Berlin sets in for fight with ECB June 8, 2011 GERMANY has made an audacious attempt to seize the initiative in Greek bailout negotiations, telling the European Central Bank (ECB) that private investors in Athens’ debt must accept a seven-year increase in the maturity of their bonds. In a letter sent to the ECB, German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said: “Any additional financial support for [...]
Soaring wages endangering football clubs, Deloitte warns June 8, 2011 ENGLAND’S leading clubs are jeopardising their futures by spending increasingly dangerous sums on player wages, one of the country’s most prominent football finance experts warned last night. Premier League teams forked out a record 68 per cent of their income on pay packets during the 2009-10 season, according to research published today by Deloitte’s Sports [...]
Four directors to leave ENRC June 8, 2011 KEN Olisa, one of two directors yesterday voted off the board of resources group ENRC after voicing corporate governance concerns at the FTSE 100 company, said the firm must be “pretty vulnerable” to an investigation by the UK listing authorities. Olisa told City A.M.: “When we went public the people selling shares made commitments that [...]
Rejoice: Opec’s days are numbered June 8, 2011 THERE was a time when the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), the cartel of oil producing nations, was the world’s Enemy Number One. The group wielded terrifying powers: it could make or break economies by increasing or reducing the supply of oil, sending its price rocketing or crashing. No longer: Opec, while still [...]
PM cheers UK cars boost June 8, 2011 NISSAN is to make a £192m investment to build the new version of the Nissan Qashqai car in the UK. Prime Minister David Cameron, who invited Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn to Downing Street to announce the decision, is keen to present the company’s decision as a coup for UK car manufacturing. Nearly a million Nissan [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 8, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BRISTOL WATER SALE LOOMS The owners of Bristol Water have appointed Citigroup to advise on a possible sale of the company, according to people familiar with the matter, in a move that paves the way for the first deal in the privatised UK industry since the financial crisis. Agbar, the Spanish water specialist [...]
Exxon spends $1.7bn on shale June 8, 2011 Exxon Mobil said it bought privately held natural gas company Phillips Resources and related company TWP Inc for $1.69bn (£1bn) last week, picking up about 317,000 acres for exploration in the Marcellus shale basin. The action highlights the importance Exxon is placing on natural gas assets after spending about $30bn last year to buy natural [...]
KKR eyes stake in ING business June 8, 2011 Private equity giant KKR & Co is eyeing a minority stake in ING’s US online bank, ING Direct USA, a source familiar with the situation said last night. General Electric and Capital One Financial are also understood to have submitted bids. ING was forced to split its insurance and bank operations and agreed to divest [...]
RISKY GAME: WAGES NEAR DANGER LEVEL June 8, 2011 Top-flight clubs have never had it so good but are splashing more than ever on salaries, says Deloitte THE SYMPTOMS have not been hard to spot. First Yaya Toure, an effective if unspectacular journeyman midfielder, charmed Manchester City into lining his pockets to the tune of £185,000 a week. Then some expert brinkmanship from Wayne [...]
Spain at risk of following Scotland if Barca and Real allowed to maintain stranglehold June 8, 2011 SPANISH football is riding the crest of a wave. The national team are world and European champions, while Barcelona dominate the club game, and Real Madrid, home to Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho, are no slouches either. Yet beneath the surface all is not so rosy. The same individual selling of broadcast rights that has [...]
