Pirc: We raised Autonomy flag November 22, 2012 SHAREHOLDER advisory group Pirc “raised a number of red flags” over Hewlett-Packard (HP)’s $11bn (£6.9bn) purchase of Autonomy, it said yesterday. Pirc said it warned that Autonomy auditors Deloitte had done too much non-audit work to be independent. On Tuesday, HP accused former Autonomy bosses of inflating the software company’s accounts, and took an $8.8bn [...]
RSA hires Lloyds non-exec Scicluna as chair November 22, 2012 CITY veteran Martin Scicluna will step down from the board of Lloyds Banking Group to take up the chairmanship of insurer RSA, the firms confirmed yesterday. Scicluna will take up his new role at RSA on 1 January, and leave his non-executive post at Lloyds in March, following more than four years on the board. [...]
Rothschild lands £169m boost November 22, 2012 BUMI co-founder Nat Rothschild said yesterday he had raised $270m (£169m) to fund his counter proposal to take over the London-listed miner. Rothschild’s NR Investments has committed funds alongside other investors – understood to include Robert Friedland and Indonesian Hashim Djojohadikusumo – for a proposal to sever ties with Bumi Resources. “The independent board members [...]
Pinnacle told to pay £16m to Brookfield November 22, 2012 THE BUILDERS of the Pinnacle skyscraper could seize the site from its owners after winning a High Court claim worth millions of pounds in unpaid fees. Brookfield Multiplex launched a series of claims over the past year against the owners of the 63-storey tower in a bid to recover four separate payments for work undertaken [...]
Cable wants more activist shareholders November 22, 2012 INVESTORS should get together to exert greater pressure on businesses, using a forum to establish common ground to better force company directors to fit shareholders’ long term aims, business secretary Vince Cable urged yesterday. And he said a new stewardship code, binding shareholders’ votes on pay and proposed rules to force fund managers to act [...]
Eurozone faces worst services drop since 2009 November 22, 2012 THE EUROZONE’S service sector fell to an even steeper decline in November, data revealed yesterday, keeping overall activity at levels suggesting sharp economic contraction. Service activity fell to 45.7 this month, the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) from Markit said, down from 46 in October and solidly below the 50 level indicating no change. This fall [...]
UBS is still a big player despite recent predicaments November 22, 2012 Anybody taking just a cursory glance at the headlines about UBS’s investment bank recently, might be forgiven for thinking it was something of a basket case. What with the news of a plan to shrink headcount by 10,000, a strategic refocusing of strategy away from high risk, complex trading products, followed by a guilty verdict [...]
Benitez: Being Chelsea boss is easier than Liverpool job November 22, 2012 NEW Chelsea manager Rafael Benitez brushed off concerns over interference from Blues owner Roman Abramovich last night, insisting the Stamford Bridge job will prove easier than managing Liverpool. Benitez said Abramovich would not be involved on a day-to-day basis and that working with the Russian was preferable to his last days at Anfield under warring [...]
Flawless Launchbury handed chance to stake England claim November 22, 2012 ENGLAND head coach Stuart Lancaster has hailed the impact of “error free” Joe Launchbury after handing the Wasps youngster a first Test start against South Africa tomorrow. The 21-year-old lock replaces his club colleague Tom Palmer, who has a mild calf injury, having impressed off the bench against Fiji and Australia, in a side including [...]
Spurs bailed out by heroic Lloris November 22, 2012 LAZIO 0 vs TOTTENHAM 0 TOTTENHAM manager Andre Villas-Boas praised a match-saving performance from goalkeeper Hugo Lloris after he earned Spurs a point in Rome last night. The France No1 has struggled to hold down a first-team place since arriving in the summer but pulled off a string of saves to sustain Tottenham’s bid to [...]
