CITY VIEWS: SHOULD THE UK HELP TO BAIL OUT SPAIN AND PORTUGAL? December 1, 2010 RICHARD GRAINGER | TORUS INSURANCE “Absolutely not. As a nation, we have enough problems of our own, and need to sort them out. We stayed out of the Eurozone to avoid messes like this. That seems like a good decision now, doesn’t it?” EMMA FEHRENBACH | RSA INSURANCE “I think we should consider helping with [...]
EU plans tougher stress tests December 1, 2010 EUROPEAN Union officials are planning a new round of stress tests on banking institutions, in an attempt to remedy exams over the summer that failed to predict the current effects of the euro crisis on the banks. However, the EU said it might not publish the results of the next batch of examinations of banking [...]
Emergency ECB rate rises December 1, 2010 EMERGENCY overnight borrowing from the European Central Bank (ECB) rose to just under €2.5bn (£2.1bn), figures showed yesterday, as Eurozone debt fears continued to dominate the mood in financial markets. Banks usually refrain from using the ECB’s overnight borrowing facility because the interest rate is 0.75 per cent higher than the one per cent that [...]
HSBC spins off Asian private equity unit December 1, 2010 HSBC’s Asian private equity unit has been taken over in a management buyout and renamed Headland Capital Partners, it emerged yesterday. The sale is the first of five planned management buyouts of HSBC’s private equity businesses. It is the latest to respond to pressure from regulators on banks to spin off their private equity activities. [...]
Still not enough women directors of FTSE firms December 1, 2010 BUSINESS groups reacted with disappointment to the news that only 12.5 per cent of FTSE 100 company board directors were women yesterday. Penny de Valk, chief executive of the Institute of Leadership & Management, reacted to research from Cranfield University saying government enforced quotas were by no means an ideal solution but would soon become [...]
Chief operating officer at News Int steps down December 1, 2010 NEWS International chief operating officer Clive Milner has been placed on gardening leave after a shake-up led by chief executive Rebekah Brooks. He will formally leave the firm early next year after more than 30 years. City A.M. understands his role became superfluous to requirements when Brooks reshuffled her executive team after her arrival last [...]
US watchdog proposes swap trader regulations December 1, 2010 THE US futures regulator unveiled yesterday a key piece of its plan to toughen rules on trading in the vast swaps market, making clearer which firms will have to set aside more funds to cover their deals. After last-minute wrangling that underscored the strain facing agencies trying to implement the biggest financial regulatory overhaul since [...]
Starbucks seeks acquisitions December 1, 2010 Starbucks yesterday laid out an ambitious strategy for growing sales beyond its cafes, saying it would look to expand its packaged goods business through acquisitions. The firm believes its packaged coffee, bottled Frappuccino, Via instant coffee and other products sold in grocery stores can grow faster than sales at its 17,000 worldwide retail cafes. The [...]
E.ON sells Gazprom stake December 1, 2010 GERMAN energy giant E.ON has sold its 3.5 per cent stake in Russian gas firm Gazprom to market investors and Russia’s state-owned investment bank. Vnesheconombank (VEB) will take a 2.7 per cent stake, while 0.8 per cent has been placed in the market. E.ON said the total proceeds from the sale stood at €3.4bn, resulting [...]
Broughton makes key hire at sports fund December 1, 2010 MARTIN Broughton, the former chairman of Liverpool Football Club, has made a key hire at his fledgling investment fund and advisory fund, Sports Investment Partners. Sports Investment said yesterday it is hiring Matthew Wheeler, who was chief executive of Alan Pascoe’s API Group in the 1990s. He then had a four-year stint as the worldwide [...]
