Car sales rise again due to scrappage schemes January 4, 2010 INVESTMENT bank Morgan Stanley beat rival Goldman Sachs to the top spot in the mergers and acquisitions deal value stakes during a tough year, a survey showed. Morgan Stanley advised on deals worth $585.9bn (£363.4bn), compared with Goldman’s $548.6bn, according to the data group Mergermarket’s Global M&A Round-Up for 2009. Goldman topped the table in [...]
Spyker will make final bid for ailing Saab this week, says chief executive January 4, 2010 Dutch luxury car maker Spyker Cars is working on its final offer for General Motors’(GM’s) Saab assets and will file its bid by a 7 January deadline, Spyker’s chief executive said yesterday. Spyker cars is preparing to revise its bid for GM’s loss-making Swedish carmaker Saab for a third time to address GM’s criticism of [...]
Resort owners sue Credit Suisse for $24bn over luxury property schemes January 4, 2010 Credit Suisse has been sued by property owners who said the Swiss bank schemed to defraud investors in four luxury resort communities, including the bankrupted Yellowstone Club. The lawsuit filed in federal court in Boise, Idaho, seeks $24bn (£15bn) of damages against Credit Suisse and commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield, and class-action status [...]
Gas demand surges as cold grips January 4, 2010 National Grid yesterday issued a gas balancing alert (GBA) to warn big users of the fuel they may have to cut consumption as cold weather grips the country. The GBA means that demand has risen to such a level that, given Britain’s supply and storage position, there is a risk that another supply shock could [...]
Hotel rates in London on the rise January 4, 2010 Hotels in London saw revenue per available room – a key industry measure – rise out of the red during the final quarter of 2009, up 5.5 per cent to £110, according to professional services firm Deloitte. Occupancy was the key driver of growth in the capital, up 5.8 per cent to 82.9 per cent. [...]
Small companies back Tories January 4, 2010 Around 78 per cent of small companies think a Conservative government would be more supportive of entrepreneurial businesses, according to a survey released by private equity firm Bowmark Capital. The businesses sampled also added that keeping interest rates low, simplifying employment law and cutting back on red tape should be priorities for whoever forms the [...]
Reinsurance prices fall on a safer 2009 January 4, 2010 A US judge yesterday rejected a request to consider reducing the prison sentence of a whistleblower in the tax fraud case against Swiss bank UBS. Bradley Birkenfeld’s lawyers had appealed for a postponement of his jail sentence, saying that he has more information on tax cheating to offer. They also appealed for a reduction of [...]
Setback for UBS whistleblower January 4, 2010 A US judge yesterday rejected a request to consider reducing the prison sentence of a whistleblower in the tax fraud case against Swiss bank UBS. Bradley Birkenfeld’s lawyers had appealed for a postponement of his jail sentence, saying that he has more information on tax cheating to offer. They also appealed for a reduction of [...]
EasyJet announces raft of new European routes January 4, 2010 BUDGET airline easyJet yesterday announced plans to boost expansion of its European network in 2010 and said there were more routes to come. The Luton-based carrier said it was adding 21 routes to its expansion programme in the coming year, taking the total number of routes it plans to launch in 2010 to 70. The [...]
HMV poised for Mama takeover January 4, 2010 HMV is poised for a successful £46m takeover of music venues and festivals firm Mama Group after a rival offer hit the buffers. Mama’s largest shareholder, Luxembourg-based investment firm SMS Finance, made a £38.3m bid for the business last month. SMS – the investment vehicle of Italian telecoms billionaire Silvio Scaglia – owns 29.8 per [...]
