Fox sorry for Werritty links October 9, 2011 DEFENCE secretary Liam Fox yesterday apologised for the nature of his working relationship with his friend Adam Werritty, as Prime Minister David Cameron demanded that the results of a report into their business dealings be delivered to him this morning. Fox’s political career was thrown into doubt over the weekend by allegations that Werritty – [...]
Why Dexia’s bailout is a big mistake October 9, 2011 GET ready to short the euro, Eurozone banks’ equity and their subordinated debt. That was the advice contained in a note from David Roche’s Independent Strategy emailed out last night – and no wonder. Yesterday saw another outing of Merkozy, that fabled two-headed Franco-German super-politician. Some people got quite excited about the October deadline they [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 9, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES WATCHDOG HITS FRENCH AUDITORS French auditors have been lambasted by the UK’s leading accountancy regulator for their performance during the Greek debt crisis. Stephen Haddrill, chief executive of the Financial Reporting Council, criticised the way French banks and insurers had been allowed by their auditors to post smaller losses on Greek government bonds [...]
EU clears Microsoft’s Skype bid October 9, 2011 Microsoft has secured EU approval to purchase internet voice and video service Skype for $8.5bn (£5.5bn), its biggest ever acquisition. The European Commission said that its investigation of the takeover showed that the firms’ activities mainly overlapped for video communications, where Microsoft is active through its Windows Live Messenger. However, the Commission said it sees [...]
Daylight to be bought by Sinopec October 9, 2011 Canadian oil and gas explorer Daylight Energy said yesterday it has agreed to be acquired by China’s Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Corp for about C$2.2bn (£1.36bn). The deal is worth more than double Daylight’s pre-bid closing price. The Chinese firm is a subsidiary of China Petrochemical Corp and undertakes overseas investments and operations [...]
Bidders play hardball over Lloyds sale October 9, 2011 LLOYDS Banking Group is likely to have to offer a cut price deal on the 632 branches it is selling in order to lure all potential bidders back to the table. City A.M. understands that one potential bidder, Hugh Osmond’s Sun Capital, is disputing the Lloyds’ estimate of how much it will cost to set [...]
News Corp faces revolt over Murdoch re-election October 9, 2011 AN influential shareholder advisory firm has urged investors to vote against the re-election of Rupert Murdoch’s sons onto the News Corp board. Glass Lewis told investors they should “carefully consider the nature of the relationship” of board members to the Murdoch family to ensure they are fully independent. James and Lachlan Murdoch will face a [...]
Krawcheck in line for $6m payout as BofA pays off ousted execs October 9, 2011 BANK of America will pay $11m (£7m) to ousted executives Joe Price and Sallie Krawcheck – a large payout at a time when banks face protests over pay, but smaller than the eight-figure packages some executives received before the financial crisis. Krawcheck – a former Citigroup executive who came to Bank of America in 2009 [...]
Rothschild in Bakrie shares sale drama October 9, 2011 FINANCIER Nat Rothschild faces further uncertainty over the Bakrie family’s stake in Bumi, the London-listed mining company he created, as the troubled Indonesian shareholder looks to repay or restructure its debt. The Bakrie family, which owns a 47 per cent stake, could be forced to sell a significant stake in Bumi, after shares fell below [...]
Bumi weighed down by family’s financial past October 9, 2011 WHEN Nat Rothschild decided to team up with the Indonesian billionaire Bakries last year to form coal mining company Bumi, there were concerns that the family’s past financial dramas could weigh heavily on sentiment towards the group. The Bakrie family’s announcement last week that its lenders Credit Suisse had called in a $1.3bn (£840m) loan [...]
