Sale is a sign of some much-needed faith September 8, 2011 LIKE a proud parent whose faith in its wayward child never falters, First Reserve has believed in Glencore since day one. When the then-privately held commodities giant issued its debut $2.2bn convertible bond in December 2009, First Reserve was one of the biggest investors, snapping up $800m of notes. Now it’s swapped those notes for [...]
Two women join the Co-op board September 8, 2011 THE Co-operative Banking Group has appointed two women to its board, months after the recommendations of the Davies report. One of them is Merlyn Vivienne Lowther, formerly chief cashier at the Bank of England. The other is Anne Gunther, chief executive of the Norwich & Peterborough Building Society. Lord Davies said in February that companies [...]
Nasdaq slams NYSE merger September 8, 2011 NASDAQ OMX Group has intensified its campaign against the merger of its rivals NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Boerse in a fiery submission to the EU. The merger is currently under consideration by European authorities, who could scupper the deal. In a letter to the European Commission, Nasdaq has claimed that allowing it to proceed could kill [...]
Russian bank pounces for Austria’s VBI September 8, 2011 RUSSIAN lender Sberbank has snapped up Austrian multinational Volksbank International (VBI) in its second multi-million euro purchase of the year. An adviser on the deal said that it provides an example of how Western European banks are missing out on growth opportunities due to being embroiled in the region’s debt crisis. At a stroke, the [...]
Osborne agrees deal for UK as renminbi hub September 8, 2011 CHANCELLOR George Osborne agreed to develop London into an offshore trading centre for China’s renminbi currency after meeting Chinese vice-president Wang Qishan yesterday. The move gave official Treasury support for the City’s push to trade the renminbi, a market expected to grow rapidly for trade, foreign exchange and bond issuance. The step reflects efforts by [...]
Yahoo faces calls for board to step down September 8, 2011 THE DEPARTURE of Carol Bartz appears to have done little to steady the ship at Yahoo, with a major investor yesterday calling for “sweeping” changes on the company’s board, including getting rid of the chairman. Activist hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb, who revealed he has amassed a 5.15 per cent stake in Yahoo, applauded the [...]
Singapore comes under fire over Man United IPO September 8, 2011 THE SINGAPORE stock exchange has come under fire for its decision to wave through the controversial share structure proposed in the Manchester United IPO. It is understood the Old Trafford club will create a tiered structure whereby stock held by its US owners the Glazer family will have twice the voting rights of the new shares. [...]
Anger as SFO drops its probe into hedge fund September 8, 2011 INVESTORS and liquidators have reacted with shock after the Serious Fraud Office dropped a two-and-a-half-year probe into a hedge fund that collapsed with $639m (£399.86m) under management. The SFO said there was “not a reasonable prospect of conviction” after studying evidence on London-based Weavering Capital (UK), which went into administration in 2009. The move comes [...]
WHY PROBE CAR INSURANCE? September 8, 2011 Q.WHY HAS THE OFT LAUNCHED THIS INVESTIGATION? A.The competition regulator is concerned that steep rises in car insurance rates in recent years could be due to insurers levying unnecessary charges or selling products wrongly. Q.WHAT IS THE OFT CALLING FOR EVIDENCE ON? A.The investigation covers areas where insurers charge motorists additional amounts, such as for [...]
Car insurers hit by probe into rate rises September 8, 2011 SOARING car insurance costs are at the centre of a new investigation by the UK’s competition watchdog, to assess whether insurance firms are raising premiums unnecessarily. The Office of Fair Trading yesterday said it was so concerned at signs that premiums rose up to 40 per cent in the year to March that it launched [...]
