Comcast cleared to buy NBC January 18, 2011 American regulators have cleared Comcast’s proposal for a $13bn (£8.15bn) takeover of NBC Universal. The plan to buy the 51 per cent stake, from General Electric, was approved by the Federal Communications Commission. Comcast is America’s largest US cable firm, while NBC owns TV stations, theme parks and a movie studio. The deal still requires [...]
Barclays fined £7.7m for serious failings in sales January 18, 2011 BARCLAYS has been fined £7.7m for mis-selling two Aviva funds after one in seven of the investors complained to the City regulator. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) yesterday imposed its largest-ever fine for retail sales breaches after identifying “serious failings” in Barclays’ sales practices for two Aviva income funds. The bank raised £692m from 12,331 [...]
SANTANDER UK BOSS VOWS BETTER SERVICE January 18, 2011 SANTANDER’S new UK chief executive Ana Patricia Botin yesterday told MPs on the Treasury Select Committee that improving service was a top priority, after the Financial Services Authority showed Santander had the highest number of customer complaints of any British bank. Having pulled out of group government talks – Project Merlin – to boost lending, [...]
Double-bagel woe for fading Safina January 18, 2011 DINARA Safina became the first former world No1 to suffer a grand slam double-bagel as she crashed out of the Australian Open to Belgium’s Kim Clijsters. The Russian, who has plummeted 74 places in the world rankings in just 15 months, lost 6-0, 6-0 to third seed Clijsters in just 44 minutes. Elsewhere there were [...]
Cup success is a real possiblity, says Van Persie January 18, 2011 ARSENAL striker Robin van Persie admits Arsenal need a major improvement on their last two cup performances if they are to get the better of Leeds this evening. The Gunners were well below par in their FA Cup third round tie at Emirates Stadium 10 days ago, when they required an 89th minute Cesc Fabregas [...]
UK: EU ratings agency plans open to abuse January 18, 2011 EUROPEAN Commission (EC) proposals to give sovereign states three days’ notice when their debt is about to be downgraded were slammed by the UK’s top three regulatory bodies last night. In a rare move, the Treasury, the FSA and the Bank of England released a joint statement condemning the EC’s suggested creation of a public [...]
Saxo Bank confident of recovery January 18, 2011 THE ECONOMIC recovery is set to continue in Britain this year as a result of the government’s fiscal austerity measures, according to Saxo Bank. The Copenhagen-based lender said “impressive” austerity measures would help the economy hit two per cent GDP growth for the year, despite tough budget cuts. The bank said the global economic recovery [...]
Irish PM survives no-confidence vote January 18, 2011 IRISH Prime Minister Brian Cowen survived a no-confidence vote by his own Fianna Fail party yesterday, sparking the resignation of foreign minister Michael Martin, who said before the vote that he would vote against his leader. The vote was called after details surfaced of meetings Cowen had with the management of Anglo Irish Bank. Picture: [...]
Washington Mutual to pay out January 18, 2011 Washington Mutual could be out of bankruptcy in March after reworking its recently rejected plan of reorganisation, the attorney overseeing the company’s bankruptcy said yesterday. “Our goal is to go effective in March,” said Brian Rosen, an attorney from law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges, representing the bank. Once the company’s reorganisation plan is approved [...]
Sven’s Eastlands return a losing one January 18, 2011 SVEN-GORAN ERIKSSON’S return to Eastlands ended in defeat as Manchester City booked their place in the FA Cup fourth round with a 4-2 win over Leicester. Carlos Tevez put City ahead before Paul Gallagher’s immediate response from the penalty spot. Two goals in 90 seconds before half-time, from Patrick Vieira and Adam Johnson, put the [...]
