Pru director could step down soon July 14, 2010 PRUDENTIAL’S senior independent director has told colleagues he will step down from the board once a replacement is found, according to reports last night. James Ross, a director at the Pru since 2004, may retire and trigger a larger board shake-up at the insurer following its failed £23.5bn bid for AIA. A spokesperson for Prudential [...]
Icap fortunes hit by a drop in volatility July 14, 2010 ICAP, the world’s largest inter-dealer broker, saw its shares hammered by investors yesterday as fears crystallised over the impact of lower levels of volatility on the group’s business. Icap said revenue over the first quarter of the financial year rose eight per cent compared to the first three months last year, while profit grew by [...]
Former IKB boss avoids prison July 14, 2010 Stefan Ortseifen, the former chief executive of German bank IKB, was yesterday convicted of market manipulation but avoided going to jail in one of the few criminal cases to be prosecuted in the aftermath of the global banking crisis. IKB, one of the highest-profile casualties of the collapse in the US subprime mortgage market, required [...]
BSkyB in talks to launch Arabic news channel with private Abu Dhabi investor July 14, 2010 BRITISH pay-TV company BSkyB is in talks with a private Abu Dhabi investor to launch a round-the-clock Arabic language news channel under the Sky News brand. The new channel, which could launched within 24 months, would be run as a 50-50 joint venture, providing coverage of news across the Middle East and North Africa and [...]
Driver error may be behind Toyota’s acceleration issues July 14, 2010 TOYOTA said yesterday its investigation of nearly 2,000 cases of unintended acceleration had found no problem with its electronic throttle system, and that driver error was to blame in some cases. The world’s top automaker statement follows reports that early results of the US government’s analysis of dozens of data recorders from Toyota vehicles suggested [...]
Telecom Italia: Job cuts on ice July 14, 2010 TELECOM Italia has suspended planned job cuts under pressure from a government hoping to minimise union conflict as Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi pushes austerity measures for the flagging economy. “Telecom Italia has agreed to withdraw the layoff procedure. Now we have a 15-day period of intense negotiations,” Labour minister Maurizio Sacconi said after a meeting [...]
Moody’s downgrades eight Portuguese banks July 14, 2010 MOODY’S Investors Service yesterday cut the ratings of eight Portuguese banks by between one and two notches and mostly with a negative outlook, a day after a two-notch downgrade of the country’s sovereign debt. In a statement, the ratings agency cited “the government’s reduced ability to support its banks” and the fact that top banks [...]
ANALYST VIEWS:?WHAT IS THE OUTLOOK FOR ICAP’S BUSINESS? July 14, 2010 VIVEK RAJA | PANMURE GORDON “The earnings guidance was in line with expectations, but it is Icap’s cautious tone which has spooked the market. For volumes to have slowed ‘significantly’ across the business in June is worrying following strong market activity in May, and highlights a lack of visibility and outlook uncertainty.” NITIN ARORA | [...]
Part-timers push down jobless total July 14, 2010 FALLS in the two key measures of unemployment provided a glimmer of hope that the labour market is starting to stabilise but economists warned of impending public sector job losses. Figures from the Office for National Statistics published yesterday showed that the number of Britons claiming jobless benefits fell again in June by 20,800. The [...]
Why the Bank of England must hike rates now July 14, 2010 Britain’s inflation has taken off but the Bank of England appears to be ignoring the influence of monetary trends. This failure could be dangerous. The root cause of our inflation has been the development of an excess supply of money relative to the economy’s demand to hold liquidity. An attempt by consumers and companies to [...]
