Fuji Xerox which provides [...]
Stimulus boost aims to balance Japan tax hike December 5, 2013 MINISTERS in Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government approved a burst of new stimulus yesterday, launching a package which will run to ¥18.6 trillion (£111.26bn) Most of the deal is made up of spending that is already scheduled, but it includes ¥5.5 trillion of new spending that was announced at the beginning of October to [...]
French unemployment soars to 15-year high as recovery stalls December 5, 2013 THE FRENCH unemployment rate reached the highest level in a decade and a half this autumn, climbing to 10.5 per cent during the third quarter. Joblessness is up 0.1 percentage points from the second quarter, and stands at the highest level France has recorded since 1998. The country now has over 3m people out of [...]
Europe stalls on plan to force audit switching December 5, 2013 NEGOTIATIONS on a European Union draft law forcing companies to switch accountants around once every ten years are on hold due to disagreements over other planned curbs on auditors, according to a British MEP involved in the talks. The law, which goes further than recent changes to UK auditor rules, are meant to boost competition [...]
Apax Partners picks co-leaders after chief quits December 5, 2013 APAX, the private equity firm behind fashion chain New Look, yesterday handed the keys of the company to two rising stars, part of a new breed of young executives leading buyout houses across Europe. Andrew Sillitoe, 41, and Mitch Truwit, 44, have been named co-chief executive officers, taking over from Apax co-founder Martin Halusa who [...]
Dassault takes over 3D brand company RTT December 5, 2013 DASSAULT Systèmes, one of the biggest players in 3D design and printing, yesterday agreed to buy Realtime Technology (RTT), a 3D visual branding company, in an all-cash deal. Munich-based RTT provides 3D visualisation for clients including BMW, GM, Porsche and Lamborghini. Paris-listed Dassault will take an 84 per cent controlling stake in RTT, including its [...]
