Lagarde set to formally enter race for top role at the IMF May 24, 2011 FRENCH finance minister Christine Lagarde is expected to formally announce her bid to run the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this morning. The European Union is said to have reached a consensus on backing her to replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who quit last week over sexual assault charges. Lagarde is seen as the frontrunner for the job, [...]
US regulators sue traders in new blitz on oil price manipulation May 24, 2011 US regulators launched one of the biggest ever crackdowns on oil price manipulation yesterday, suing two well-known traders and two trading firms owned by Norwegian billionaire John Fredriksen for allegedly making $50m by squeezing markets in 2008. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said traders James Dyer of Oklahoma’s Parnon Energy, and Nick Wildgoose of [...]
HEIR TO ARCELORMITTAL EMPIRE May 24, 2011 ADITYA Mittal, the son of Britain’s wealthiest man Lakshmi, yesterday moved a step closer to succeeding his father as chief executive of the world’s largest steelmaker. He has been handed control of the biggest and most problematic unit – Flat Carbon Europe instead of Flat Carbon Americas, as well as remaining chief financial officer, putting [...]
Vickers: ICB plans will cut state subsidy May 24, 2011 BANKS will see their implicit subsidy from the state significantly cut down if the government implements recommendations from the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB), its chair John Vickers (pictured) said yesterday. “Our measures would have a major effect on reducing the subsidy,” Vickers said when speaking before the Treasury Select Committee yesterday. His views appeared [...]
Moody’s puts 14 UK banks on negative rating outlook May 24, 2011 MOODY’S has put 14 of the UK’s biggest banks on review for a ratings downgrade due to regulatory efforts to resolve the “too big to fail” problem. The move could significantly increase borrowing costs for banks as regulators draw up plans to reduce the likelihood that taxpayers will have to bail out failing banks in [...]
Police quiz Huhne over driving row May 24, 2011 EMBATTLED cabinet minister Chris Huhne was last night interviewed by police over allegations that he asked someone else to take driving licence penalty points on his behalf. The energy secretary is fighting for his political life over the accusations, made by his estranged wife Vicky Pryce, that he made her accept the points incurred for [...]
One Finsbury Circus is sold May 24, 2011 The former City headquarters of BP has been sold to a real estate fund for £141.5m, the vendors said yesterday. One Finsbury Circus has been snapped up by Invesco Real Estate’s pan-European fund after months of bidding. Hermes Real Estate and LaSalle, which acted on behalf of the sellers, said the sale of the multi-let, [...]
Armani rules out sales or listing May 24, 2011 Designer Giorgio Armani yesterday ruled out selling or listing his company as it posted annual revenues up 4.6 per cent to €1.59bn (£1.4bn). Net profit jumped 81 per cent to €161m and cash was a record €604m. “I have always associated good cash liquidity with the concepts of independence and solidity,” said Armani, 76. He [...]
Yandex surges on first day May 24, 2011 Shares of Russian internet company Yandex surged more than 40 per cent in their debut yesterday, in the largest US initial public offering in the internet sector since Google. Yandex raised $1.3bn (£803m) in its IPO on Monday by selling 52.2m shares for $25 each. The offering valued the overall company at about $8bn. Morgan [...]
Google to reveal phone payments May 24, 2011 Google will take the wraps off a mobile payment system tomorrow that lets consumers pay at checkout with phones instead of cards, a source said, hoping to beat Visa and others to the punch. The Internet search and advertising leader will work with MasterCard, the world’s second-largest credit and debit card processing network, to launch [...]
