NatEx bidders need more time October 11, 2009 National Express is this week expected to give the Cosmen-CVC consortium a further two weeks to complete the due diligence required for it to secure loans for its £765m bid for the transport group. The consortium is said to have requested the deadline extension after NatEx complained about its tactics in gathering data, including offering [...]
Citi fined for offshore activity October 11, 2009 Citigroup is to receive a $600,000 (£378,500) fine over derivatives transactions which helped foreign clients avoid paying taxes on dividends. The move by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is part of US authorities’ tougher stance on offshore tax activity. The fine is to be levied against Citigroup Global Markets, and is partly related to the [...]
Bonus row to flare up again October 11, 2009 THE row over bonuses for investment bankers is due to be reignited this week, as Goldman Sachs prepares to announce a huge layout on pay, expected to be almost double the figure allocated last year. The Wall Street investment bank unveils third quarter profits on Thursday, with analysts predicting pre-tax profits of $3.5bn (£2.2bn) for [...]
Osborne: Tories have a high regard for Turner’s abilities October 11, 2009 The Tories said last night that they admired Financial Services Authority chairman Lord Adair Turner, but that it was too early to speculate whether they would hand him a top job at the Bank of England (BoE). Commenting on talk that Turner could become deputy to the governor of the BoE if the conservatives win [...]
Blackstone says the worst is over for private equity industry October 11, 2009 BUY-OUT giant Blackstone is set to list up to eight of its companies and sell five more, as the firm sees the fog lifting for private equity firms. Blackstone founder Steve Schwarzman wrote to investors on Friday, predicting that the world is “changing once again” and that, for the private equity industry, “the worst is [...]
Tullett set to square up to BGC in court October 11, 2009 TULLETT Prebon and BGC Partners will this week commence battle in the High Court, as the City hangs attentively on every word to glean sensational details about the aggressive high-octane world of inter-dealer broking. Tullett, led by City veteran Terry Smith, alleges that BGC tried to poach at least 55 of its top broking staff [...]
Bear Stearns pair face criminal case October 11, 2009 THE first of an expected slew of high-profile court cases arising from the credit crunch begins tomorrow, with two former Bear Stearns employees accused of misleading investors over the health of sub-prime mortgage securities. The case will hinge on whether one of the bank’s former hedge fund managers, Matthew Tannin, knew that the sub-prime arena [...]
AIG close to Nan Shan sale October 11, 2009 AIG is close to selling Nan Shan, its Taiwanese life assurance unit, for more than $2bn (£1.26bn). It is understood that the New York-based insurer could make an announcement regarding the sale as early as this week, with either financial conglomerate Chinatrust or Hong Kong-based investment fund Primus Financial the likely new owner. AIG is [...]
City tax stars face charges from Revenue October 11, 2009 VANTIS, the stockmarket-listed accountancy firm, yesterday confirmed that its two leading City accountants have been charged with a multi-million pound tax scam. David Perrin and Roy Faichney work in the tax division of Vantis and are responsible for developing tax saving schemes for their wealthy clients which included former captain of England rugby team, and [...]
Langdale hired by fraud office in BAE investigation October 11, 2009 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has upped the ante in its case against defence giant BAE Systems by hiring top criminal QC Timothy Langdale to help file a corruption suit against the firm . By getting Langdale, who successfully defended Colonel Jorge Mendonca in 2003 against charges of mistreating Iraqi civilian detainees in Basra, on [...]
