First person arrested on Tarp charge March 15, 2010 The former president of New York’s privately held Park Avenue Bank was yesterday arrested and charged with being the first person to attempt to steal from US government bailout funds in the financial crisis. A 10-count criminal complaint accused Charles Antonucci of devising “an elaborate round-trip loan transaction” that he told others was his own [...]
CELEBRITY LAWYER CEMENTS HIS STATUS March 15, 2010 CELEBRITY LAWYER CEMENTS HIS STATUS SHOWBIZ and the somewhat more drab world of the law aren’t usually professions that share column inches, but a City immigration lawyer is doing his level best to change that perception. Philip Trott, head of immigration at Bates Wells & Braithwaite solicitors, has been enjoying more than his usual share [...]
Allied Irish in capital raising March 15, 2010 Allied Irish Banks launched a bond exchange programme yesterday, which analysts said could contribute up to €400m (£363m) towards its hunt for fresh capital. Allied Irish and rival Bank of Ireland have been buying back cheap debt to raise capital, which will be depleted in a €80bn “bad bank” exercise to start this month. Allied [...]
BP to take majority stake in oil sands operation in north Alberta March 15, 2010 BP will take a majority stake in the Terre de Grace oil sands property owned by closely-held Value Creation for an undisclosed price, in the British oil major’s second oil sands deal in a week. Value Creation yesterday said BP agreed to develop and operate the 185,000-acre Terre de Grace block in northern Alberta. The [...]
British banks facing further disappointments on revenues March 15, 2010 UK banks will likely see more revenue disappointment before rebuilding their profitability, Seymour Pierce said yesterday, adding that consensus expectations for banking income growth were far too optimistic. The brokerage said it was on average 10 per cent below consensus revenue expectations for 2012 for the sector, with the greatest disappointment likely at Royal Bank [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 15, 2010 PROVIDENT FINANCIAL Collins Stewart has maintained its recommendation on Provident Financial at “sell”. It said that Provident Financial was trading at the bottom of the trading range and the impact of new consumer policies set out by the government may result in a reduced earnings forecast and may pose a threat to the dividend. Collins [...]
DTZ on target as hopes of a recovery rise March 15, 2010 PROPERTY broker DTZ Holdings yesterday said it remains on target to meet market expectations for its full year results, anticipating £70m of cost savings for the period. Boosting hopes of recovery in the sector, DTZ reported better levels of activity in its key markets of London and Paris and increased activity in the investment and [...]
Restaurant and pub sales bounce back March 15, 2010 Top pub and restaurant groups have seen like-for-like sales bounce back, following a dismal January. The 15 major companies participating in the The Coffer Peach Business Tracker, which include Costa Coffee group Whitbread, collectively saw like-for-like sales up 1.3 per cent against the same month last year. Total sales were ahead 3.0 per cent on [...]
A recovery this year doesn’t mean that the worst is over March 15, 2010 SLOWLY but surely, activity is creeping back to the moribund commercial property sector. British Land and Songbird have signed tenants at their landmark developments Drapers Gardens and the Ropemaker, while it’s only a matter of time before Minerva finds an occupant for the now-complete Walbrook. That’s good news for adviser DTZ, which advised on Macquarie’s [...]
New curbs on credit cards March 15, 2010 New rights secured for credit card users could save consumers almost £300m a year, it was yesterday claimed. The agreement between the government and the credit and store card companies is part of a package of measures to tackle debt. The industry will introduce the new changes this year. “These new rights will put an [...]
