CITY VIEWS: IS BORIS JOHNSON HANDLING THE SNOW SITUATION WELL? December 2, 2010 CARLOS MICHEL | CUNNINGHAM LINDSEY “I don’t know what he could do personally to add to the response. The fact that he’s in Zurich probably has little to do with London’s response. In fact, the potential benefits of hosting a World Cup far outweigh any costs.” ELISE KATILOV | RK HARRISON “I live in Ealing [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 2, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES BANKS’ ASSET SELLING HINTS AT BETTER CONDITIONS Banks are selling some of the companies they took over from their private equity owners during the financial crisis, such as Swedish fridge-maker Dometic and German construction group DSI, indicating that the economic cycle is turning. Bargain-hunting private equity executives have been frustrated at the dearth [...]
Cards overtake cash in UK December 2, 2010 For the first time, UK consumers have spent more using their debit cards than with cash over the course of a year, data suggests. Spending on debit cards reached £272bn in the 12 months to October, figures from the UK Payments Council show. The statistics, released every three months, showed spending on cash stood at [...]
Amazon.com invests $175m December 2, 2010 Amazon.com is investing $175m in online coupon company LivingSocial, a pre-emptive strike against Google which is looking to buy Groupon, another coupon provider. LivingSocial said yesterday it also secured an $8m investment from Lightspeed Venture Partners, adding that it will use the funds to grow its business worldwide. LivingSocial said it is currently booking revenues [...]
EU in clamp down over trading rules December 2, 2010 A CRACKDOWN on Europe’s share, bond and derivative markets has been proposed by the European Commission as it believes current market regulation needs updating. Private trading platforms in banks should be more transparent and regulated directly, a draft consultation on the EU’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) obtained yesterday shows. The paper says the [...]
US mogul Barry Diller steps down as CEO at IAC December 2, 2010 MEDIA mogul Barry Diller stepped down as chief executive of Internet company InterActiveCorp (IAC) yesterday. IAC, a wide collection of websites, said Diller will be replaced by Greg Blatt, the chief executive of IAC’s online dating site Match.com. However, Diller will remain as chairman of IAC. Also, rival Liberty Media says it has exchanged its [...]
Madoff trustee sues JPMorgan for $6.4bn December 2, 2010 THE trustee seeking money for defrauded former clients of Bernard Madoff said he filed a $6.4bn (£4.1bn) lawsuit accusing JPMorgan Chase of aiding the imprisoned Ponzi schemer’s fraud as his main banker yesterday. The lawsuit is the second largest that trustee Irving Picard has filed against former Madoff clients or others he believes assisted in [...]
2018 can still boost UK GDP December 2, 2010 PRIME minister David Cameron’s 110 per cent he said he was putting into the UK’s dream of hosting the 2018 World Cup may not have been enough, but the economy can still benefit – if our team can stay in the tournament long enough, an expert said yesterday. Howard Archer, chief economist at consultancy IHS [...]
IIF: EU plan to share default burden is the right strategy December 2, 2010 A EUROPEAN mechanism to share the burden of potential defaults with the private sector is a “step in the right direction,” the Institute of International Finance (IIF), a bank lobbying group, said yesterday. Private creditors must be involved in debt restructuring negotiations since the very beginning, however, and their role in the process still needs [...]
S&P warns it could downgrade Greece in three months time December 2, 2010 STANDARD & Poor’s yesterday warned it could cut Greece’s BB-plus credit rating if it becomes clear that the proposed European Stability Mechanism will favor public creditors to the detriment of private bond holders. Greece, as a potential recipient of European Stability Mechanism (ESM) funding, could have its ratings negatively affected by the new rules, S&P [...]
