Glencore nears refinancing deal with Bakries October 13, 2011 LONDON-LISTED commodities trader Glencore is nearing a deal to lend up to $900m (£570m) to Indonesia’s Bakrie Group to help it refinance debt of $1.35bn in exchange for additional marketing rights on coal. Under the refinancing deal, Glencore will have the option of turning the loan into an equity stake in the coal miner Bumi, [...]
Economists: German GDP growth to fall October 13, 2011 A GROUP of top economic institutes slashed their German GDP growth forecasts for 2012 yesterday. The latest prediction is for growth of 0.8 per cent next year – down from two per cent forecast six months ago. The eight institutes – six German, one Swiss and one Austrian – believe the sovereign debt crisis is [...]
Banks need billions – from where? October 13, 2011 EUROPEAN bank analysts are now fully immersed in a game of spot the weakest link, a game that is getting bank chiefs rather hot under the collar. Josef Ackermann, chief of Deutsche Bank, is so incensed that he slammed the EU’s bank recapitalisation plan publicly yesterday. “It’s not the capital resources of banks that are [...]
BERLUSCONI FACES HIS 51ST CONFIDENCE VOTE October 13, 2011 ITALY’S Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi yesterday called on parliamentarians to back him in a confidence vote, set for this afternoon. “There are no alternatives,” he said. “A government crisis now would be a victory for those who want to see Italy fall into decline.” Yields on 10-yr bonds auctioned yesterday hit 5.8 per cent. The [...]
CITY VIEWS: WILL SILVIO BERLUSCONI STILL BE ITALIAN LEADER IN A YEAR? October 13, 2011 HOWARD RYLES | UNIQUE “Yes, his control over the media will sway public opinion to his favour. His large personality and persuasion abilities will carry him through.” KAREN GRAVES | SCOR UK “Sadly yes, I think all the bad press he has previously had will not make a difference; it will come down to the [...]
PE leaders voice worries October 13, 2011 PRIVATE equity leaders said their industry could take years to return to blockbuster buyout deals yesterday, as funds shrink and deal numbers come back to earth in the wake of the financial crisis. Lionel Assant, Blackstone’s senior managing director in private equity, told the annual summit of the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association [...]
Cohen’s warning over social problems October 13, 2011 Private equity veteran Sir Ronald Cohen, now an adviser to Prime Minister David Cameron, has claimed that British society is in crisis. Cohen, who is helping to set up the Big Society Bank, told the BVCA: “Despite the news around financial markets and capital markets there are some even more fundamental issues. It is not [...]
Red tape is killing start-ups, says Truell October 13, 2011 Veteran city investor Edmund Truell has issued a stinging critique of how regulation is stifling enterprise in Britain and Western Europe. Truell, who runs Pension Corporation, which charges a premium to take over UK pension scheme liabilities, said that around 60 per cent of his staff are employed “to keep the regulators happy… If you [...]
Hoberman: EU must lower legal barriers October 13, 2011 European legal barriers risk holding back the economic recovery, the co-founder of lastminute.com told the BVCA. Brent Hoberman, who went on to set up interiors business Mydeco, said the rules made it harder to grow businesses and for them to expand beyond their home country. “What the policymakers could do is enable companies to sell [...]
Credit Suisse shuts CMBS loan division October 13, 2011 Credit Suisse is closing its commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) loan-origination unit, affecting around 50 jobs, but will continue its secondary trading operation, according to a source close to the matter. The bank has not structured a CMBS offering this year, but has made loans that were contributed to other transactions since it restarted its commercial [...]
