Commerzbank ups Tier 1 capital through buyback December 14, 2011 STRUGGLING German lender Commerzbank yesterday shored up its core Tier 1 capital to the tune of €700m, by buying back hybrid debt from bondholders. The bank, which earlier this week was rumoured to be in state aid discussions with the German government, said it would pay around €643m to buy back securities with a nominal [...]
Watchdog finds MF Global funds December 14, 2011 US regulators now have a full picture of money transfers in the final days of bankrupt brokerage MF Global, and are working to sort out which transactions were legitimate, a top official said yesterday. As a bankruptcy judge told MF Global it can finance its bankruptcy with cash pledged as collateral to lender JPMorgan Chase, [...]
SUPERGROUP BEATS GLOOM TO POST SALES RISE December 14, 2011 Supergroup’s founder Julian Dunkerton (inset) said the group has begun reporting like-for-like sales figures to stop “people getting the wrong message” after problems with its warehousing system. Like-for-like sales rose four per cent in the six months to 30 October, while pre-tax profits rose 39 per cent to £20.3m.
Miners fall as FTSE ups free float baseline December 14, 2011 FRESNILLO shares slumped more than 10 per cent yesterday after index provider FTSE said it would make companies list at least a quarter of their share capital on the London Stock Exchange before they could gain a place in its sought-after indices. FTSE raised its threshold for the minimum level of free float offered by [...]
Government to consult on employment tribunal fees December 14, 2011 EMPLOYERS’ groups welcomed the government’s plans to charge disgruntled employees for access to tribunals yesterday. The government is seeking to bring down the costs of running tribunals, which cost the taxpayer £84.2m last year to process 218,000 claims. Justice minister Jonathan Djanogly launched a consultation on introducing fees at the start of a claim followed [...]
Admiral slides as car insurers face OFT probe December 14, 2011 SHARES in motor insurer Admiral fell more than four per cent yesterday after the competition watchdog said it would probe whether motor insurance firms were inflating prices for fixing crashed cars yesterday. The Office of Fair Trading said it was concerned that drivers paying for third-party repair claims and courtesy cars are charged too much [...]
X FACTOR CAST GET FIRST LOOK AT SOHO’S £25M NIGHTCLUB LAUNCH December 14, 2011 CRISIS, what economic crisis? Piccadilly, at least, is experiencing a revival, says clubs entrepreneur Fraser Donaldson, who tonight opens the £25m Dstrkt on Soho’s Rupert Street. “If you look at Hakkasan, Nobu and Roka, they all have two to three-week waits for tables,” reasons Donaldson, the former owner of Prince William’s favourite club Crystal on [...]
New Olympus filings reveal a £700m hole December 14, 2011 FORMER Olympus chief executive Michael Woodford said he wants to recapitalise the troubled camera and equipment maker within months, after it staved off the immediate threat of being de-listed. Woodford, who is seeking investor support to be reinstated, said: “You have to look at improving the capital structure of the company. Because of the litigation [...]
Pressure is on Pulli to push up Pace’s profits December 14, 2011 SET-TOP box-maker Pace, a front-runner for an “unluckiest UK tech firm” prize, has made Mike Pulli its new chief executive after his long-standing boss succumbed to pressure and stepped down. Pulli inherits a company on the ropes, with a series of share-price lurches wiping out as much as 80 per cent of its value over [...]
Investor kicks off row at a Blackrock mining fund December 14, 2011 A MAJOR shareholder in a key Blackrock mining fund is trying to kickstart an investor revolt over its share price performance. Fund manager City of London Investment Group has sent a complaint to the directors of Blackrock World Mining Trust. City of London, which has a 7.1 per cent stake in Blackrock WMT, recognised the [...]
