Soros forced to close fund July 26, 2011 HEDGE fund legend George Soros, the man famed for his bet against the pound on Black Wednesday that netted him more than $1bn (£609m), will close his fund to external investment, bringing to an end a 40-year career. Soros will hand back $1bn to investors in a move he says was heralded by new hurdles [...]
Reducing the budget deficit is vital July 26, 2011 IN the end, the economy did grow. But a 0.2 per cent expansion in the second quarter, leading to growth of just 0.7 per cent over the past year, is pretty pathetic. The official figures almost certainly under-estimate the actual growth because of the way they measure construction output, and early GDP estimates get revised [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 26, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES LAW FIRM STOPS WORK ON INQUIRY INTO PHONE HACKING BCL Burton Copeland, the law firm, is no longer advising News International about an investigation into phone hacking. The firm stopped working for NI, which publishes Rupert Murdoch’s UK newspapers, last week, insiders familiar with the situation said, after it was called in at [...]
Poll: US faces downgrade July 26, 2011 THE US is set to lose its top-notch triple-A credit rating from at least one leading agency, according to 30 out of 53 economists polled by Reuters. The shocking survey result was revealed last night, as talks over saving the government from a self-imposed default remained splintered by acrimonious briefings. Republican House speaker John Boehner’s [...]
Jones Lang LaSalle profits surge July 26, 2011 Property giant Jones Lang LaSalle last night unveiled a 24 per cent jump in revenues to $845m (£515m), giving it a net income of $44m for the three months to the end of June. The New York-listed firm, one of the agents for the Shard tower, said net income would have been $50m were it [...]
Private equity circles Caterpillar July 26, 2011 Private equity firms Centerbridge Partners and BC Partners are pursuing Caterpillar’s logistics business and a sale of the unit could fetch more than $1bn, several people familiar with the matter said. Two or three parties remain in the auction as it reaches the final round. Caterpillar hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Robert W [...]
GE calls off $3bn railcar sale July 26, 2011 General Electric has failed to auction off its railcar leasing business, making it the second time in three years the US group has tried unsuccessfully to sell the unit worth roughly $3bn. GE said it was making progress in selling other arms.
Spain pays a high price at debt auction July 26, 2011 NERVOUS investors sent Spanish yields to their highest level since the financial crisis at a €2.9bn (£2.56bn) debt auction yesterday. Madrid was forced to pay an average yield of 1.9 per cent on its three-month and 2.5 per cent on its six-month bills, versus an average rate of 1.6 per cent and 1.8 per cent [...]
Costs hinder Amazon profit July 26, 2011 ONLINE retail outlet Amazon reported a surge in quarterly revenue yesterday, on sales of its Kindle electronic reader and other electronics and forecast far better-than-expected revenue for the current quarter. The firm’s shares shot up six per cent in after-hours US trading. The firm benefited from growth in e-commerce, though margins continued to be pressured [...]
Foreign investment in the UK collapses 35 per cent July 26, 2011 Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the UK plunged to its lowest level for seven years, according to a new report by the United Nations (UN). The British economy saw FDI of just £28bn last year, a massive 35 per cent drop from 2009. Fears over the UK’s fragile recovery have pushed it from third place [...]
