SocGen beats investor lawsuit September 29, 2010 Societe Generale has won the dismissal of a shareholder lawsuit accusing the bank of concealing nearly €7bn (£6.03bn) of losses from a massive trading scandal and exposure to subprime mortgages. Investors accused the bank of ignoring dozens of warnings about rogue trader Jerome Kerviel, whose activity led to a loss of €4.9bn in January 2008 and [...]
Air France faces price-fixing claim September 29, 2010 Air France-KLM faces a claim for up to €500m (£430.8m) from claimants including Ericsson and Philips over allegedly fixing the price of air cargo. A law firm representing the claimants estimated that the total damages could exceed that amount once money for the harm suffered since 2000 is taken into account. Claims Funding International said it [...]
Dudley begins BP makeover post Gulf spill September 29, 2010 BP is considering linking bonus payouts to the group’s safety performance as part of a radical makeover, which has also seen a shake-up of the board’s structure, announced yesterday by incoming chief executive Bob Dudley. Dudley, who takes over from Tony Hayward on Friday, has launched a review of how the oil giant pays out [...]
HSBC and Goldman stoke fears over European exodus September 29, 2010 HSBC’S incoming chief executive Stuart Gulliver yesterday reignited fears that the bank may move its headquarters if it is forced to split its retail and investment operations, firing another warning shot across the government’s bows in his first comments on the matter since being appointed to head the bank. Gulliver, speaking outside an HSBC board [...]
Treasury to study high frequency trading amid worries of a crash September 29, 2010 THE TREASURY has commissioned a study into high frequency trading amid concerns that computer-generated errors can play havoc with the economy. The department will sponsor an investigation into the practice, to be led by Lucas Pedace in the Government Office for Science, the Financial Times reports today. It will look into how computer trading impacts [...]
Credit Suisse warns on investment bank September 29, 2010 CREDIT Suisse Group chief executive Brady Dougan cautioned yesterday that the performance of the Swiss firm’s investment bank was mixed in the third quarter but added that the bank as a whole is well-positioned to deal with difficult market conditions. Dougan said volumes in some businesses, including fixed income and currency trading, have been “a [...]
Cameron collects City stalwarts for his business panel September 29, 2010 BOSSES at several of the country’s largest companies are to join David Cameron’s panel of business gurus, it emerged yesterday. A source close to Centrica said its chief executive Sam Laidlaw would take a role on the committee, while Sky News named Andy Street, managing director of John Lewis, 3i Group chief Michael Queen and [...]
Carlyle buys B&B Hotels from Eurazeo for €480m September 29, 2010 US PRIVATE equity firm Carlyle Group has snapped up B&B Hotels from French holding firm Eurazeo in a deal valuing the chain at €480m (£413m). Eurazeo announced in July it was in exclusive negotiations with Carlyle to sell the budget hotel chain. B&B Hotels is France’s third-largest budget hotel group after Accor and Louvre Hotels, [...]
US may profit from AIG bailout September 29, 2010 American International Group (AIG) is seeing plans to free itself of US government support start to come together two years after it was bailed out and expects taxpayers to profit from their investment. AIG is close to finalising a plan for the government to sell its stake in the insurer, which would see the Treasury [...]
Elster prices below IPO range September 29, 2010 German smart meter maker Elster Group priced shares in its initial public offering below the expected range yesterday, according to an underwriter. The company sold 16.2m American Depositary Shares for $13 each, raising about $210.6m. It had filed to sell shares for $16 to $18 each. The company never officially cut the price range but [...]
