Bidders circle HSBC assets July 14, 2011 CAPITAL One and Wells Fargo are among the bidders for HSBC Holdings’ US credit card portfolio, sources said yesterday. A separate sale of HSBC’s New York state branches has attracted bids from US regional banks First Niagara, KeyCorp, and M&T Bank. The asset sales are part of HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver’s plan to refocus [...]
Jobs crunch at Swiss banks July 14, 2011 SWITZERLAND’S flagship lenders are gearing up for large-scale job cuts to clamp down on costs, with some estimates for redundancies running into the thousands. UBS and Credit Suisse have both suffered from currency fluctuations and a drop in revenues that has hit many investment banks due to low trading volumes. And both banks hired heavily [...]
Jury still out on Murdoch as Sky chair July 14, 2011 DIRECTORS at BSkyB are likely to study James Murdoch’s performance at the culture select committee carefully next Tuesday before deciding whether to make any moves to unseat him as current chairman of the satellite broadcaster. Legally speaking, James Murdoch appears fairly secure in his position as he would expect to command the support of the controlling [...]
Why News Corp stock may not be toxic July 14, 2011 NEWS Corp’s shares have fluctuated wildly amid the bombshells that have rocked Rupert Murdoch’s empire. But news of the FBI investigation yesterday is likely to spark a downward trend for a while – shares have already fallen, closing down 2.26 per cent yesterday at $15.99. As the political pressure continues to mount in the US, [...]
ANOTHER DAY OF TURMOIL FOR MURDOCH EMPIRE July 14, 2011 9:00am Nick Clegg urges Rupert Murdoch to appear before the media select committee. He hints Vince Cable was badly treated over his recorded declaration of war on Murdoch last year. 12:00pm The family of Jean-Charles de Menezes, killed by security forces in a case of mistaken identity, confirm they were contacted by police in relation [...]
EU credibility on the line in stress tests July 14, 2011 AT LEAST two Spanish banks are set to fail the EU’s second set of stress tests this evening, with some bankers saying that their publication could spark a market meltdown on Monday. CatalunyaCaixa and Pastor admitted that they will fail after Spanish finance minister Elena Salgado warned that the tests would show up several failures, [...]
Businesses warn against Olympia tube line closure July 14, 2011 A CONSORTIUM of businesses has joined forces to warn the government against its proposed closure of part of the district line in west London, arguing that it will have “dire consequences for the local economy.” In a letter to Transport for London’s managing director Mike Brown, several members of the events industry have said that [...]
Melrose ups Charter offer July 14, 2011 ENGINEERING turnaround firm Melrose has increased its offer for Charter International to 840p per share, valuing the welding equipment supplier at about £1.4bn. The improved offer comes after Charter rebuffed a 780p per share approach from Melrose late last month, the board stating that the bid undervalued the company. The struggling firm, which saw the [...]
Rents in London now average more than £1,000 per month July 14, 2011 RENTAL costs have soared past £1,000 per month in London, a survey of letting agents revealed this morning. London’s rents were up an average of 6.9 per cent per property in June compared to the same time the previous year, the Buy-to-Let Index from LSL Property Services said. While rent inflation is particularly intense in [...]
ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT RISING RENTS? July 14, 2011 TOM SCARLETT | GFT “I am willing to pay more rent, because whilst it is expensive, it does allow me to live reasonably well within the city. If I was to get on the property ladder, my wife and I wouldn’t be able to afford anything central, and I am not ready for the commute [...]
