CITY VIEWS: DO YOU FEEL SAFER SINCE OSAMA BIN LADEN’S DEATH? May 3, 2011 LUCA TONDINI | RV LTD “I think that if we keep up the existing anti-terrorism measures, London won’t be any more at risk than before. We should concentrate more on what’s happening to Pakistan and Libya.” SHANE ALDONS | LIBERTY SYNDICATES “I don’t think it will make much difference. I think people might be a [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 3, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BUSINESSES FEAR £90BN HIT IN COSTS BOOMERANG The UK’s main quoted companies fear that £90bn of annual costs will return to their books as they recover, washing away savings made during the recession and squeezing profit margins, according to a survey by a leading accountancy firm. Businesses believe that 95 per cent of [...]
Keydata escapes criminal charges May 3, 2011 Criminal charges will not be brought against anyone involved in the collapse of Keydata, the financial services firm that collapsed earlier this year, according to the Serious Fraud Office. The SFO said there was “insufficient evidence” for a prosecution. An ongoing Financial Services Authority (FSA) probe into the firm’s failure could however land executives with [...]
BP agrees to pay $25m charge May 3, 2011 BP has agreed to pay a $25m (£15m) civil penalty plus interest to settle a federal investigation into a pipeline oil spill on Alaska’s North Slope in 2006. The oil spill in Alaska is one of several environmental and safety problems that has beset BP in the United States in recent years, including a deadly [...]
Murdoch in F1 bid talks with Ferrari backer May 3, 2011 NEWS Corp has confirmed it is in talks to launch an audacious bid to take control of Formula One racing. The firm said it is working on a bid with Italian investment firm Exor, which has a 30.5 per cent stake in Ferrari owner Fiat SpA. A joint statement by the two said: “Exor and [...]
Portugal secures bailout deal for €78bn from IMF and EU May 3, 2011 PORTUGAL last night struck a deal for an international bailout worth €78bn (£70bn) to ease its debt burden for a three-year period. The country’s caretaker prime minister Jose Socrates said he had “got a good deal” in a televised address. Few details of the loan were given last night, after almost a month of wrangling [...]
US sues Deutsche Bank for more than $1bn for mortgage fraud May 3, 2011 GERMAN lender Deutsche Bank is to be sued by the United States for more than $1bn (£605m) over alleged mortgage fraud. The Frankfurt-based bank is accused of “years of reckless lending practices” by the US Justice Department. It is also accused of defrauding the federal government by repeatedly lying to obtain insurance guarantees on mortgage [...]
Sony hackers hit 25m more May 3, 2011 MISERY was heaped on embattled Sony yesterday when it was revealed a further 25m customers could have had their personal information stolen by hackers. Last week it was forced to admit 78m members of its PlayStation Network have been targeted by hackers, with a limited number of credit card and bank details amongst the information [...]
ANALYSIS | JAPANESE FIRMS COUNT COST OF CORPORATE DISASTERS May 3, 2011 Sony News that an additional 25m people could have had their details stolen is a disaster in terms of damage limitation. One firm says the cost of cyber attacks averages $318 a user – in this case $32bn. It is likely costs will tail off as numbers get into millions but this is still a [...]
HSBC to sell off $30bn of assets in strategic overhaul May 3, 2011 HSBC is set to announce some $30bn (£18.2bn) in asset sales as part of chief executive Stuart Gulliver’s strategic rebalancing of the bank. Insiders have confirmed the $30bn figure to City A.M., which was estimated by Barclays Capital analyst Rohith Chandra-Rajan in a note to investors. The sales will form part of implementing what Gulliver [...]
