Spain’s Santander to absorb Banesto December 17, 2012 Spanish bank Santander said this morning it is to absorb its 90 per cent owned subsidiary Banesto through a merger. Banco Santander currently holds 89.74 per cent of Banesto’s share capital. Banesto shareholders will receive Santander shares at a premium of 24.9 per cent. Trading in both banks’ shares was suspended this morning. The transaction [...]
BP offloads stake in North Sea field December 17, 2012 Oil major BP this morning announced it was to sell its interest in a North Sea gas field to SSE for $288m (£177.8m) in cash. Completion of the deal, to sell BP’s non-operated 50 per cent stake in the Sean gas field, is expected in the first half of next year. Sean is currently operated [...]
Kcell starts trading on the LSE December 17, 2012 Kazakh mobile telecoms provider Kcell started trading on the London Stock Exchange this morning. Trading in Kcell’s global depository receipts started at 8am. Last week, Kcell announced it had raised $525m (£324m) in its London and Almaty-based initial public offering for parent company TeliaSonera. Credit Suisse, UBS Investment Bank and Visor Capital acted as joint [...]
Aggreko warns of slowdown in 2013 December 17, 2012 Temporary power solutions provider Aggreko this morning warned of a slowdown in 2013, following a strong year for the company. Over the year to December, group revenues are expected to come in at around £1.6bn, up 13 per cent. Profit before tax and amortisation is expected to increase 12 per cent to £365m it said [...]
City lawyer warns top football clubs December 17, 2012 A LEADING City lawyer and adviser has warned that European chiefs are gearing up to take a hard line on financial fair play (FFP) rules. The warning comes days after Premier League champions Manchester City announced a £97.9m loss for 2011-12, raising fears they could breach governing body Uefa’s regulations. Uefa’s FFP rules allow clubs [...]
Obama rejects Boehner offer December 17, 2012 THE WHITE House said yesterday it would not accept an offer from the Republicans to hike taxes on the richest in exchange for spending cuts, as the United States lurches towards a string of automatic austerity measures and tax rises known as the fiscal cliff. John Boehner, who leads Republicans in the House of Representatives, [...]
KPMG UK profits decline as growth disappoints December 17, 2012 BIG four auditor KPMG witnessed a 13 per cent slump in profits last year after budgeting for a surge in economic growth that failed to materialise, results out today show. The professional services firm was forced to slash 275 senior jobs over the summer to shore up its bottom line, after it became apparent its [...]
Depardieu blasts French PM for calling Belgium move pathetic December 17, 2012 FRENCH ACTOR Gerard Depardieu yesterday launched a blistering verbal assault on French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault for calling his decision to move to Belgium pathetic. “Pathetic, you said pathetic? How pathetic is that?” Depardieu wrote in an open letter. “I am leaving because you believe that success, creation, talent, anything different must be sanctioned,” the [...]
Sky to bolster Now TV with Premier League December 17, 2012 SKY is set to bring Premier League football to its nascent Now TV streaming service in the coming weeks, raising the possibility of offering pay-per-view games. The broadcaster quietly began testing Sky Sports on the service last week, inviting customers to trial it ahead of a new year launch. Now TV has been active since [...]
What the other papers say this morning December 17, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Insurers warn regulators on reforms Insurers are conducting a war of words with regulators trying to prevent a repeat of AIG’s collapse, as the industry makes a last-ditch effort to avoid capital surcharges. US banks call for easing of Basel III US banks are making a last-minute push to ease new global liquidity [...]
