Treasury locked in talks over state bank bonuses January 17, 2011 PRIME Minister David Cameron insisted yesterday that bonuses at state-owned banks Lloyds and RBS are not “a done deal”, even as private banks prepare to award bonuses as usual this week. Reports have circulated recently that RBS chief executive Stephen Hester is in the running for a £2.5m bonus, though nearly all of it is [...]
UK listing for Severstal gold mining group January 17, 2011 RUSSIAN steel company Severstal yesterday announced plans to float its Nord Gold unit in London to raise more than $1bn (£629m). It values the company at over $4bn. The premium listing of at least 25 per cent of the gold miner is set to be the biggest mining float since Nate Rothschild’s $1bn offering of [...]
Russian billionaire’s stellar rise to the top January 17, 2011 AS THE SON of Soviet-era mill workers, Alexey Mordashov’s rise to become one of the richest men on the planet has been astronomical. The steel baron in charge of Russia’s second largest steel producer and gold miner Severstal, in which he has a controlling share, rose from humble beginnings to become one of the world’s [...]
ECB bond purchases soar January 17, 2011 SPAIN scrapped a long-term debt auction yesterday in favor of a bond sale via banks as highly indebted Eurozone states took advantage of more benign market conditions to lock in lower-cost borrowing. Belgium also said it would seek to issue a new bond, most likely for 10 years, through a syndicate of banks. Portugal has [...]
S&N shares spike again on bid rumours January 17, 2011 FOR the second time in a fortnight, shares in Smith & Nephew jumped on rumours of a takeover bid by Johnson & Johnson, peaking at 123.50p during morning trading yesterday. Shares in the prosthetic limb manufacturer were up 5.62 per cent at 723.5p by 9.30am, before dipping slightly over the afternoon to close 3.5 per [...]
Judgement day for Irish PM Cowen January 17, 2011 IRISH Prime Minister Brian Cowen will face a vote of no confidence by his own Fianna Fail party today, with Ireland’s foreign minister saying that he will vote against his leader. If Cowen is ousted, the move could spark a snap-election, which could throw into doubt the terms of Ireland’s €85bn (£71.2bn) bailout. The Irish [...]
Euro bailout fund rejig is set for March January 17, 2011 EUROZONE finance ministers called yesterday for an increase in the effective lending capacity of the currency bloc’s rescue fund, but German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said there was no urgency and it would be March before a firm plan was in place. Schaeuble said that with bond markets calmer, there was no rush to take [...]
UBS hires ex-JPM exec January 17, 2011 FORMER JP Morgan executive Ian Slatter has resumed his career with a new role at Swiss bank UBS. UBS has appointed Slatter co-head of fixed-income, commodities and currencies (FICC) distribution for Europe, Middle East and Africa. He took up the role with the FICC team on 10 January and reports to Roberto Hoornway, UBS’ global [...]
Wendel will appeal €1.5m St Gobain fine January 17, 2011 FRENCH investment fund Wendel said it would appeal a €1.5m (£1.3m) fine from market watchdog AMF for insufficient disclosure over its stake-building in glassmaker Saint-Gobain in 2007. The case centres on derivatives contracts with different banks which, according to the AMF, were market-sensitive and should have been disclosed by Wendel as the sole purpose was [...]
Apax’s bid for Smiths is too little too late January 17, 2011 TOO little, too late. That is the upshot of Apax’s £2.45bn bid for Smiths’ medical division, which sent the firm’s share price up by 7.72 to £13.81 yesterday. Too little because although the offer – almost half of Smiths’ market cap – seems high, it does not account for the huge break-up premium a buyer [...]
