Prudential to buy Thai firm in banking tie-up November 5, 2012 PRUDENTIAL has extended its reach into the Asian market by agreeing a long-term exclusive deal with Thanachart Bank, Thailand’s fifth biggest retail bank. As part of the deal Prudential has also bought Thanachart Life Assurance Company. A statement from Prudential late last night said that the firm, through its subsidiary Prudential Life Assurance (Thailand) and [...]
What the other papers say this morning November 5, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES KCELL SET TO PURSUE LONDON LISTING Investor appetite in London for companies from the former Soviet Union will be tested with plans for the second mobile operator flotation to be announced in the space of a month. Kcell, the largest mobile operator in Kazakhstan, plans to list about a quarter of its equity [...]
UK placed on flood alert November 5, 2012 Homeowners across Sussex, Kent, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are being urged to prepare for flooding with between 15-20mm of rain expected to fall between last night and this morning. Last night there were 30 flood alerts across the south east. The Environment Agency has mobilised teams across south Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, [...]
ECB investigates Spanish loans November 5, 2012 The European Central Bank (ECB) is checking whether it may have contravened its own strict rules by lending to Spanish banks on overly generous terms, an ECB spokeswoman said yesterday. German paper Die Welt am Sonntag said banks had borrowed funds from the ECB and taken a haircut of 0.5 per cent even though the [...]
Comet to start sale as buyers eye up stores November 5, 2012 COMET will this week kick off a fire sale of its remaining stock, though staff and shoppers remain in the dark about the future of the electrical goods retailer. Comet, which called in the administrators on Friday, intends to open its 236 stores as normal this week. The firm’s website has been closed to new [...]
London City Airport to celebrate 25th anniversary with upgrade November 5, 2012 LONDON City Airport is planning £15m-worth of work on its terminal next year, it announced today as it marks 25 years in business. The airport said it will upgrade its departure gates, lounges and baggage services in a 12 to 18-month overhaul planned to start in early 2013. Chief executive Declan Collier said: “With the [...]
Comet’s end shines more light on retail than private equity November 4, 2012 THE looming end of Comet will leave another gaping hole on the high street, and for that reason alone should be lamented. But this is entirely expected, given owner OpCapita was the only firm willing to be Comet’s lender of last resort when it was fighting for survival last year. The price tag of £2 [...]
Romney and Obama battle over tax and restrictions on abortion November 4, 2012 THE UNITED States tomorrow faces a decision between two Ivy League-educated men who will have to deal with a massive deficit, troubled overseas military operations and renewed concerns over America’s place in the world. The two candidates offer radically different tax policy – President Barack Obama supports letting income tax cuts on the highest earners [...]
Tchenguiz SFO claims may rise after blunders November 4, 2012 THE SERIOUS Fraud Office (SFO) could face costs of hundreds of millions of pounds if lawsuits from Robert and Vincent Tchenguiz are successful, following the SFO’s botched investigation into the brothers stemming from the collapse of Icelandic bank Kaupthing in 2008. Vincent Tchenguiz had previously indicated he would look to sue the SFO for £100m. [...]
New York crawls back to life but mayor warns of housing crisis November 4, 2012 NEW York continued its slow return to normality over the weekend in the wake of Hurricane Sandy as power returned to the majority of buildings and transport networks operated at nearly full capacity again. However, more than a million homes continued to suffer from power outages last night, and mayor Michael Bloomberg cancelled the iconic [...]
