Strong start to 2013 as US M&A market surges January 13, 2013 MERGER and acquisition activity hit a record high in the opening weeks of 2013, according to new figures from Dealogic, marking a stark change from the flat markets of 2012 as US deals drove the sector. The first two weeks of the year saw $80.8bn (£50.1bn) worth of deals globally – the best start to [...]
Former JP Morgan banking star gets chance to clear his name January 13, 2013 EX-JP MORGAN banker Ian Hannam as been given a provisional tribunal date at which he will get his chance to fight against market abuse accusations from the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The tribunal has been pencilled in for early July, more than a year after he stepped down from his job to try to clear [...]
Japan PM wants higher inflation January 13, 2013 The Bank of Japan must target inflation of two per cent in the medium term, new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said over the weekend. Abe wants the Bank to do more to bring an end to the country’s long and debilitating spell of deflation. “The BOJ basically says it sees one per cent inflation as [...]
Green light for Santander car loans January 13, 2013 Santander’s Chinese car loans joint venture Fortune Auto Finance has been given approval by the country’s authorities, the Spanish bank announced yesterday. The partnership with Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Company will see each side own 50 per cent of the finance firm, with each naming three members of the boar and Santander naming the chief executive. [...]
Lloyds boss in line for bonus of up to £4.4m January 13, 2013 LLOYDS’ chief executive is in line for a bonus of up to £4.4m for 2012, it emerged over the weekend, after the bank’s share price soared and complaints dropped last year. Antonio Horta Osorio was brought in to clean up the bank, and it is thought that solid progress towards that goal, as well as [...]
Fed rules out plan for $1 trillion platinum coin to avoid debt limit January 13, 2013 THE US TREASURY this weekend stamped on the idea of minting a $1 trillion (£620bn) platinum coin as a way of funding government spending and dodging the debt ceiling. The Treasury and the Federal Reserve both concluded that the novel way of getting around the fierce political row on public spending was not a viable [...]
Savers are not aware of cash guarantees January 13, 2013 ONLY half of British consumers realise their savings are protected by a government guarantee, according to a new study out today from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The guarantee is meant to boost confidence in banks and prevent runs on institutions when customers are worried about their stability. But if only half of people [...]
Exillon investor wants change in the boardroom January 13, 2013 A MAJOR investor in FTSE-listed oil explorer Exillon Energy has demanded the removal of the firm’s chairman as it looks to turn around a slide in the firm’s share price. Worldview Capital Management wrote to Exillon at the weekend to call for an extraordinary general meeting and three new board members. The shareholder, which has [...]
Anglo American poised to cut jobs across platinum business January 13, 2013 THE world’s largest platinum producer Anglo American is eyeing plans to slash costs at its South African mines as it prepares to unveil a long-awaited report into the future of its platinum business. The FTSE 100 firm owns 80 per cent of South African miner Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), which it placed under review last [...]
Rothschild to pursue his Bumi plan despite fresh opposition January 13, 2013 SOURCES close to the camp of Bumi co-founder Nat Rothschild yesterday played down suggestions he would fail to wrest control of the firm after a senior board member called into question his planned board overhaul. Rothschild is hoping to replace Bumi’s directors and take control of the company from major shareholder, the Bakrie family. Bumi’s [...]
