Walkie-talkie picks up signal February 25, 2010 Land Securities, the property developer, is preparing to revive its 500ft “Walkie-Talkie” skyscraper in the heart of the City. The company has sounded out construction firms for fees after shelving the project 18 months ago as the recession led to a savage downturn in the property market.
Rank Group reinstates dividend February 25, 2010 Bingo hall operator Rank Group said it would start paying dividends again after reporting a 19.8 per cent increase in pretax profit, ahead of market expectations. The company behind Mecca Bingo made an adjusted pre-tax profit of £48.5m compared with £40.5m the year before.
Lehman settles JPMorgan claims February 25, 2010 Lehman Brothers agreed with JPMorgan Chase to settle a $7.7bn (£5bn) claim stemming from collateral obligations after Lehman’s bankruptcy filing, court documents show. JPMorgan provided various services to Lehman’s primary broker-dealer unit prior to its bankruptcy filing in September 2008. As worries about Lehman’s financial condition deepened, large blocks of the bankrupt investment bank’s assets [...]
Liberty close to selling US malls February 25, 2010 Shopping centre owner Liberty is in discussions with Miami-based investment trust Equity One over the sale of its $560m (£368m) US mall portfolio. Liberty is thought to be trading the properties in return for a stake in the US trust, giving it a share of future growth.
BAA wins appeal on airports February 25, 2010 An attempt by the Competition Commission to force airports operator BAA to sell more of its airports suffered a setback yesterday when a tribunal stood by an earlier decision to overturn a ruling made by the Commission last year ordering the sale of more airports. The Competition Appeal Tribunal rejected an application from the Competition [...]
Iceland quits Icesave talks February 25, 2010 TALKS have broken down between Iceland, Britain and the Netherlands over Reykjavik’s duty to repay the £3.8bn lost by depositors in failed online bank Icesave. Icelandic representatives walked out last night after turning down preferential repayment terms. The failure to reach an agreement means the Icelandic government will press ahead with a referendum on whether [...]
Blackstone bounds into black with surprise earnings boost February 25, 2010 PRIVATE equity giant Blackstone Group posted better-than-expected earnings yesterday, driven by increased performance fees and improved valuations of its portfolios. Private equity firms suffered in 2008/9 from sliding stock markets, which reduced the values of their investments, and from the limited availability of credit for new deals. But both have improved, with valuations higher and [...]
Lebedev close to Independent buyout with competition request February 25, 2010 RUSSIAN oligarch Alexander Lebedev and Independent News & Media (IMN) have approached the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) over the planned sale of The Independent newspapers. In a move indicating an imminent deal, the submission invited competition-related comment on the “anticipated acquisition of The Independent and The Independent on Sunday by Lebedev Holdings Limited”. Exclusive [...]
MADOFF NET EXPANDS February 25, 2010 AN AIDE to jailed fraudster Bernard Madoff was charged with fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday. Daniel Bonventre (above), Madoff’s former director of operations, was charged with conspiracy, tax fraud, falsifying accounting records and stealing investor funds in relation to the $65bn (£41bn) Ponzi scheme.
February sees bumper sales on high street February 25, 2010 BRITISH consumers returned to the high street in their droves in the first half of February, after January’s cold snap kept them at home. The Confederation for British Industry (CBI) said that in early February retailers had seen the strongest annual growth in sales volumes since May 2007. Almost half of all firms surveyed (46 [...]
