Tax deal has yet to be agreed October 17, 2010 GERMANY and Switzerland have rejected a report they had agreed to a landmark tax deal that would reap €30bn (£26.2bn) from tax evaders but said they still aimed for a deal this month. Germany, along with Italy, the US and France, has been one of the most fervent critics of Switzerland’s banking secrecy laws. Berlin [...]
CEBR predicts £100bn in QE and no rates change October 17, 2010 NEW CEBR forecasts taking into account Wednesday’s Comprehensive Spending Review show growth slowing in 2011 but increasing thereafter as the recovery speeds up. It has forecast growth of 1.6 per cent in 2010, 1.3 per cent in 2011, 1.4 per cent in 2012, 1.8 per cent in 2013 and 2.4 per cent in 2014. Its [...]
3i debates offloading stake in Norman Foster’s indebted UK architecture firm October 17, 2010 PRIVATE equity provider 3i is understood to be considering selling its stake in architect Norman Foster’s design house Foster & Partners. 3i is believed to have contacted investment banks about a possible exit, as one of the options it looks into three years after buying the stake. It is yet to appoint an adviser and [...]
Astaire Securities sold off to Canada’s Northland Capital Partners for £2.45m October 17, 2010 EMBATTLED stockbroker Astaire on Friday agreed to divest itself of its main Astaire Securities division for £2.45m, bringing to a close a tumultuous period for the group which included the failed takeover of rival Hoodless Brennan, directors’ resignations and a lawsuit against the firm. Astaire sold the securities unit to Canadian group Northland Capital Partners [...]
Equitable Life prepares for payout October 17, 2010 Mutual insurer Equitable Life is in discussions with the government over the finer details of the £1.5bn compensation pot earmarked for the policyholders who lost money when the firm nearly went under a decade ago. It is not yet clear whether the payout, which will be detailed in the comprehensive spending review later this week, [...]
Hermes pressures Infineon chair October 17, 2010 UK fund manager Hermes has upped the pressure on management at German chipmaker Infineon to put a succession plan in place in the next fortnight, it emerged last night. Hermes’ head of corporate governance Hans Hirt said the firm was worried about speculation mounting that Infineon’s chairman Klaus Wucherer may not propose a successor at [...]
BT to hear pension fund ruling October 17, 2010 Telecoms giant BT will find out this week the size of the bill the taxpayer would have to shoulder for bailing out its pension fund if the company ever collapsed. The High Court is likely to give its ruling on the scope of the Crown guarantee covering BT’s pension fund and agreed when the company [...]
Portugal sees no scope for further cuts October 17, 2010 PORTUGAL’S finance minister said in a newspaper interview yesterday he did not know what additional austerity steps could be introduced if market scepticism about the country’s ability to cut its deficit persists. The minority Socialist government included deep spending cuts and tax hikes in the 2011 budget that it presented last week, but must win [...]
Ex-MPC member Barker takes private equity role October 17, 2010 FORMER Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Kate Barker has snapped up her second high-profile corporate appointment in just a few weeks, having agreed to take up a role as a non-executive director on the board of Electra Private Equity. Electra, which has investments in household names such as insurer Esure and feminine hygiene [...]
Chemical giant boosts profits in third quarter October 17, 2010 SAUDI Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) beat forecasts with a 46 per cent rise in third-quarter profit on higher plastic and petrochemical sales, and looked set for at least the same profit level in the fourth quarter. The world’s largest chemical firm by market value made a net profit of 5.33bn riyals (£889m) in the three [...]
