Businesses back BA tie-ups May 19, 2009 SUPPORT came for flag carrier British Airways (BA) yesterday, after Sir Richard Branson hit out against the group’s intended tie-up with American Airlines (AA) and Iberia. Branson, who owns Virgin Atlantic airlines, had said a merger between BA and AA would create a “monster monopoly” of airline groups, which would lock out competition, and muscle [...]
Oil hits six month high on hopes of a US recovery May 19, 2009 OIL prices hit a six-month high yesterday, as the cost of a barrel hit $60 (£48), on hopes that the US economy was on its way to recovery. US crude rose as high as $60.05, while London Brent crude went up to $59.22, although both later dropped back. Earlier this week, oil prices were sharply [...]
Ferrexpo trades well in spite of pricing pressures May 19, 2009 FERREXPO, the Ukrainian iron ore producer, said yesterday it was trading profitably, despite spot prices remaining under pressure. The London-listed company also advised shareholders to vote against a proposal to appoint two members to the board from its new shareholder which has a stake of around 10 per cent. “Ferrexpo continues to perform well in [...]
Mitsubishi UFJ suffers quarterly loss but predicts rapid return to profit May 19, 2009 JAPAN’S largest bank, Mitsubishi UFJ, (MUFG) reported a $2.2bn (£1.4bn) quarterly loss yesterday, hit by the recession and hefty losses on its stockholdings, but forecast a return to profit. MUFG and its rivals have lost billions of dollars from rising bad loans and a slide in the value of their massive stock portfolios. Japanese banks [...]
Bank bosses in fight to pay back funding May 19, 2009 AMERICA’S strongest banks will be allowed to begin paying back their Troubled Asset Relief Programme (TARP) funding in the next few weeks, ramping up the pressure on the chief executives of those who will be told to wait. President Obama’s administration has indicated that around five or six institutions will be the first to repay [...]
Representative democracy needs another look May 19, 2009 The European Commission fined Intel a record &1119;1bn last week for anti-competitive practices. The graph shows the buzz scores for Intel in the UK, Germany and the US, with them all taking a dive on the news. Often when we see bad PR stories with accompanying drops in their “buzz” scores we see no particular [...]
Cable urges UKFI to keep bank stakes May 19, 2009 UK Financial Investments (UKFI) should not be too hasty in disposing of the government’s stakes in banks, Liberal Democrat treasury spokesman Vince Cable said yesterday, after it emerged that the organisation was already sounding out potential buyers. It is understood that UKFI has been talking to sovereign wealth funds and other institutional investors about taking [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 19, 2009 GorkanaThe PR and journalist portal has hired former Unilever board director Ralph Kugler as chairman as it ramps up its growth plans. Kugler spent over 28 years with Unilever, including as regional president of the firm’s businesses in Europe and Latin America, and chief executive of its Thai and Malaysian units. He is also currently [...]
BarCap hires fierce critic May 19, 2009 BARCLAYS Capital (BarCap) is to hire a trio of Citigroup analysts, including one with a record of issuing notoriously bearish notes on the investment bank’s parent company, as it marches on with its hiring spree. Tom Rayner, a banking analyst with Citigroup, will join BarCap’s European equity research team, in a move that will raise [...]
Feud over scrap scheme ends after UK carmakers commit May 19, 2009 CARMAKERS ended their dispute with the government over the new cash-for-bangers scheme yesterday, and confirmed they will take part in the programme. Ford and Honda delayed their involvement in the scheme at the eleventh hour over concerns about how their financial contribution to the scheme would be structured. Both wanted clarification of VAT arrangements and [...]
