Deutsche Bahn poised to seal £1.5bn bid for Arriva April 21, 2010 DEUTSCHE Bahn’s supervisory board gave the green light for the company’s £1.5bn takeover of Arriva yesterday afternoon, paving the way for a deal announcement this morning. The German transport operator will offer 775p per share for the British bus and rail firm, having wrapped up its due diligence and received the all-clear from its government. [...]
Wells Fargo dips as mortgage fall hits bottom line April 21, 2010 WELLS Fargo’s first quarter profit dropped slightly yesterday as it originated fewer mortgages. The fourth-largest US bank, whose shares dipped nearly two per cent, said profit for common shareholders fell to $2.37bn (£1.5bn), or 45 cents per share, from $2.38bn, or 56 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts on average expected earnings of 42 [...]
M Stanley is back in black with $1.8bn April 21, 2010 MORGAN Stanley has emerged from the shadow of a bad year, swinging to a first quarter profit of $1.8bn (£1.2bn) and more than doubling its bankers’ paycheques. A resurgent fixed income department and improved trading revenues helped push the bank into the black after a loss of $17m this time last year. Earnings were 99 [...]
Gorman proves Street wrong with trade focus April 21, 2010 THE first results under James Gorman have proved the Street wrong. Promoted to chief executive from his role as president of the global wealth management group, the assumption was Morgan Stanley would head more in that direction under Gorman’s leadership. But the surge in first quarter profit to $1.8bn (£1.2bn) has thoroughly debunked that myth. [...]
Airlines hit by £1.1bn losses in shutdown April 21, 2010 THE International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimated the airline industry had been hit by $1.7bn (£1.1bn) in total losses due to the Icelandic volcano disruption. IATA director general and chief executive Giovanni Bisignani estimated that at worst, the six-day flight ban hit 29 per cent of global aviation and affected up to 1.2m passengers a [...]
Repatriation costs deemed a benefit in kind April 21, 2010 LAWYERS warned yesterday that tax bills for both employees and employers associated with the disruptions caused by the Icelandic volcano are to sky rocket as the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) takes a hardline on repatriation costs. Commercial law firm EMW Picton Howell said yesterday that the HMRC will demand tax payments on any expenses [...]
ABI director quits for FRC April 21, 2010 THE Association of British Insurers (ABI)’s director of investment affairs is to stand down after a decade at the institution. Peter Montagnon will take up a new role as senior investment adviser to the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). Montagnon said: “After nearly a decade in this role, now is the right time to take up [...]
GM pays back $8.1bn loan in full April 21, 2010 GENERAL Motors (GM) has repaid the $8.1bn (£5.2m) in loans it received from the US and Canadian governments at the height of the financial crisis last year. Detroit-based GM, which emerged from bankruptcy in July 2009, had pledged two weeks ago to repay the balance of loans from the US and Canada “in full by [...]
SEC probes BHP over corruption April 21, 2010 The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating BHP Billiton for potential violations of anti-corruption laws relating to its exploration activities, the London-listed miner admitted yesterday. The case follows the jailing in China last month of staff from rival Rio Tinto and comes as both mining giants seek regulatory approval for a $116bn (£75bn) [...]
US senate panel votes to ban bank swaps April 21, 2010 A US Senate panel yesterday voted to ban banks from the lucrative swaps market, one of the strictest measures in a planned financial reform that is heading into the home stretch. One Republican joined Democrats on the Senate Agriculture Committee to advance a measure that would introduce oversight to the unregulated $450 trillion (£292 trillion) [...]
