Marriage abounds this week but these lacklustre movies are on the rocks August 16, 2012 FILM THE WEDDING VIDEO Cert 15 ** THE trailer for The Wedding Video is awful. The adverts are awful. Even the name is awful, inspiring the unique kind of dread that clings to movies about weddings. At first glance it looks like a low-rent remake of the stereotypical American “wedding movie,” which places a hord [...]
Firstgroup caps rail bid liability August 15, 2012 RAIL group FirstGroup yesterday reassured investors that potential losses on the hotly-contested West Coast main line could not exceed £265m, as shares in the firm slumped on news it had won the contract. The rail operator yesterday beat off a bid from incumbent operator Virgin Rail Group to land the Scotland to London route, with [...]
Senior Tory hits back at Boris claims August 15, 2012 BORIS Johnson was last night on the receiving end of a rebuke from a top minister after the Mayor called on the government to “stop pussyfooting around” and invest in London’s infrastructure. Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, said “Boris is wrong” to say the government was not doing enough to stimulate growth. [...]
Brazil lures private sector in bid to boost economy August 15, 2012 BRAZIL’S President yesterday announced that up to 133bn real (£42bn) will be put into boosting infrastructure work across the country, in a bid to kick-start the supposedly emerging economy back to life. President Dilma Rousseff’s plan will utilise the private sector in building roads and railways, while delivering other supply side reforms. The reforms include [...]
Sir Richard Branson should be more gracious in rail defeat August 15, 2012 I have always had a soft spot for Sir Richard Branson, ever since he took me on a press trip to Tokyo. He was warm and friendly and held great parties in his hotel room until the early hours of the morning. It was Virgin’s inaugural flight to Tokyo, and to mark the occasion Sir [...]
What the other papers say this morning August 15, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Barrick Gold explores Africa sale Canadian miner Barrick Gold has been exploring a sale of its 74 per cent stake in African Barrick, the London-listed gold producer, in a move that could prompt a full takeover. Barrick has been working with UBS to consider its options for African Barrick, which the Canadian miner, [...]
Bad bank debts hit €100bn and rising in Italy August 15, 2012 ITALIAN banks are struggling under the growing weight of non-performing loans as the economy continues to perform poorly, according to a report out today from Deloitte, and are increasingly looking to sell off the bad assets. The survey of senior managers found 70 per cent expect the volume of non-performing loans to rise this year, [...]
HSBC reveals names in tax probe August 15, 2012 Global bank HSBC has handed over details of current and former employees to the US authorities, it confirmed yesterday, as part of a tax probe that almost sank rival bank UBS in 2009. As a result the bank could now face legal action from individuals whose details have been revealed, lawyers representing them said. In [...]
Santander eyes $4bn Mexico IPO August 15, 2012 Spanish bank Santander hopes to raise as much as $4bn (£2.55bn) in an initial public offering of a portion of its Mexican unit, Bloomberg reported last night. The bank will probably sell the shares after the first week of September, with one source saying the bank may sell a 25 to 30 per cent stake. [...]
StanChart row hits UK banks’ faith in the US August 15, 2012 BRITISH banks may now think twice about expanding their US operations because of the newly unpredictable regulatory environment, bankers, lawyers and analysts have warned. The unexpected high-profile accusations levelled at Standard Chartered by the New York state Department of Financial Services (DFS), and subsequent $340m (£217m) settlement, are seen by some as bullying tactics, and [...]
