A DONE DEAL? THE NEXT STEPS FOR THE GREEK BAILOUT PLAN February 13, 2012 It’s all in the detail Greece’s government must persuade international lenders that it has detailed €325m of additional cuts, on top of existing measures – and that its political leaders pledge to carry out the austerity reforms. Private bond holders await A deal for private debt holders to take a 70 per cent haircut has [...]
Austerity vote gets through but ordinary citizens despair February 13, 2012 ATHENIANS spent yesterday inspecting the damage to their city after yet another night of social unrest left its mark on Greece’s capital. City authorities said 150 shops were looted and 93 buildings were wrecked or seriously damaged. Youth unemployment is running at 50 per cent and groups from the provinces have flocked to the capital [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU THINK GREECE WILL CUT SPENDING AS IT HAS PLEDGED? February 13, 2012 BEN BALLARD | CITY OF LONDON “Yes, I think they will follow through with the government spending cuts, despite the public feeling. It is their only possibility to survive.” MICHAEL SCOTT | SJ BERWIN “I do not think they will be able to; the government doesn’t have sufficient par to follow through. Realistically they will [...]
Economists: Merlin data is worthless February 13, 2012 ECONOMISTS have dismissed the government’s Project Merlin figures as bearing no relation at all to the availability of credit in the economy. The government struck a deal with banks last year under which they agreed to boost lending in return for less anti-bank rhetoric from ministers. The Bank of England released figures yesterday showing that [...]
New payout for clients of failed broker MF Global February 13, 2012 THE administrators of the British arm of MF Global said payments to clients of the defunct brokerage will reach $31m (£19.6m) in the coming days. KPMG said $19m will be released this week after it agreed on Friday to hand back $12m. The interim payouts will affect about 1,900 clients in total. Staff from KPMG [...]
Lords demand facts on EU veto negotiations February 13, 2012 A PARLIAMENTARY committee has slammed the government’s inability to explain what “safeguards” it was demanding from European nations when Prime Minister David Cameron vetoed an EU treaty in December. The House of Lords EU Committee said that it has “repeatedly” asked ministers what exactly was at stake at the summit and has yet to get [...]
Confirmed: Vodafone eye on CWW deal February 13, 2012 SHARES in Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW) soared 45 per cent yesterday as Vodafone admitted it was weighing up the benefits of a bid to buy the dwindling telecoms group. Following reports over the weekend, Vodafone released a statement confirming it is in “the very early stages of evaluating the merits of a potential offer [...]
Google gets EU and US green light over Motorola takeover February 13, 2012 GOOGLE has won the approval of US and European regulators for the $12.5bn (£7.9bn) purchase of Motorola Mobility. Both the US Justice Department and European antitrust authorities both warned, however, that they would monitor how patents are used to ensure they comply with antitrust rules. Antitrust enforcers on both sides of the Atlantic are concerned [...]
FACEBOOK UNDER FIRE FOR STOCK STRUCTURE February 13, 2012 Facebook’s proposed shareholder structure, outlined ahead of its forthcoming IPO, has failed to impress Institutional Shareholder Services. The proxy advisory group criticised the social network’s dual-class stock – which will give Zuckerberg (pictured) voting control of 57 per cent of Facebook – for diminishing shareholder rights. ISS also condemned the limited board accountability at Facebook, [...]
MEET THE ADVISERS February 13, 2012 Both Vodafone and Cable & Wireless Worldwide have been quick to maintain that there is, as yet, no deal on the table. But, should Vodafone serve an offer, CWW has its usual advisory team – comprising Barclays Capital and Rothschild – at the ready. Heading the BarCap squad is Will Peters, who has been at the [...]
