Hilco snaps up HMV debt pile to take control January 22, 2013 HMV was given a potential lifeline yesterday after restructuring firm Hilco bought the crisis-hit music retailer’s debt for about £40m, effectively giving it control of the group. Hilco – which already owns HMV Canada – confirmed yesterday it had acquired HMV’s debt from the group’s consortium of lenders led by the Royal Bank of Scotland [...]
British chiefs anticipate M&A shopping spree January 22, 2013 BRITISH bosses are expecting a wave of big deals in 2013, planning to expand their companies through mergers and acquisitions rather than via organic growth, research from PwC has revealed. An international survey of chief executives found that 43 per cent of British business leaders plan to complete a domestic M&A deal this year, the [...]
FSA arrests five including trader at Schroders January 22, 2013 A TRADER at Schroders was among five people arrested yesterday as part of an investigation into insider dealing and market abuse. Schroders confirmed that an employee was arrested by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and City of London police yesterday, and has been suspended from the firm with immediate effect. The FTSE 100 asset management [...]
Rose will keep up Ocado’s appearances – but little else January 22, 2013 WHEN Sir Stuart Rose dipped his toe back in the retail waters by becoming chairman of Blue Inc and backing The Hut last year, it should have been obvious he had his eye on bigger things. But why Ocado? This column – not to mention several high-profile City analysts – have long taken a dim [...]
Middle class tax evaders face new crackdown by prosecutors January 22, 2013 MIDDLE CLASS tax evaders are more likely to be prosecuted under plans unveiled last night by the boss of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). “Tax evasion has to be dealt with robustly all the time,” said Keir Starmer, director of public prosecutions. “But in a recession, when ordinary law abiding taxpayers are suffering real hardship, the [...]
Audit watchdog hikes business levy by 8.5pc January 22, 2013 THE UK’S audit watchdog has announced plans to hike levy rates by 8.5 per cent. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC)’s move was criticised by firms yesterday but the regulator said the increase was necessary as it attempts to clear a backlog of cases and deals with extra regulation. The FRC is upping its budget by 10 [...]
Rajat Gupta seeks reversal of conviction for insider trading January 22, 2013 LAWYERS for former Goldman Sachs Group board member Rajat Gupta are urging a federal appeals court to reverse his insider trading conviction, arguing that a judge shouldn’t have allowed wiretaps to be heard at trial. In a brief filed Friday at the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, Gupta’s lawyers argued wiretaps [...]
Manufacturing orders dip hits growth hopes January 22, 2013 THE ECONOMIC recovery has been put on hold as manufacturers reported demand is lower than expected in an industry survey published yesterday. New orders fell in the last quarter according to 28 per cent of firms questioned by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), outweighing the 25 per cent who reported rising orders and disappointing [...]
Minister to ease rules on turning offices into flats January 22, 2013 THE GOVERNMENT will remove barriers on converting office buildings into residential flats in the hope of easing the housing crisis, it was revealed yesterday. Planning minister Nick Boles is due to announce the move later this week, which will permit developers to convert many office buildings into domestic residences without needing planning permission. But the City of [...]
Adam Posen warns Sir Mervyn King is being worked too hard January 22, 2013 THE TOP brass at the Bank of England are so overworked that it is harming their ability to work well – and the situation will only get worse as the Bank takes on more regulatory responsibility, former Monetary Policy Committee member Adam Posen warned yesterday. “The governor and his two deputies work 18 hour days, [...]
