Mystery bank taps ECB dollar facility for emergency loan August 17, 2011 AN unidentified bank was forced to seek an emergency $500m (£305m) loan in US dollars from the European Central Bank yesterday in a sign lenders may be struggling for liquidity again. The seven-day loan was the first time the ECB’s dollar swap facility has been tapped since March, and the first large loan it has [...]
European proposal for transactions levy takes its toll on financial stocks August 17, 2011 PLANS to impose a Tobin tax across the European Union sent shares in London’s financial stocks tumbling yesterday. German chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy unveiled proposals to push for a pan-European financial transactions levy on Tuesday evening. Analysts say any such charge would hit European financial centres like the City and especially those [...]
Swiss franc climbs again August 17, 2011 THE SWISS franc climbed yesterday and could hit record highs against the dollar and euro in days ahead if new measures by the Swiss National Bank fail to slow the currency’s rise. While the SNB announced an expansion of its liquidity policy, investors who bet on more aggressive action were disappointed that the plan did not [...]
Enterprise zones named August 17, 2011 A FORMER airfield and an Essex New Town were among the second wave of enterprise zones announced by the coalition yesterday. The sites, at Alconbury near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, and at Enterprise West Essex in Harlow, are two of 11 in England that will benefit from tax breaks and a relaxation of planning rules. Vince [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU TRUST THE EU TO RESOLVE ITS DEBT CRISIS? August 17, 2011 NIGEL O’NEILL | AMICUS CONSULTING “No, I think they will continue with delaying tactics, which won’t work. The effect is likely to be huge on us. Many people are suggesting that we withdraw away from the EU. It isn’t looking particularly good right now.” NICK SUTTON | DWF “Not really, I don’t think they are [...]
SABMiller in hostile bid for Foster’s August 17, 2011 SABMILLER yesterday went hostile in its bid for Foster’s after the brewer’s board rejected a £6.1bn offer and flatly refused to enter negotiations. The owner of brands including Peroni and Grolsch has not raised its offer but is directly approaching shareholders to convince them to back a deal. Foster’s immediately rejected SABMiller’s offer in June, [...]
Family businesses see sales hike August 17, 2011 THE economy may be weighed down by high inflation and unemployment but family owned businesses appear to be weathering the storm. The top 10 family owned firms all increased their sales in the last year. Total sales for the UK’s biggest family-owned businesses rose 10.2 per cent to £35.5bn, driven by a strong performance from the [...]
Sage is front runner in race for MYOB in a takeover that could cost it $1.4bn August 17, 2011 SAGE is understood to be the front runner in the bid to acquire Australian business software group MYOB. It has placed a final bid for the firm, alongside Bain Capital and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR). The winning bid is expected to be as high as $1.4bn (£850m), based on the price of similar deals, according [...]
Lehman shelves Lamco asset management plan August 17, 2011 LEHMAN Brothers will not turn its asset management unit into a long-term business after creditors of the bankrupt investment bank objected. Lamco, or the Legacy Asset Management Co, instead will continue on its path to liquidate Lehman assets over the next few years to pay back creditors, and will no longer look for a partner [...]
Bakers sees revenues hit record levels August 17, 2011 CITY law firm Baker & McKenzie regained its position as the world’s largest law firm by revenues yesterday, reporting a record global income of $2.27bn (£1.37bn), a rise of eight per cent from last year. The growth in revenue was led by strong performances across the firm’s Asia Pacific and Latin America offices, particularly in [...]
