Private equity eyes up City law firms September 1, 2009 THE BELEAGUERED legal profession, says Jeremy Hand, managing partner of private equity firm Lyceum Capital, is facing “a fire-storm whipped up by the recession, smarter customers, technology, outsourcing and legislation”. If that wasn’t trouble enough, it’s also being forcibly opened up to competition that could arise from the so-called Tesco Law – the shorthand for [...]
Fuel duty hiked by two pence August 31, 2009 Motorists will wake up to a two pence rise in fuel duty this morning, the third increase in nine months. When VAT is included the rise will actually total 2.3p – taking the average price of petrol across the UK to about 105p per litre. The Treasury is planning five more tax rises worth more [...]
Sony tie up with Google Chrome August 31, 2009 Google, owner of the most popular Internet search engine, yesterday announced it has reached an agreement with Sony to have its Chrome web browser pre-installed on some personal computers. The deal with the group is part of its efforts to make its little-used Chrome more accessible. Google is also believed to be in talks with [...]
SLICK MERGER FOR OIL FIRMS August 31, 2009 US OIL SERVICES company Baker Hughes announced yesterday it was buying rival BJ Services in a deal worth $5.5bn (£3.3bn) after the two companies’ boards approved the deal. Baker Hughes chairman Chad Deaton (pictured) yesterday said the merger would be gradual, but will result in $75m in savings next year.
Nomura wins six year holiday August 31, 2009 JAPANESE bank Nomura has won a six year rental break on its new headquarters at Thameside complex Watermark Place. The bank will today sign for the 525,000 sq ft development in what is the biggest City property deal this year. Nomura will not be paying any rent for 70 months until 2015, the bank confirmed [...]
London homes in monthly price rise August 31, 2009 HOUSE prices in London rose by 0.3 per cent over August on the back of a dwindling supply of homes for sale. Hometrack’s national housing survey showed higher price tags in London, the south east and East Anglia, with London’s average price rising to £275,300, although year-on- year prices showed a 6.7 per cent fall. [...]
Germans call on G20 to cut fiscal deficits August 31, 2009 GERMANY has called for agreement from members of the G20 summit in London on ways to back away from fiscal measures put in place to fight the global financial crisis. “It is of vital importance that we develop internationally coordinated exit strategies,” wrote German finance minister Peer Steinbrueck, in a letter to fellow G20 finance [...]
Germany warned over Opel aid August 31, 2009 The European Commission yesterday sent a warning to Germany on the provision of state aid to General Motors’ European arm Adam Opel, whose future may hinge on billions of euros in funding from the German government. Aid that served national interests could breach European rules, the commission said. The commission’s comments came after questions about [...]
Mayor to lobby EU in Brussels August 31, 2009 Mayor of London Boris Johnson will this week urge European internal markets commissioner Charlie McCreevy to dilute measures aimed at tightening up regulation of the alternative investment industry. Johnson, who is travelling to Brussels tomorrow, will tell McCreevy that the European Commission’s draft directive on alternative investment managers threatens to drive the industry out of [...]
Citi dumps more assets August 31, 2009 CITIGROUP yesterday said it sold three credit card portfolios representing $1.3bn (£798m) in managed assets, as part of a plan to unload weak businesses and troubled assets that caused huge losses. The group, which is about 34 per cent owned by the US government, did not disclose the terms of the deals, but said it [...]
