Accountants face new rule to cut risk January 17, 2010 THE world’s Big Four accounting firms must appoint independent non-executives to help reduce the risk of an Andersen-style collapse, under the terms of a new UK governance code published today. The Audit Firm Governance Code – which has been drawn up at the request of the Financial Reporting Council – is the first time the [...]
Chen bank gets initial backing January 17, 2010 THE new banking group being created by former Panmure Gordon analyst Sandy Chen is said to have received letters of intent from two leading institutions who are considering investing a total of £90m in the company. Invesco Perpetual and Perpetual are both said to be keen on taking stakes in the bank, named Walton & [...]
Bankruptcy in the air for JAL January 17, 2010 Japan Airlines (JAL) is expected to file for a pre-packaged bankruptcy tomorrow, similar to that used last year by General Motors. Seiji Maehara, Japan’s transport minister, has said tomorrow will be “X day” for JAL when a rehabilitation plan for the debt-laden carrier is expected to be announced. Speculation has mounted over which of its [...]
Heritage deal key to Tullow January 17, 2010 TULLOW Oil’s decision to pre-empt the sale of Heritage Oil’s Ugandan oil deposit assets to Italian oil group Eni is a brave one, and one that will secure the firm’s position among the giants of the oil world, having grown up from its humble beginnings a quarter of a century ago. Under the terms of [...]
Election2010 January 17, 2010 THERE was confusion over the government’s policy on the 50p tax rate yesterday, after the Treasury appeared to contradict remarks made by Lord Mandelson. When asked about the top rate of tax for workers earning over £150,000, Mandelson said: “I would favour, when financial circumstances permit, for the top rate to come down, just as [...]
Goldman to pay out $22bn to employees January 17, 2010 GOLDMAN Sachs will hand out $22bn (£13.5bn) in full-year remuneration this week, dwarfing the $9bn salary pot revealed by JPMorgan on Friday. Staff from both banks will find out what proportion of those pools is allocated to bonuses today amid growing political clamour over high levels of pay. In a move to appease public anger, [...]
Creditors seek to sell off Dubai World loans January 17, 2010 BANK creditors to Dubai World are trying to offload their loans ahead of an expected restructuring of the conglomerate’s $22bn (£13.5bn) debt. It is thought that some of the smaller international banks are keen to reduce their exposure to the debt-laden company quickly. Last week a seller was seeking to offload about $100m of loans, [...]
Travelport in pole position in float queue January 17, 2010 TRAVELPORT looks set to become the most expensive company to float on the stock exchange in two years. It will be amongst the first in a slew of companies seeking an IPO in the coming months. The airline and hotel reservations firm, which operates in 160 countries, has plans for flotation in London and hopes [...]
Tax is making firms flee UK January 17, 2010 ONE in 10 entrepreneurs plan to leave the country because of the current UK regulatory and tax environment, according to a report by Investec. A survey of 171 firms by Investec Specialist Private Bank and the Entrepreneurs’ Organisation revealed 10 per cent are planning to move their operations outside the UK. Investec’s Ed Cottrell said: [...]
Yahoo’s China partner slams it for supporting rival Google January 17, 2010 THE row over internet censorship in China heated up at the weekend when Yahoo’s Chinese partner turned on it and attacked it for backing rival Google in its standoff with Beijing about cyber hacking. Alibaba, Yahoo’s partner in China, called the US internet giant, which is a major shareholder, “reckless” for its support for Google. [...]
