Lord Levene’s bank eyes up online assets July 11, 2010 LORD Levene and Sir David Walker’s new high street bank plans to scour the market for potential online banking acquisitions after initially launching a bid for a retail branch network. NewBank, which does not yet have an official name, is currently eyeing up state-owned assets put on the block by Lloyds Banking Group and Northern [...]
New easyJet boss set to launch review of business July 11, 2010 CAROLYN MCCALL, easyJet’s newly appointed chief executive is to launch a review of the airline’s business model with plans to deliver her findings to investors in November. The former Guardian Media Group chief is considering whether to appoint a third party to carry out tests on the low-cost airline’s assumptions. EasyJet has yet to decide [...]
Congress edges towards deal on banking reform July 11, 2010 US Democrats will have little margin for error this week as they push for final congressional approval of the most comprehensive rewrite of financial rules since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid hopes to take up the sweeping legislation as Congress returns from a weeklong break, even though he has [...]
City office rentals rising at rapid pace July 11, 2010 OFFICE rents in the City have advanced at a record pace this year, rising by nearly 12 per cent in the last quarter and by almost 25 per cent since January, says research out today. Average rents for grade A offices increased from £47.50 per square foot in the first quarter of 2010 to £53 [...]
British Airways near to winning antitrust bid July 11, 2010 BRITISH Airways, American Airlines and Iberia are set to win EU antitrust clearance this week to deepen their Oneworld alliance. The news comes as BA and Iberia are on the brink of merging, and BA chief Willie Walsh has revealed he is already planning to buy up another airline within a year. The antitrust decision [...]
David Verey makes the trip back home to Lazard July 11, 2010 THE man once touted as a potential chief executive of the international investment bank Lazard is to return to the company he worked at for almost three decades. David Verey, who enjoyed a 29-year career at the bank before quitting nine years ago, will slot back in as a senior advisor to its UK business. [...]
HSBC in £1.7bn trains sale July 11, 2010 HSBC could be close to finalising a deal to sell its British rolling stock leasing business for £1.7bn to a consortium of City investors. Morgan Stanley Infrastructure, 3i and Star Capital are thought to have teamed up to make a bid for the business, which could see the transfer of one-third of the UK’s trains [...]
If policymakers fail, let us turn to St Francis July 11, 2010 As an exercise in transparency Europe’s so-called stress tests have already failed. We were promised the methodology and all we got was the madness; a drip, drip, drip of information that has slowly driven the markets round the twist. When will policy makers learn that what investors really want is clarity? DON’T BE FOOLED BY [...]
Rio Tinto in bid to shed South African coal assets worth $75m July 11, 2010 MINING giant Rio Tinto is considering the sale of $75m (£49m) of its Chapudi coal exploration assets in South Africa. It is thought that Rio Tinto is selling the Chapudi arm because it does not yield coal suitable for the global market. Rio Tinto’s coal strategy is focused on internationally traded markets and Chapudi is [...]
Desmond may bid for Five July 11, 2010 EXPRESS Newspaper owner Richard Desmond has emerged as an unlikely frontrunner in the battle to buy Channel Five. The owner of adult channel Television X has made no secret of his desire to expand his media empire but this is the first time he has been linked to the struggling terrestrial broadcaster. It is understood [...]
