Three Alstom directors arrested in fraud probe March 24, 2010 THREE directors of transport and infrastructure group Alstom have been arrested in a UK corruption investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). The arrests followed a raid on the French firms offices across the UK as well as residential addresses. The SFO said in a statement it believed bribes had been paid in order to [...]
easyJet lands Guardian executive as new boss March 24, 2010 BUDGET airline easyJet has chosen Guardian Media Group chief executive Carolyn McCall to replace chief executive Andy Harrison. McCall who has been at the helm of the publisher of The Guardian and The Observer for four years, said the switch as a “once in a lifetime opportunity.” She has been with GMG for 24 years, [...]
Bellway to raise dividend after profit surge March 24, 2010 HOUSEBUILDER Bellway will raise its dividend after reporting healthy first half profits. The firm, Britain’s fifth largest housebuilder by market value, made £19m in the six months to the end of January, compared with a loss of £48.6m in the same period the year before. It completed sales of 2,247 homes compared with 2,014 – [...]
Lloyds of London hits record profit March 24, 2010 THE Lloyd’s of London insurance market said its profit more than doubled last year to a new record thanks to a quiet hurricane season and lucrative investments. Pre-tax profit was £3.87bn – up from £1.9bnin 2008, when the market was forced to pay out massive sums after communities and businesses were torn apart by hurricanes [...]
Sainsbury’s sales growth at five-year low March 24, 2010 SAINSBURY’S has reported its smallest rise in underlying quarterly sales in almost five years. Britain’s third biggest grocery chain said stores open at least one year rose 1.7 per cent, excluding fuel, in the fourth quarter. Sales rose 3.7 per cent in the third quarter but a slowdown in price inflation and economic uncertainty before [...]
Insider dealing raids rock city March 23, 2010 SIX people were hauled away by police yesterday in the biggest ever insider trading sting seen in the UK. Senior executives at Deutsche Bank and Exane BNP Paribas and a trader at hedge fund Moore Capital were arrested as the Serious Organised Crime Agency stormed offices across the City. A further three men arrested are [...]
Darling is told not to raise taxes March 23, 2010 ALISTAIR Darling should not announce any new tax rises in today’s Budget, according to our panel of City and business professionals. And he should cut spending across all government departments, instead of “ring-fencing” areas like education and health. Sixty-nine per cent of panelists were against any new taxation, although 30 per cent thought Darling should [...]
McCall leaves the Guardian March 23, 2010 EASYJET last night unveiled Carolyn McCall as its new chief executive, replacing Andy Harrison who stands down in June. The decision by McCall, currently head of Guardian Media Group (GMG), shocked the media world. Her move comes after GMG posted pre-tax losses of £90m in the year to March 2009, compared with a profit of [...]
Don’t expect miracles from Darling March 23, 2010 THERE is just one thing going for Alistair Darling today and that is low expectations. Nobody is anticipating any miracles from the Chancellor, for whom this will probably be the last Budget, regardless of the outcome of the general election. His growth forecasts will be too optimistic once again, he won’t be open enough about [...]
CDS market opening up March 23, 2010 THE Greek debt crisis and the role played by Goldman Sachs has forced legislators internationally to work on new rules to regulate the $450 trillion (£299 trillion) privately traded derivatives markets. Governments want regulators to have access to trade information in the markets, including positions held by large counterparties. Depository Trust & Clearing (DTCC) will [...]
