Irish Nationwide and Anglo Irish behind borrowing spike February 20, 2011 ANGLO Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide Building Society were behind the spike in emergency borrowing from the European Central Bank, as they seek a speedy sale of their deposit books. The two troubled lenders, at the heart of Ireland’s financial crisis, are selling deposits and corresponding assets as part of a wind-down of their operations [...]
IT bull that shorts Ocado February 20, 2011 BLUE Ridge Capital, the hedge fund thought to have lost £40m after betting against Ocado, is no stranger to internet-based businesses: its two biggest long positions in the US are online giants Amazon and Apple, according to an SEC filing last week. The fund was set up by former Tiger Management president John Griffin in [...]
Osborne: banks had to pay February 20, 2011 GEORGE Osborne has given up mooted plans to ban banks from offsetting their tax liabilities against past losses, saying that his £2.5bn bank levy has rectified the problem of banks “not paying enough tax” under Labour. The chancellor was responding to the row over Barclay’s 2009 UK corporation tax bill of £113m. But despite Osborne having [...]
FSA reforms will raise costs – IMA February 20, 2011 ASSET managers have raised fears that the Financial Services Authority’s reforms to the Retail Distribution Review (RDR), an overhaul of rules governing retail investment advisers, could create a “distortion of the market” and might be based on an unreliable assessment of its impacts. The Investment Management Association (IMA), an industry body, has said that the [...]
Seymour Pierce deal is in doubt February 20, 2011 SEYMOUR Pierce’s transatlantic merger with Gerova Financial Group could fall through this week as Seymour Pierce’s outspoken chairman Keith Harris demands clarification on issues plaguing the New York-listed reinsurer. The failure of the planned three-way merger would be an embarrassment for investment bank Seymour Pierce, which is handling its own £60m takeover by Gerova. It [...]
BC eyes Phones 4U deal February 20, 2011 PHONES 4U could soon be snapped up by BC Partners after talks were resumed despite an earlier stalemate. It is thought BC could offer in the region of £700m to take control of the firm from Providence Equity Partners. Providence has been mulling a sale since September after a number of firms signalled their interest [...]
Iceland calls a referendum over UK debts February 20, 2011 ICELAND yesterday threw into doubt the repayment of billions of pounds to the UK and the Netherlands after its President called a referendum on the issue. It is the second time President Olafur Grimsson has vetoed a repayment bill proposed by the country’s parliament. In the last referendum, a large majority of the country’s 200,000 [...]
UK stifling property use February 20, 2011 DEVELOPERS and landlords are trying to escape the economic slump through changes in the use of their properties, commercial law firm EMW has told City A.M. “Change of use” applications shot up by 10 per cent in the third quarter of last year, and by nine per cent the previous quarter, its research shows. Yet [...]
London set to defy UK house slump February 20, 2011 LONDON’S housing market is set to buck the national trend with the number of new sellers up by more than a fifth, the Rightmove house price index reveals today. Across the UK, annualised new seller numbers have remained “practically unchanged” so that sluggish transaction levels are “set to be the norm,” the survey said. “But [...]
Investors slam Rio Tinto buyback plan February 20, 2011 MINING titan Rio Tinto came in for harsh criticism for its proposed $5bn (£3.1bn) share buyback yesterday, with leading investors reportedly labelling the plan “a pathetic gesture”. Rio Tinto, which said it would speed up its $5bn buyback to complete it by the end of next year, reported record profits of $20.6bn and a higher-than-expected [...]
