Banks fear EU rules will hit firms’ hedging February 21, 2013 FOREIGN banks will be put at a huge competitive disadvantage when trying to sell hedging products to EU firms, banking groups have warned, if damaging incoming rules are not amended quickly. Under the CRD4 directive plans, banks must hold extra capital against derivatives to cover the risk that they may lose value in future. The [...]
Profile: The Bumi Row February 21, 2013 JULY 2010 Cash shell Vallar, founded by Nat Rothschild, floats on the LSE after raising £700m. It intends to invest in mining sector NOVEMBER 2010 Vallar buys stakes in Indonesian Berau Coal and Bumi Resources in a $3bn cash and shares transaction NOVEMBER 2011 Rothschild writes to the chief executive of Bumi and Bumi Resources [...]
Santander bosses take pay cut on Spanish property troubles February 21, 2013 SPANISH bank Santander slashed bosses bonuses by one-third yesterday after profits slumped, and froze the directors’ salaries at 2009 levels. Long-serving chairman Emilio Botin took a 32 per cent cut, earning just over €3m (£2.6m) – though €1.4m of that is in shares, much of which are deferred. Profits at Spain’s largest lender fell 59 [...]
Network Rail set to be fined as planning mistakes cause delays February 21, 2013 NETWORK Rail is facing a multi-million pound fine for causing unacceptable delays over the winter, the industry regulator warned yesterday. Overrunning engineering work over Christmas and “basic operational planning mistakes” were behind the slip in punctuality on English and Welsh railways, said the Office of Rail Regulation. Around 88.3 per cent of long-distance trains arrived [...]
Osborne hit by £1.2bn shortfall from 4G auction February 21, 2013 THE TREASURY will bank far less than expected from an auction of 4G spectrum, with bidding leaving a black hole of more than £1bn in George Osborne’s accounts. After weeks of secret bidding, the UK’s four mobile operators, along with BT, will spend £2.34bn on airwaves to deliver the next generation of mobile services, far [...]
City Views | Would you sign up for a 4g mobile service? February 21, 2013 IAN BRANAGAN | BRITDAQ We’re an online stock exchange, so anything that will speed up the process will help us. 3G never works on Oxford Street, so if it helps with that, I’d definitely pay more… not lots though. CHRIS GASKIN | BCM I find 3G coverage in the City a bit patchy – it [...]
Watchdog backs Libor fine cuts February 21, 2013 BARCLAYS deserved a multi-million pound reduction in its Libor manipulation fine because it worked hard to cooperate with the investigation, the Financial Service Authority insisted today. Defending itself against questions from the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, the FSA said it is vital to encourage banks to be open with information. Barclays received a 30 [...]
HMV to close a further 37 stores leaving hundreds out of work February 21, 2013 ADMINISTRATORS running collapsed music and DVD retailer HMV yesterday confirmed they would close another 37 stores across the UK, resulting in a further 464 job cuts. Deloitte’s Nick Edwards said the closures, which come on top of a previously announced wave of 66 closures, were required to “enhance the prospects of the restructured business continuing [...]
Another sort of Dutch auction from wary mobile firms February 21, 2013 THERE were five winners in the £2.3bn UK auction of fourth generation (4G) wireless frequencies announced yesterday, but George Osborne was not one of them. The chancellor was counting on a £3.5bn 4G windfall to provide a figleaf of respectability over his increasingly threadbare claims that he is reducing the UK deficit. The auction came [...]
Countrywide in float plan in bid to raise £200m February 21, 2013 COUNTRYWIDE Holdings, Britain’s largest estate agency, is to return to the market six years after it was taken private, heralding a further sign of recovery in the housing market. The company aims to raise £200m through the issue of new shares, which it said it will use to repay debts and fuel further growth. It [...]
